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Papers of André Trocmé and Magda Trocmé, 1919-current
Collection: DG 107
Contact Information
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399
U.S.A.
Telephone: 610-328-8557 (curator)
Fax: 610-690-5728
Email: wchmiel@swarthmore.edu (curator)
URL: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/
Descriptive Summary
Repository
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Creator
Trocmé, André (1901-1971) and Magda Trocmé (1901-1996)
Title
André Trocmé and Magda Trocmé Papers
Inclusive Dates
1919-current
Call Number
DG 107
Language of Materials
Materials in English and French
Extent
6.45 linear feet [papers only]
Abstract
André Trocmé: pacifist, Protestant clergyman in France and Switzerland; Magda Trocmé (1901-1996 ): social worker and teacher of Italian; helped found College Cévanol, an international secondary school, in Le Chambon, France; here, during World War II, he aided the escape of Jews and other political refugees; Andre Trocmé was imprisoned briefly by the Vichy government in 1943 and later spent ten months in hiding from the Gestapo; these events were later described in Philip P. Hallie's book Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. André Trocmé was European Secretary of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation from 1947 to 1960. In 1950, the Trocmés became directors of La Maison de la Réconciliation, an international peace center in Versailles. In 1957, André Trocmé helped start Eirene, an international service for peace in Morocco. He was pastor of the Church of Saint-Gervais in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1960 until his death in 1971
Administrative Information
Restrictions to Access
None
Usage Restrictions
None (except that some items may not be photocopied in their entirety, as noted below)
Alternate Form of Material
None
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Magda Trocmé, Philip Hallie and Nelly Trocmé Hewett, 1979, 1982, 1992-present [The SCPC is the official repository for the Trocmé papers]
Processing Information
Original checklist by Martha Shane, Feb. 1992 (papers originally processed under a NEH Grant No. RC20111-81/1655); revised by Wendy Chmielewski, Oct. 1992; papers reorganized & checklist revised by Anne Yoder, Aug. 2003; finding aid revised by Wendy Chmielewski, 2005-
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the André Trocmé and Magda Trocmé Papers (DG 106), Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law
Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online library/archival catalogs.
See tripod record
Related Collections
None
Historical Background
André and Magda Trocmé are perhaps best known for their work in the small French town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon where, during World War II, they inspired the villagers to help protect, and sometimes to assist, in the escape of Jews and other political refugees. This quiet and courageous assistance was given without resorting to violence. Historians estimate that about 3,500 Jews were harbored in the area in and around Le Chambon.
André Trocmé (1901-1971) was born in St. Quentin in the north of France to Huguenot parents. After attending seminary in Paris and doing graduate work at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, he was ordained into the French Reformed Church and served for eight years among the coal miners and steel workers of Maubeuge and Sin-le-Noble, two small towns in the north of France. He preached nonviolence at a time when such views were unpopular in France. In 1934, André Trocmé accepted a call to be pastor in the remote Huguenot village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon on the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon in South Central France. These parishioners were more sympathetic to his views on nonviolence.
Magda Trocmé (1901-1996) was born in Italy to an Italian father and Russian mother. She graduated from the University of Florence with a degree in literature, and earned further degrees in French. She and André Trocmé met in the United States while she was attending the New York School of Social Work, and they were married in 1926. The couple had four children, Nelly, Jean-Pierre, Jacques, and Daniel.
In 1938, André Trocmé and his pacifist colleague, Édouard Theis, founded L'Ecole Nouvelle Cévenol in Le Chambon, a Protestant co-educational secondary school. In addition to the usual French secondary school curriculum, tolerance, honesty, and nonviolence were taught as well. L'Ecole Nouvelle Cévenole soon gained an international focus, and after World War II the name of the school was changed to Collège Cévenol. Magda Trocmé taught Italian at this school, which is still in operation today.
During the first part of World War II, Le Chambon was located in the "free"( unoccupied) zone of France, but by 1942 the Germans had occupied the entire country.
In the late 1940s, André and Magda Trocmé traveled as European Secretaries for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation [IFOR]. After their move to Versailles (France) in 1950, the Trocmés founded La Maison de la Réconciliation. The Maison de la Réconciliation became an international peace center and the headquarters of the French and Continental Secretariat of the IFOR. During travels in the United States, under IFOR auspices, André Trocmé delivered the Robert Treat Paine lectures, which became the basis for his book The Politics of Repentance, published in 1953. During the strife between France and Algeria, André Trocmé helped start Eirene (International Service for Peace), located in Morocco, which provided alternative service for conscientious objectors. He was also active in the movement against atomic weapons, becoming president of the French Federation Against Atomic Armaments in 1959. In 1960, André Trocmé accepted a call to become one of the ministers of the Saint-Gervais Church in Geneva (Switzerland). Many of the sermons he preached at Saint-Gervais were broadcast. His book Jésus-Christ et la Revolution Non Violente was published in French in 1961 and subsequently in other languages (Orbis Books edition, 2004). In 1965, André Trocmé accompanied a peace mission to Vietnam.
After World War II, André Trocmé was awarded the Rosette de la Résistance by the French government. The story of the Trocmé's pacifist leadership inspired Philip P. Hallie, a professor at Wesleyan University, to write the book Lest Innocent Blood by Shed, published in 1979. Eleven years later Pierre Sauvage produced the documentary Weapons of the Spirit (1988), explaining how his family survived Word War II through the efforts of the people of Le Chambon.
André Trocmé died in Geneva on June 5, 1971, just a few weeks after he had been scheduled to receive the Médaille des Justes from the government of Israel. As more and more people were recognized as "Righteous Gentiles," the Yad Vashem honored all the residents of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the surrounding area. In their memory an engraved stele and rock garden were installed in the park of Yad Vashem (Israel).
After the death of her husband Magda Trocmé moved to Paris with Alice Reynier ("Jispa"), a close family friend who had lived with the Trocmé family since 1942, having shared in their family life and work. Magda Trocmé received an honorary degree from Haverford College in 1981 in the name of the people of Le Chambon and the surrounding area.
Collection Overview
The original accession of papers given by Magda Trocmé was processed ca. 1982, with later accessions put into separate boxes. Nelly Trocmé Hewett has sent additional material to the Peace Collection, including family papers, reminiscences and other items from people who knew her parents or were affected in some way by the events in Le Chambon during World War II. By 2003, the layout of the collection was difficult to understand and there was duplicate material throughout the various accessions, so the Trocmé papers were rearranged that year for easier access. The unpublished writings of André Trocmé are partially organized. When all of the Trocmé family papers have been received, then the collection will be reprocessed into its final order.
It should be noted that Nelly Trocmé Hewett's notes appear on some of the items she has donated to the Peace Collection, providing translations or explanations of the material.
A bibliography of André Trocmé's works, produced by Pastor Boismorand [Acc. 03A-072], is available in the Peace Collection's office files. The office files for DG 107 also contain the list/s produced by Magda Trocmé of the items she sent to the Peace Collection.
Photos of the Trocmés & of Le Chambon, etc. were removed to the Photograph Collection; 2 certificates & 2 hand-drawn maps were removed to the Oversized Items Collection; posters were removed to the Poster Collection; a udiocassettes & reel-to-reel tapes were removed to the Audiovisual Collection [see Appendix A for list]; b ooks by or about the Trocmé's were removed to the Book Collection.
More material re: the Trocmés may be found in the records of the American Friends of the College Cevenol, located at the Congregational Library of the American Congregational Association in Boston (MA), as well as in the Erich & Louise Mendolsohn papers at The Getty Research Institute for the History of Art & the Humanities, Los Angeles (CA).
Arrangement of Collection
The original accession of papers is divided into three parts: Series A documents the Trocmé' biographical and historical information, while Series B documents their public life and ministry, and Series C is a compilation of their reference material and a small amount of miscellaneous material. In 2003, a booklet and some correspondence (photocopies) was donated and the information for this access is entitled "Refile Box 2003." Numerous audio cassettes/reels/compact discs exist of the Trocmé's interviews, sermons, and stories, etc. Search the Audiovisual Database, using the keyword Trocmé.