Lois Gunden was the fourth of five Americans to be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the Shoah Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority of Israel.
23 Facts About Lois Gunden
1.
2.
Lois Gunden rescued some children directly from Camp de Rivesaltes, an internment camp.
3.
Lois Gunden was held in hotels until a prisoner exchange allowed for her release.
4.
Lois Gunden returned to the United States in March 1944, and by the fall she returned to her position as a French professor at Goshen College, and later at Temple University.
5.
Lois Gunden wrote a memoir about her experiences in Europe during the war.
6.
Lois Mary Gunden was born on February 25,1915, in Flanagan, Illinois to Agnes Albrecht and Christian Gunden.
7.
Lois Gunden received her bachelor's degree in 1936 at Goshen College.
8.
Lois Gunden traveled overland with another Mennonite woman through Spain and into Vichy France, ultimately arriving at Canet-en-Roussillon.
9.
Lois Gunden worked for the Secours Mennonite aux Enfants beginning on October 22,1941.
10.
Overwhelmed, the woman who had traveled with Lois Gunden had a nervous breakdown and returned to the United States.
11.
Elmes was aware of Nazi Germany's plans for Jews and kept Lois Gunden informed of the potential risks and dangers.
12.
Originally, the assumption was that once children were in better health, they would be returned to the internment camp, but once Lois Gunden knew the Nazis' plans, she kept children at the mission.
13.
Lois Gunden took in Jewish children who were not ill or orphaned.
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Lois Gunden's father was transported in July 1942 to Auschwitz concentration camp by the Germans and Ginette and her mother were caught and taken to Rivesaltes.
15.
Lois Gunden convinced her mother to let Ginette be taken to the mission.
16.
Lois Gunden used a series of stall tactics until at last the police officer gave up and did not return.
17.
Lois Gunden first stayed in a hotel in Southern France and then was transferred with two other Mennonite relief workers to another hotel in Baden-Baden with diplomats from North America.
18.
Lois Gunden was released as part of a prisoner exchange effort for German diplomats, arriving in New York City on March 15,1944, on the Gripsholm.
19.
In 1945, Lois Gunden published a memoir of her World War II experiences.
20.
Lois Gunden was active in the Mennonite Church and she volunteered for other relief projects in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and in the United States.
21.
At Goshen College, Lois Gunden taught French and sat on its board of overseers.
22.
Lois Gunden edited a national publication about women's missionary services and wrote a book entitled Women Liberated.
23.
On June 21,1958, Lois Gunden married Ernest Clemens, and became a stepmother to Clemens' daughter.