Armenians to be Honored in Jerusalem for Helping Jews during WWII

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, on Wednesday will posthumously honor Georges Dilsizian and his son André-Gustave Dilsizian, as Righteous Among the Nations from France, the European Jewish Press reports.

André-Gustave’s daughter Liliane de Toledo will accept the medal and certificate of honor on her father and grandfather’s behalf.

The event will take place in the presence of the survivor, Caroline Elbaz, as well as representatives of the French and Armenian embassies, family and friends.

A memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance will be followed by the awarding of the medal and certificate in the Synagogue at Yad Vashem.

Georges Dilsizian was born in Armenia and in the early 19th century immigrated to France, where his 13 children were born.

His son, André-Gustave married Lea Albohair, a daughter of Jewish immigrants from Turkey. In 1942, their daughter Lilian was born.

George Dilsizian felt he could not remain indifferent to the suffering of the Jewish people, especially having witnessed the suffering of the Armenians, and together with his son set out to help the extended family of Lea Albohair by hiding them from Nazi troops during WWII.

Georges Dilsizian passed away in 1946 and André-Gustave died in 1971.  On Feb. 22, 2011, the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous Among the Nations decided to recognize Georges Dilsizian and André-Gustave Dilsizian as Righteous Among the Nations.