Maria Vertut

The Puderbeutels, a Jewish couple originally from Germany, and their daughter, Ina (b. 1924), found shelter in June 1940 in Cahors, capital of the département of Lot, where they registered as aliens, as required by law, and rented a studio apartment from Julien-Antoine and Marie Vertut. The landlords, an octogenarian couple, lived with their daughter, Maria (b. 1904), on the town’s outskirts, surrounded by fields. In November 1942, when the Germans occupied the south of France, the Puderbeutels’ plight worsened. They were in danger of arrest and deportation, as were the Vertuts for harboring them. However, because the two families had become friends, the Vertuts hid M. Puderbeutel in their attic until a few months before the liberation. They piled logs behind the house so that the fugitive could escape through the rear window into the surrounding fields, if necessary. The Vertuts had a storeroom four kilometers from the house, which also served as a hiding place. Marie Vertut or her daughter brought M. Puderbeutel food every day and brought him news about his wife and daughter, who remained in the studio apartment the entire time. They also told him the news that they heard on Radio London. Police came to arrest M. Puderbeutel several times while the family was in hiding, but he was never found.
On January 31, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Julien-Antoine and Marie Vertut, and their daughter Maria-Marguerite, as Righteous Among the Nations.