Austrian man leaves fortune to French village that saved his family from Nazis
An Austrian man who died in December has left an undisclosed fortune to the French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon to thank residents for hiding his family from Nazis during World War II.
Erich Schwam, a Jewish refugee who arrived in the village with his mother and father in 1943, bequeathed a sum thought to be at least a few hundred thousand euro to the commune in south-central France, according to the notary in charge of his will.
“We are extremely honored and we will use the sum according to Mr. Schwam’s will,” the town’s deputy mayor, Denise Vallat, told CNN on Saturday.