« Cities Embracing Jewish Heritage » : le dialogue au-delà des différences

Suzanne Babut, the love of humanity at the heart of the commitment to rescue Jews Thursday, November 5, 2026 – Strolls from 9 AM to 11 AM and from 2 PM to 4 PM La Licra Montpellier-Hérault, supported by the City of Montpellier, offers a walk in the footsteps of Suzanne Babut, a resident of Montpellier named Righteous Among the Nations - a title given to those who "risked their lives to save Jews" by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem on June 22, 1976. This woman, from the Protestant bourgeoisie of Montpellier, became a widow at 29 with three children to care for. She decided to transform the large house she inherited from her father, located at 5 rue de Nazareth, into a guesthouse. Situated just steps from the Gestapo headquarters and not far from two villas occupied by the militia, she hid Jewish families and individuals there during the "dark years" from 1942 to 1945, saving them from deportation to extermination camps. Based on the daily journals kept by Suzanne Babut and preserved at the Museum of Resistance and Deportation in Castelnau Le Lez, the museum's editions published a book titled "Suzanne Babut-Planchon, a Righteous Montpellier Resident." Its authors, Brigitte Claparède-Albernhe and Nathalie Assouline, the first vice-president of Licra Montpellier Hérault, designed this walk in the Beaux-Arts district to share this love of humanity that continually inspired Suzanne Babut throughout her life, giving her the courage for her actions and the strength of her unwavering commitment to justice. We will visit the emblematic sites of this extraordinary story : the Suzanne Babut park, the Planchon villa, the Lauwe barracks, the Rosiers villa, and the Laffout Enclosure. This project is designed by Licra Montpellier Hérault as part of the initiative "Cities Embracing Jewish Heritage" of the European Association for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, in which the City of Montpellier participates. It invites cities to explore love as a bridge between cultures and communities, highlighting empathy, common values, and dialogue beyond differences. Reservations: [montpellier@licra.fr](mailto:montpellier@licra.fr) - subject to indicate: reservation November 5 + time Times: from 9 AM to 11 AM or from 2 PM to 4 PM (to specify in the email) Meeting place: Suzanne Babut Park, rue Lakanal Please bring drinks and appropriate clothing for the outdoors.

"For Eternity," a play to discover at the Pierre Tabard theater on Thursday, November 5th at 6 PM. The performance will be followed by a discussion with Mariette JOB, niece of Hélène BERR, and Antoine HYAFIL, son of Odile NEUBURGER. Free entry with reservation. The play For Eternity, directed by Eric Bouvron, tells the story of Hélène Berr and Odile Neuburger, two young Jewish girls with intertwined destinies, who will take us on a journey through their world, from carefree innocence to grave reality. An absolutely delicate journey crafted from Hélène Berr's diary between 1942 and 1944, and her correspondence with Odile from 1934 to 1944. Two very cheerful young girls, Hélène and her best friend Odile, dressed like model girls in soft attire, welcome us on stage; they are thirteen years old with their whole lives ahead of them. It is July 16, 1934: humor, spirit, and vanity are their only daily concerns. Through a magnificent mailbox, the object of all their confidences, they exchange a rich correspondence that testifies to their deep friendship and complicity, a product of freedom in a shared culture at the dawn of their romantic lives where jealousy might soon rear its head. A correspondence that witnesses the clash between the intimate and the tragic that binds them forever: the Holocaust As we become attached to their comforting freshness, the heartbreaking shift towards horror will be all the more difficult. 1942, the year of all dangers: History cuts and separates them. Odile follows her family to the free zone. As for Hélène, she consciously chooses to stay in Paris with her family: to stay is to resist. Their correspondence changes tone, from light-hearted banter, it becomes an act of resistance against the growing persecution of Nazism, with its disastrous episode, the climax of barbarity, that of the Vel d'Hiv roundup, all while maintaining their dignity. Eric Bouvron's minimalist staging is luminous, without fuss. It gives space to the text, to its striking words, to the voice and body of Virginie Bienaimée and Manon Leroy, two actresses inhabited by their story. A narrative of rare elegance, which transcends the simple framework of the duty of memory in its living tribute to friendship, which neither distance nor barbarity could erase. (The above presentation text was written by lebilletdebruno and published on Overblog on July 5, 2026). This project is supported by the Montpellier association for humanist and secular Judaism (AMJHL) and by La LICRA Montpellier, with the support of the City of Montpellier, as part of the initiative "Cities Embracing Jewish Heritage" led by the European Association for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. The AEPJ invites cities to explore love as a bridge between cultures and communities, highlighting empathy, shared values, and dialogue beyond differences. Location: Théâtre Beaux-Arts Tabard – 17 rue Ferdinand Fabre - Montpellier Date: November 5, 2026 Time: 6 PM Free entry subject to availability Reservation required by email: [assoamjhl@gmail.com](mailto:assoamjhl@gmail.com)