A villa, a story...

Jeanne Romand, a seasoned social worker, ran a children's home in St. Nazaire-en-Royans (Drôme), a small village at the foot of the Vercors plateau near the Alps. Under her direction, "Les Joyeux Lutins" agreed to take in Jewish children with false identities at a holiday camp for Catholics. Most of them were children whose parents had been deported; sometimes children of resistance fighters pursued by the Gestapo. Jeanne Romand, the only one who knew their true identity, gave them "Aryan" names and did everything possible to ensure their safety. When Raymond Samuel-Aubrac, a Jewish resistance fighter, was arrested in Lyon in June 1943, his wife Lucie found herself alone with their son, Jean-Pierre. A doctor friend told her about Les Joyeux Lutins. Jean-Pierre was admitted immediately and stayed there until November. After his father's epic escape, the Resistance sent the three Aubracs to England on a clandestine flight. Much later, Jean-Pierre spoke of the warmth and affection he had received at the "Lutins". Alain Moutal was entrusted by his parents to Jeanne Romand in 1944. Mrs. Moutal later testified that the Jewish children she sheltered were admirably treated and received a good education. The village of St. Nazaire-en-Royans was bombed in June 1944. The entry of the Germans was only a matter of days. Jeanne Romand did not lose her calm. With the help of the staff of the establishment, she transferred the twenty-two residents and their equipment, including mattresses, to an isolated farm in the nearby mountains. Shortly afterwards, the Germans occupied Les Joyeux Lutins, which they turned into a field hospital, and set up their headquarters in the village, where they remained until their retirement. Jeanne Romand continued to care for the children in their mountain refuge, courageously coming to the village from time to time to replenish her stock of medicines. After the Liberation, she was decorated by the French government for her actions during the Occupation.

On June 7, 1983, Yad Vashem awarded Jeanne Romand the title of Righteous Among the Nations.