In the autumn of 1941, Clara arrived in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, the first of a long succession of Jewish refugees to seek safety in the village.
    Robert Vitrac is a Police Commissioner whose assignment is to arrest Jews. Pastor Jean Fontaine preaches nonviolence and encourages his parishioners to shelter the Jewish refugees. When Lucien Darget, a teacher at the local school, refuses to give the names of the Jewish students, he is arrested by Vitrac and deported. Despite the danger, dozens of children arrive at the small station every day and are given shelter by the citizens of Le Chambon.
   The holocaust is often seen as a terrible atrocity with no bright side or hope. But in the spirit of Schindler's List this film shows that especially in the most horrifying situations, the human spirit can triumph. Your students will be challenged by the many turns and moral dilemmas this true story so eloquently raises.

Concepts covered (in order of introduction):
Personal freedom: Owning a bible illegal, under Nazi occupation.
God's law or new state law: Pastor preaches compassion.
Tolerance: Church in France hid Jews although theologies were different.
Appropriate response: Pastor challenged regarding violent and non-violent resistance.
Depth of belief: Pastor asked to sign alliance with local authority and doesn't.
Ethics: Jewish children asked to lie, given new names to protect their identities.
Solidarity: During a teachers arrest, students join hands and attempt a blockade.
Price of faith: With Nazis at church, pastor to preaches nonviolent resistance.
Reality of issue: Teen Jew shot dead in attempt to escape Nazis.
Change of heart: Former antagonist landlord carries dead teen into church.
Reaction: Do we kill those that attempt to kill us?
Will you bend? The Nazi asks for "information"--"a gesture," the pastor says no.
Price of action: A rebel kills a Nazi, and pays the price for murder.