[PW] ? A French Schindler ?

[Tsviya Polani]

A few words for the archives and two additional more general sources on Dr. 
Asaf Atchildi:
A search for the terms Atchildi or Juguti* in Historical Abstracts turned 
up:
  Author: Green, Warren.
      Title: THE FATE OF ORIENTAL JEWS IN VICHY FRANCE.
      Citation: Wiener Library Bulletin [Great Britain] 1979 32(49-50):
40-50.

A search for the terms Atchildi or Juguti* in  Periodicals Archive Online 
turned up a similar article by the same author:
Green, Warren, The Fate of the Crimean Jewish Communities: Ashkenazim, 
Krimchaks and Karaites, Jewish Social Studies, 46:2 (1984:Spring) p.169

Neither our Holocaust encyclopedias nor, on a quick search, any of our books 
on Jews in WWII France, mention Atchildi or the community he saved.
Asaf Atchildi was born in Samarkand.  He practiced medicine in Moscow, but 
had to leave Russia because of his political views.  At the time of the 
German occupation of Paris, he was practicing medicine in Paris.  With the 
assistance of the Iranian Consulate in Paris, he succeeded in having 
Parisian Jews of Bukharan (called Jugutis - singular, Juguti), Iranian and 
Afghan origins classified as Jews by religion but not by race. He succeeded 
in saving 150 Jews.  Karaites from the Crimea and Jews of Georgian 
extraction were saved (by others) in a similar manner.  As I said in 
yesterday's letter, Atchildi was, himself, a Jew. (summarized  from the 
article cited yesterday: Atchildi, Asaf. (1967) "Rescue of Jews of Bukharan, 
Iranian and Afghan Origin in Occupied France (1940-1944)" in _Yad Vashem 
Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance_,  6: 257-281)


Tsviya Polani
Reference Librarian
Aranne Library
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Be'er Sheva, Israel
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thornlow, Bruce" <Thornlowb at ndu.edu>
To: <list at project-wombat.org>
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 3:06 PM
Subject: [PW] ? A French Schindler ?


> Hi -
> This is a follow-up to my previous request on where I can locate
> Parisian or French telephone directories from the forties.  I received
> no responses from Wombat-land.  On delivering the negative message to
> the patron and questioning him further about it , here's what he said:
>
> "I'm seeking the name of a physician who resided and worked in Paris
> helped save numerous lives during the Nazi occupation of Paris. His last
> name (and I am not about the spelling), was Achildy or Atchildy. His
> first name I do not know, although "Asaf" is a possibility. He might
> have been originally from Russia (Kiev), and he was popular because of
> his therapy utilizing water (thus hydro...) in treating his patients and
> clients at his clinic/spa/health club... That is the reason for seeking
> a telephone directory to sift through the various names and practices,
> etc."
>
> Does anyone have a clue on how I may go about locating this person?
> Thank you in advance.
>
> Bruce
> thornlowb at ndu.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
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