Isaure Luzet

Isaure Luzet (December 12, 1899 - July 14, 1994) was a pharmacist, French resistance fighter, and municipal politician, whose efforts to protect Jewish children during World War II was recognized in 1988 when she was included in the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

Early life and education Isaure Luzet was the daughter of a military officer turned distiller, and Mathilde Morin, who was the daughter of a high school teacher in Grenoble. Her father, Armand Luzet, was a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was an avowed anti-Semite and anti-Dreyfusard. Upon his retirement from the military, he would later relocate his young family to Tunisia where he bought land and hoped to grow agave. During the Second World War, she was health commissioner within the organization and received leadership training.

Studying pharmacy in Paris, she became one of the first women to receive their pharmacy diploma in France in 1920. Luzet also sheltered fugitives in her home during raids on the convent and when surveillance by the German occupation posed great risk to the nuns. In August 1942 she sheltered Édith Kremsdorf, a member of the group in her home.

Within the resistance, Isaure was known by the nom de guerre "Claude" and "Le Dragon."

Political career After the war, Luzet was elected as a councilor of Grenoble as a centrist, serving from 1947 to 1959, notably under the term of Mayor Léon Martin. During the 1950s, Luzet was embroiled in the Finaly Affair.

Involvement in the Finaly case During the 1950s, Luzet became involved in efforts to shield Antoinette Brun, a director of a municipal crèche who refused to return two Jewish brothers, Robert and Gerald Finaly, to the custody of their immediate family who had survived the Holocaust. Luzet provided Brun with false papers for the two boys and also helped hide them from authorities.

Death and burial Luzet died July 14, 1994, and was interred in the Saint-Roch Cemetery. Her tomb fell into disrepair and an effort was raised to restore the memorial in 2016. In 2017 a memorial ceremony was held at the site.

Recognition and awards Médaille de la Résistenace française, 1947 Righteous Among the Nations, 1988