‘Do You Think You’re Scaring Me?’

The Fellowship  |  May 2, 2018

Black and white image of a couple looking directly into the camera.
Do You Think You're Scaring Me?'

Jacques and Antonia Muron

A veteran of World War I in the earlier part of the 20th century, Jacques Muron was a humble Christian Frenchman who settled into a life of farming with his wife Anotnia. Their humble farm in the hamlet of Curaize was where they raised seven children, and where they would earn the title of Righteous Gentiles.

In 1943, the Murons began selling food to a Jewish man named Simon Gameroff. A Jew, Simon lived nearby with his family, after they had escaped the Nazis in Paris and Strasbourg. The next year, Simon’s cousins were arrested and sent to concentration camps, but Simon and his family were able to escape. However, they needed a new hiding place.

Riding his bicycle to the Muron farm, Simon asked Jacques and Antonia if his family could hide at their farm. Despite their humble abode and the risk of being caught – and killed – by the Nazis, the Murons agreed to shelter the Gameroff family. Simon’s mother, sister, and three-year-old nephew were taken in by the Murons, while Simon, his wife, and their own daughter found safety from a nearby priest.

Simon and his family often visited the Muron homestead, and Simon worked on nearby farms. After D-Day, the entire Gameroff family moved in with the Murons. A Nazi-sympathizing French policeman warned Jacques against sheltering Jews, to which the aging WWI veteran replied, “Do you think you’re scaring me? I was buried alive at Verdun!”

Because of the Muron family’s bravery and kindness, the Gameroffs all survived the Holocaust. For their actions, Jacques and Antonia Muron were named Righteous Among the Nations in 2001.

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