María Edwards
Encyclopedia
María Edwards McClure (also known as María Edwards de Errázuriz or María Errázuriz - her original married names) was a Chile
an woman who was honored in November 2005 at Israel
's Yad Vashem
memorial (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) as one of the "Righteous Among The Nations
," for her participation during the Holocaust in helping to save Jewish
children in France
. Her actions were not limited to saving Jews but she also actively helped the French resistance.
María Edwards was born in Santiago
, the daughter of Agustín Edwards Ross
and of María Luisa McClure Ossandón. While still quite young, she married Guillermo Errázuriz Vergara, and they moved to Paris
, where he was to take up his diplomatic post. Errázuriz killed himself in 1922, leaving her a widow. After his death, she decide to remain in France.
During the German occupation of Paris, she worked as a volunteer nurse at the Hôpital Rothschild. While working there, she joined the French Resistance
, and helped, many times by risking her own life, to rescue Jewish children that had been separated from their parents and were sentenced to be sent to the concentration camps to be eliminated. She was arrested, interrogated and tortured several times by the Gestapo
, but was able to escape death thanks to her background and diplomatic relations.
On September 2, 1953, María Edwards was awarded the Legion d'Honneur
for bravery in France. In the 1960s, she married for a second time with French writer Jacques Feydeau, and they moved permanently back to Chile, where eventually both died.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an woman who was honored in November 2005 at Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
memorial (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) as one of the "Righteous Among The Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
," for her participation during the Holocaust in helping to save Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
children in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Her actions were not limited to saving Jews but she also actively helped the French resistance.
María Edwards was born in Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, the daughter of Agustín Edwards Ross
Agustín Edwards Ross
Agustín Edwards Ross was a Chilean businessman and politician....
and of María Luisa McClure Ossandón. While still quite young, she married Guillermo Errázuriz Vergara, and they moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was to take up his diplomatic post. Errázuriz killed himself in 1922, leaving her a widow. After his death, she decide to remain in France.
During the German occupation of Paris, she worked as a volunteer nurse at the Hôpital Rothschild. While working there, she joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, and helped, many times by risking her own life, to rescue Jewish children that had been separated from their parents and were sentenced to be sent to the concentration camps to be eliminated. She was arrested, interrogated and tortured several times by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, but was able to escape death thanks to her background and diplomatic relations.
On September 2, 1953, María Edwards was awarded the Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
for bravery in France. In the 1960s, she married for a second time with French writer Jacques Feydeau, and they moved permanently back to Chile, where eventually both died.