Today, the Alpine ski town of Collonges sous Saleve is known, to the outside world at least, as a ski resort and tourist destination, roughly 7.3 miles, or 11.8 kilometers, South of Geneva, Switzerland. But, during the Second World War, Collonges was a way-station for Jews and other people desperate to escape Nazi persecution.

Members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church living in the area wanted to help, and did. John Henry Weidner, an Adventist living in the Collonges area, organized a network called the “Dutch-Paris” to help those persecuted and those in danger to escape the territories occupied by the Nazis and flee to neutral Switzerland. He found many of his collaborators among Adventists and especially among the employees and students of the Adventist College at Collonges.

Two employees of the school, Emile and Yvonne Bernard, were faithful to Biblical principles and responded without hesitation to the challenge; they actively helped numerous refugees cross the border.

On Sept. 14, the State of Israel and its Yad Vashem (“everlasting name”) historical association recognized these two Adventists by designating them as “Righteous Among the Nations,” a term of honor for those who offered Jews assistance during the Holocaust.

“Two names were missing on the long list of the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’—that of Mr. Emile Bernard and his wife Mrs. Yvonne Bernard,” Raymond Katz said in his speech from Strasbourg, France. He proposed their names be honored by Yad Vashem; and during the ensuing award ceremony, he explained why.

“It happened in November of 1942. My parents feared that I would also become a victim of the programmed massacre. They advised me to try my chances getting to Switzerland. At that time I was 17. The name of Bernard circled among the refugees in Southern France. . . Shortly afterward I found myself at Collonges on the doorstep of the Bernards’ house telling them what I was looking for. They did not ask for any further explanation or information. They accepted me into their home and for two days treated me as their son.

“Mr. Bernard took the risk to personally accompany me toward the border lines and instructed me how to get through the barbed wire fences. In addition he showed me generosity that I had never heard of before during similar circumstances: before wishing me God’s blessings and departing, he slipped into my hand—into the hand of a penniless lad—a coin of five Swiss Francs (at that time a person could live on that amount for at least a week).

“In spite of the fact that this happened 64 years ago, I have never forgotten Mr. and Mrs. Bernard or their hospitality, modesty and immense courage, You who are members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, you can be proud of your perception of Christianity as it was manifested in the lives and service of the Bernards,” Katz concluded.

Emile and Yvonne encountered the Bible message as presented by Seventh-day Adventists in the 1920s. They embraced it wholeheartedly, realizing that it would have far reaching consequences in their lives. In the early 1930s they sold their farm, vineyards and wine and accepted a call to run the school farm at Collonges Adventist College.

For decades the farm was an important part of the school. It offered opportunities for students to work and earn part of their tuition, and it also provided food for the school cafeteria. The Bernards managed the farm until their retirement in the 1950s. Yvonne Bernard died in 1982; her husband passed away in 1988.

Among other speakers at the recognition ceremony, the Grand Rabbi of Geneva, Itzhak Dayan stressed, “God requires us to love and help man, not Christian, Muslim, or Jew—but man as such.”

Itzahak Levanon, ambassador of the State of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva,  presented the award—a certificate of honor and a medal—to the Bernards’ descendants, their daughter-in-law and five grandchildren. In his address, Levanon emphasized the importance of remembrance and thankfulness for human life.