By Katie Vasquez
It’s been nearly 15 years since Mireille Taub lost the love of her life, David.
They were married for 52 years and shared the experience of being Jewish in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
“They had to wear stars of David… food was rationed…they couldn’t use public transportation of any kind,” she says of the experience of Jews living in France at the time. “Not allowed into the theaters, into the parks, public places.”
When David was 10-years-old his mother sent him 400 miles away to the French countryside to live with a family she trusted. One day he received a visit from a Catholic priest, Father Darius Durand, that changed his life.
“He said, ‘I expect to see you at church tomorrow.’ And David, who is very outspoken like his mother had been, said, ‘I’m not converting.’ And the priest said to him, ‘I don’t expect you to convert. I expect to save your life.’” Mireille says.
David became a fixture at the local church as an altar server and also participated in the Catholic Boy Scouts.
“I think he also loved being part of a group where he was accepted,” explains Mireille. “And that was very important to a little boy who was afraid he’d lose his identity.”
When the war ended David returned to his parents in Paris, but shortly after he received a letter from Father Durand.
“The persecution will have matured your soul and while you’ve given me the opportunity to get to know you and perhaps to be somewhat good to you, I keep a very good memory of you and of the good example that you have given to your little friends,” the letter reads.
Decades later, when David was 75-years-old, he wrote how the French priest was a blessing during a horrific time.
“I kept this letter so many years because he was so important to me during that time,” David wrote.
Mireille knows how much Father Durand’s compassion meant during a period when there was little: “He definitely appreciated the priest, his kindness and his concern for him,” she says. “Isn’t that what humans are supposed to do? Be concerned. And the great horror of war, that war, otherwise, is that a respect for human life is totally abandoned.”