S6E17 - The Irish Schindler Girlboss

I don't got time to mark this motherfucker. Here we go again. We can't hear anybody. Nobody can talk to anybody
You guessed it pressure points with your two favorite hosts Sam D and this is Mark lover AJ
We're coming at you with season 6 episode 17
Irish Schindler girl boss
AJ's on an anti-nazi terrorist strap in and find us for additional content on patreon and instagram at points. Oh pressure
Let's get to it cutie pies
Well turn the fucking thing off you dumbass
Well, is it better that I'm on an anti-nazi to raid and not a pro-nazi to raid? I didn't say was a problem
Okay, I dig it. But alright, so I got to start off by apologizing
You can probably hear that my voice is different. Maybe a little stuffed. I can hear it
Yeah, a little bit you you'll it'll pick up
I have to keep drinking and I'll try to cough outside the mic mic
But once a year right when spring starts to show up
There's a week goes by where I feel like I have a sinus infection
But I went to the doctor the two last two years and they were like, no
You just have really bad allergies and they just go away damn fuck
So I got no spray that I don't use you gotta get that Benadryl on on board right now
You got that Benadryl, you know, you got that Benny on them. Oh, yeah, I keep that motherfuck thing on me
But I got to keep drinking cuz my throat gets so dry
But this is a fun episode yeah also earliest ever recorded episode honestly
I I think that might be true. Yeah, it's 1 42 p.m
Usually we're recording closer to 142 a.m. Dude. I
Slept until fucking almost three yesterday. God. I was so I got so fucked up on Friday. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah secret to Mayo
Yep, it's a little time. Yeah, some good drinks played some good games. Oh, yeah
The grand old time. How was your week? Welcome back
busy busy busy at work school's about to start up in fact this Thursday
I'm back back at it. All right P
Yeah, it's gonna be so much fun. You got this at least the first half of the semester. I don't have any clinicals
So the last half it's only clinic. Yeah, but
Yeah
So that'll be fun, but it shouldn't be too bad. You're almost there
I'm almost two more semesters fucking long as I don't fuck up this semester two more semesters. You'll be fine
I think so. I think I'll do okay
But yeah, everything's good, how about you?
Anything fun? Yeah, nothing too crazy. Just took it easy
just
Just chill. Yeah, nothing. Nothing exciting. Just the the usual. Yeah. All right. Well
Dang we bullshit it for three minutes. That is a
Yeah, no
Yeah, I figure let's just get into it. Let's get this
Because this is a fun story. I told you about this website. I think it was on the exclusive for last month
Told you about this website that has all sorts of cool shit
So that's just gonna be all my episodes for a little bit
So I'm gonna be talking about Mary Elm's Elm's Elm's
Elm's
Elm's
Elm's yes, I guess it depends on where she's from Ireland
I guess it depends on where she's from Ireland
Elmas Elmas. All right, cool
I would say Elmas, but if she were from like Spain, I'd be like, yeah Elmas. Yeah
So Mary was born May 5th 1908 in Cork
which
Cork Cork Ireland like C or with a Q C Cork Cork Ireland. I love it. Her dad was a chemist
We should go back to calling pharmacists chemists. That sounds so much cooler
Cork chemist. Yeah, and she had one brother who later became a chemist
But she went to Rochelle school and then in 1928 she went to Trinity College. So she's an educated lady. Oh
Fancy, you know as you get it Mary as good a life as you can growing up during World War one being Irish and being Irish
In Ireland with the UK or with like England right there
But she got a degree in French and Spanish modern literature
Oh, okay. So she's kind of a she's kind of going that scholar route, you know
Maybe being a professor or whatever and in 1935 she got a scholarship to continue studying in Geneva, Switzerland
Which is awesome
Unless you know what happens four years later that causes Geneva Switzerland to be in the middle of a neutral, you know, gray war zone
I
Know we can't drink at the same time. What a great opportunity for her
Damn, you know what? I was just thinking about so her major itself. Yeah
Those majors I feel like are such a standard thing before like boomer showed up and we're like, oh, yeah
You're worthless fucking degree in English and art. Yeah
It's from like this really creative like amazing
like it went from literature time, yeah to just like
engineering
Like fuck yeah
like the path that she's on to become a to be a scholar to work at other universities to give lectures to teach and
To like teach different languages and all this stuff. That was a huge deal pre boomers
You're totally right and not to shame anybody that has an engineer. No, no, that's definitely essential
I mean any degree is better than the degree that I don't have
but it's just so funny to me because like
Whenever we talk about people like basically pre 1960
Mm-hmm. It's always just like these really elaborate degrees and then now it's so straightforward like tiki-tack
So instead of going to school she didn't take the scholarship
She instead went to Spain in 1937, which is in the midst of the Spanish Civil War
And she joined an ambulance unit at a children's hospital in Almeria
So she's like, all right. Yeah, I could do all this scholarly shit, but I'm gonna go help kids
You know felt better for her. I think she made the right choice
Based on the rest of this story the fact that we're talking about her today. She probably made some right choices
Oh, yeah, so 1939 she starts working with the
American Friends Service Committee
Which is a Quaker organization. Okay, the Quakers. I don't know if anybody knows this
I don't know a ton about them except that they are
They're pretty religious fundamentalists, right? Are they Christian?
I think they might be I don't know. Let me look it up
Yeah, but but they're pretty fundamental a lot of them are very like
old school if that makes sense, but the
almost
almost like a step like a step closer to
like
Modern times. Yeah step closer to modern times in Amish
Yeah, the Quakers were the first like major religious group to come over into the United States ever
Like, you know, they founded a lot of the shit here because they were so extreme. They kind of got kicked up
historically Protestant Christian
Okay, perfect
But the thing that they that really holds over to to today is their focus and emphasis on helping children
They run children's hospitals. I'm pretty sure they run a ton of organizations
They run a ton of organizations. They do a lot for kids
So I can talk shit on the religion all the time and as much as I can and I will
But the fact that they're helping kids is awesome. I can only say that just on Wikipedia
It says that there are non theist Quakers whose spiritual practice does not rely on the existence of God. Oh
There are some that's cool. Yeah, interesting
Yeah
So she starts working for this and they actually appoint her to run a children's hospital that they're building. Oh wow
Damn for these refugee children and children of the war. Yeah, of course it goes to fucking Spain after I after I talk about Spain
Yep
Now now instead now it's elmas now. It's a mess
Yeah
now a few months later World War two officially breaks out and
Mary's evacuated to France because they're like, oh she'll be safe in France. Yeah, she'll be fine. It should be fine
It's just World War two. It's not France will hold their own. Yeah, they'll be fine
And in you know, 1940 the Nazis invade France
It was not it was not fine and a lot of people flee into southern France because southern France is a little bit more
Loosey goosey with the rules, you know, yeah
And she she works with the the American
What was it the American Friends Service Committee?
Continually through this time period to start taking in and caring for refugee children
And she was a smart lady like she was very well educated and she is an extremely smart woman
She starts to see what's happening with the Jewish people
And even though she doesn't know about the gassing and how bad it is. She knows something's going on
Yeah, and she immediately starts
Just stepping in and caring for people as much as she can good
Even just hiding people hiding Jewish children mostly and in 1942 the Vicky government, which was the French Nazi collaboration government
Removed the final remaining protection of Jewish children because up to that point in that area of France
Jewish children couldn't be deported
To concentration camps they could be deported really back to a country and then sent to those camps, but they couldn't be directly sent out
So the the Vicky government was like, ah, never mind. You can take the kids and that's when things go into full gear
and she
Realizes. Oh shit, like they're just gonna take these kids and her her theory was they're just gonna work them to death and starve them
Which is yeah, 90 80 percent true like
So she starts to work with a
Lot a lot of the the basically co-workers the colleagues from the different committees that she was working in
she starts working with them and
Making these connections to underground resistance groups like the French resistance. Oh damn. Okay, and
They they start moving kids they start hiding kids. They start getting fake documents and she's just like
Ballsy she doesn't give a shit. She's just you know walking down the street going to
See the French resistance and then gonna go over here to this hot children's hospital
And figure out how to smuggle them and get them together into almost an underground railroad
Esque system to get them out of the country just digging the tunnel by hand. She is like seriously
She she is doing so much like not to diminish everybody else's hand in this
But she did so much to kind of connect. Yeah kids to the resistance. Yeah, she was very much a bridge
and she would gather fake documents and
She would also work with smugglers like a
Lot of there are a lot of people through this time period who were
Conventionally just smuggling shit because of the war
You know black marketers and shit, but she would also convince them to take kids out of the country. Oh, okay
Yeah, we'll do that. Like whatever. I mean, I also got a connection to make yeah
And you know, they're bringing false documents. They can also bring in supplies and shit like that
So smugglers were totally essential to these underground networks. That's cool. It's a really cool idea
But she personally was like I I got to do more
She starts throwing kids into her trunk and driving them to the Pyrenees Mountains
She likes a fucking exhaust leak. Yeah
Fuck
What have I done? That's exactly what I was trying to avoid just turns herself in
I'm one of them. I fucked up. She starts just sick hailing
No, but they uh, yeah, so she she'll just throw kids in her trunk and drive across France damn which
You know
Normally sounds fucked up but in this situation is a great thing
It's a good thing so she would meet contacts in the Pyrenees Mountains
And then they would get them smuggled out of the country or they would get them to hidden locations and basically ship them out
around until they could get out damn and keep them hidden the whole time and it's
Crazy. So now we're gonna take a brief sidetrack. She's doing all this girl boss shit
And we're gonna talk about
Lois Gundon
Lois Gundon
On her own. She could be an entire episode. Yeah
Because she's also a badass
But she fits so perfectly in right here. We'll come back to it in two seasons. No, no
This will be perfect. Yeah, we were yeah. No, she she was a Mennonite not a conservative Mennonite
So she didn't like dress up and shit, but she was a Mennonite who got a master's degree
In French and she became a teaching professor again super smart lady
and
She got this before 1941 because in 1941 she quit being a professor
She boarded a ship bound for Portugal and then she traveled to the United States
She went to Portugal and then she traveled overland with another Mennonite woman
Through war-torn just you know post
Spanish Civil War
Spain into France where she works for a Mennonite child's rescue and the American Friends Service Committee or whatever it was
Okay, so she's working for the same groups that that Mary's working for. Yeah, she's kind of on the same track
Yeah, so what she does her idea is
I'm gonna make an orphanage for refugees because then I can take in Jewish children and hide them as refugees
Yeah of the Spanish Civil War or the world war or the war in Europe at this time
and she
Specifically, this is how smart she was. She she set up her orphanage 12 miles from a place called Camp de
Rivasaltes
Which was a children internment camp in France
Damn specifically for refugee kids. That's a huge like I
It's crazy looking at stuff like this, especially in retrospect. It's like
Do you hear oh, yeah, they set up like an orphanage 12 miles from this like child internment camp
And it's like at the time it was probably like bro. They raid this place. They just got like
300 new fucking kids like god damn that's way too close, but at the same time
Those big risks are why we're talking about these people. It's crazy
Is it you here?
Like like you think about your you're helping her set everything up and she's like, yeah
We're gonna set up in this building and you're like what the fuck is wrong with you
Why don't we go 60 miles away and it's like because it's easier to get kids
12 miles than 60
Yeah, but she she worked a lot with parents whose kids were in the camp
Yeah, and then she would go to the camp and say to the nazis and she'd say
Uh, I'll take these this dozen kids. Yeah, give them to me and they were like, okay, because then we don't have to watch after
Yeah, you don't have to take care of kids. Yeah, and so they didn't care at this point. They were just like
All right, let's work for us. Yeah to to do so they would bring them in and she she has a lot of great quotes
but basically they were in these bunk beds that were very similar to like auschwitz
And they were always just hunched over and they were starving and malnourished and they all had this like a horrible lice
So she would bring them in with that that other man of night woman and some other associates
And yeah, she just walk right there and say all right
Give me the kids bring them back and they'd shave their heads and clean up and give them food. Yeah spread the lice
Give them food. Yeah spread the lice
And it became kind of this rehab facility for kids essentially
Yeah
They'd get them back to being healthy and then she she always said they wanted to she wanted to give them as normal childhood as possible
so she would give them chores and
Read them books and listen to the radio and like try to give them a normal life. Yeah
But and and that was even involving the parents
who
Were also refugees so they couldn't actually
Like take care of the kids. There was no work and they were just trying to survive
So the parents would actually just come to the orphanage to spend time with their kids. Hell yeah, and then go and work
So it was this super essential service. It's such a symbiotic relationship
Yeah, such a terrible time
exactly and
They
She just she did that for a long time. But as the protections for children kind of started to break down
She started to bring in you know, otherwise healthy jewish children or
Like she would just bring in jewish children so that the parents could go hide or try to get money or try to get out
Of the country. Yeah, and then come back for the kid or whatever it was
Yeah, it's hard as hell to hide when you have yeah, it's it's hard to country
Yeah, two kids two kids and one of them's an infant but if you can get one of you out of the country and get
Papers for the rest of you then you can just come back and go ship them out
so
She starts, you know making more connections with
The underground groups that I was talking about and she meets mary
Okay. Hell yeah, and mary starts to visit the orphanage regularly
Because she's got the intel, you know, she's traveling all over france all the time. So she hears stuff
Uh, she gives them intel she gives them warnings like if she hears that they're going to be raided or anything like that
So that they have time to hide the jewish kids
And she she was just mary was just so like
Honed in on what was really going on more than most people in europe at this time
That she she even said like hey if they get to these camps, they're going to be dead like
You know, you can't let them do this
All right. Here's my connections. Here's some of these connections. It's suspected
She even may have taken children from lois's orphanage to the mountains in her trunk
So like they they became
You know as close to friends as you could
During this, you know working in in underground resistance. They basically just trying to take care of kids
They fell into the resistance, which is cool. I think that's a cool idea. I mean realistic they were they were
Part of the resistance before yeah, we're like hey you're with us
Yeah, and lois even she she said probably hundreds of kids like it's impossible to know how many
Because they weren't keeping track like they didn't care. They weren't like eating tallies
but probably easily hundreds of kids and there were even times when like
The local police the local police in nazi-occupied areas were always the tool of the ss or the gestapo
yeah, because
It's nothing new but and it still goes on but the police are just a tool of the state
And when the state becomes nazi, they become tools of the nazis. Who the fuck would have ever expected that?
Yeah, so there was this one, you know story where there were these three kids three jewish kids
And the gestapo and the ss knew they were in the orphanage
And so the cop shows up with paperwork saying i'm gonna deport these guys and lois peter was like
I'm gonna deport these guys and lois basically stalls him so long. He gives up
Damn, I have no idea how she did it, but she stalls the cops for long enough that they say this isn't fucking worth it
They leave they just get frustrated. He's like, Jesus i'll go just stop talking. Yeah, like hell. Yeah
What a fucking multiple times she she would face off
Face to face against gestapo and police because what are they gonna do?
Yeah, like
They were they were already in a very unstable region. Yeah
Like it puts a target on their back
You know damn that's impressive. I love that. Yeah if
I mean they were both extremely smart women, but if mary was the brains then lois was the brawn
Like she stood up. Hell. Yeah, but they both have
awesome qualities so
Lois even had the the forethought to
Um to think okay something bad might happen to me this war keeps getting worse
You know something something bad might happen
Um, even though she's an american, you know, I don't yeah the americans weren't really in the war yet. Not not really
So but she she knew something might happen
So there was even a plan in place
It's it's uh, it's suspected. I should say, you know, it's not a written plan. So we don't really know but
Basically if she were to disappear something happens to her
Then she would then mary's network would take the kids disperse them and hide them all the kids in the orphanage. Oh, wow just like a
He's like, all right that one's gone the kids leave. Yeah
Which is uh, really good because in 1942 american and british soldiers stormed north africa
Which brands lois as an enemy alien?
And she's picked up by this gestapo
And she's picked up by this gestapo, but because she's
She hasn't been caught. Yeah, they were just like oh refugee orphanage. They didn't know
So she was just she was basically kept in uh hotel rooms for two years
Oh, that's what they would do with enemy aliens non-combatants and things really they would just shuttle them from hotel to hotel around
Damn until she was used in a prisoner exchange
And the the americans were like, yeah throw her in we'll give you some
Um, some german diplomats that we have probably they're realizing who she was. Yeah, but they treated her like a diplomat
Like they gave her diplomatic never mind like treatment, but I I still don't know why I haven't been able to figure out
Why they treated her so well
I'm thinking it's just because she was
a mennonite
Who established an orphanage? Like I I think that's all they knew. I think she's been flying under the radar so well
That they just thought that oh, she's harmless. Let's just treat her well
Yeah, you know and get her out of here because she you know, she wouldn't shy away from german kids
There weren't a lot in that area of france, but she didn't care who the kids were she would bring in everybody interesting
So I I still don't know why but in 1944 she was she was exchanged back to the u.s
and
I I kept finding more and more and more about these people and about more people who
Risked, you know everything to help kids in this area
Yeah, and well all over europe, but specifically in this area. I found like letters between different women
talking about like
What's going on like between mary and this other person and this other person was also talking to lois?
and just different communications about
everything from hey, I think they're killing people in the camps to
Uh, hey, do you have a coloring book? Do you got you got like?
Coloring color pencils or do you have like uh some supplies for the kids got some supplies. Hey, let's get some clothes
Hey, do you have a size whatever like it became very not mundane?
But like they they really focused on giving these kids as much a normal life as possible
Even if they were only there for a week before getting shuttled off. That's awesome
I feel like I could be wrong, but I feel like um
A lot of the women that made like such a big difference were so successful because they were initial like
Immediately discounted because they were women exactly like this is you gotta realize this is a time period where?
like
a lot of women
Just don't have those equal rights like at all. Yeah, and a lot of women don't have an education
Yeah, they're just looked down upon like it's just
Oh, yep, just another woman in a hospital probably a nurse and it's like no this lady's fucking running
This lady has a master's degree in french linguistics and was going into economics before this like yeah
Yeah, they were so discounted that they were able to fly under the radar. I love it. I think it's like
it's such an interesting
and
Just kick-ass approach honestly like I I'm about it. I fucking love this stuff
No, it's so good. Like they they were immediately discounted so much so that they were looked over as
As uh, you know potential perpetrators of resistance movements. Yeah, and they there were a lot of people who were just
They were just
Hey, uh, do you got that recipe to make a shitload of bread with nothing like
What do we do about this?
Because one of the one of the children later on I think in like the 70s or the 80s wrote about lois
Not even knowing her name, but remembering that despite the rations and the shitty food. She always made
like
To them they were feasts because they were starving refugees
But these amazing meals that were so creative and different all the time
And she was just super creative with it, which I super cool
And yeah, they would exchange books and educational materials to try to get them some level of schooling
Even if they're just going to be there for a month, they're going to read them books. They're going to teach them stuff. Yeah
Which is really cool. Yeah, and they got away with this just
By hiding in plain sight by just they could talk about this because
She worked for a children's organization and this lady has uh an orphanage
It would be so they didn't have to hide. Yeah, it's a normal fucking phone call. Exactly
Um, but back to mary
Um, you know, they're they're doing all these exchanges and stuff. Suddenly the gestapo starts looking into mary in 1943
She's shuttled probably hundreds of kids again. Nobody's keeping track, but it's estimated. It's hundreds of children
And she gets arrested by the gestapo on suspicion
Of aiding the escape of jews and espionage. Oh no
And she gets imprisoned. She's in in a gestapo prison for six months. Oh god
I thought you're gonna say six years. I was like, how the fuck did that line? Luckily six months because
There were some weird again just like lois. There were some weird politics around this lady
Where she's an irish national? Yeah
In working in south france working for an american organization
So the irish consulate in washington
In steps in i see and gets her out of prison
I don't know how he did it but did some diplomatic shit got her out of prison
And her family basically says come on come back like come home to ireland like this is
Holy shit, you you were just in an ss prison like
Come on
And she says nah
And she stays in southern france through the rest of the war damn continuing to help children smuggle children
She couldn't do the the regular route, but she still worked with the different
uh groups
And just kept helping people until after the war damn dude
She got that fucking immunity token on her back. I don't know how she got like
It must be a combination of how smart they were and how much they were overlooked
That and I also feel like so much shit. I also feel like back then you're probably not getting women that are just like
like standing the fuck up like
I'm not not to not to say that like women were subservient at the time
But like they were expected to be yeah when when you're gestapo and you walk into a hospital and you're like
We're taking all these kids and some lady walks up to you and she goes no. Do you want to know the fuck you're not?
Uh, you're gonna walk right back out like it's gonna catch you off guard
And he's like i'll take you too and she's like, okay fucking do it then bitch. Yeah, do it
I'm an american. What are you gonna do? Yeah, I feel like it it would intimidate the ever-living fuck out of them
It's like getting scolded by your mom and your grandma
It's like oh fuck
Okay, i'm really sorry and I feel like that's such a solid solid approach
Yeah, damn and I so originally this episode was just mary, but then I found the connection to lois
And and then I found a bunch of other connections to a bunch of other people
But I just think it's so cool that all these women
Intersected. Yeah, just working in this region of france, which
Was crazy. Um, I do have some some post-war notes on both these women
because
in general
These women's stories are pretty unknown. These are relatively unknown people and I love doing the stories
Yeah, that are unknown because I feel like even if 150 people now, you know listen to this episode
And now know their story. That's 150 more people. Yeah, who can tell their friends or whatever
and so lois
You know, she was in a prisoner exchange
She went back to the lecturing and teaching circuit
Like nothing happened like she wasn't just a prisoner of war
And she got her phd
so
Again, she she starts focusing her. Uh, she realizes she can't get go back to europe
At least not for a for a little bit. Give it a couple of years
Uh, so she starts doing humanitarian work in south america, Puerto rico and mexico and further down
Um, she gets married
She to a dude who already has a kid. She becomes a stepmother
Um, she writes a memoir
Just kind of for herself. She writes a couple books about like
Women's role in organized religion and how they should be
Should be
More like active on missions and and how women it's called women women liberated, but it was liberation
through religion
And how they should be, you know equals in religion essentially, which was that's that's pretty spicy for a meninite. Yeah
And then uh in 2005 she died with her story pretty much unknown
Jesus but uh
I think it's a lady. Yeah a lady named janette
uh kalish
Uh in oh, where was it
It was like 2011 or something. I I didn't write it down. I don't know why but she was actually a child who lois saved
in her orphanage
Uh started to petition for her nomination of the righteous among the nations award by the yad vashem, which if you
heard the
Exclusive that's the same award
That the idol vice pirate guy got
Damn part though
Um that I so i'm i'm basically reading all of the people who got this award
Because they're all people who did badass shit. Okay during world war two. Yeah
She was the fourth of five americans to get this title ever. Jesus. So
They are very
Um particular about who gets it. They have to be able to prove the story essentially
And they have to be like above and beyond
What what a normal person would probably do and I I think that's pretty accurate for this area
Yeah
um, and a weird
Synchronicity is kind of with what happened to mary mary went back or she didn't go back home. She stayed in france
But she got married. She had two kids
And she never told them about what she did with the war really never wow
They knew that she was imprisoned at one point
But anytime she was asked about it, she'd basically say oh we all had to suffer some inconveniences in those days
That's a quote by the way
Like oh I was in a gestapo prison for six months. You know, we we were all you know inconvenienced
Jesus
But I mean I don't blame her like you got to realize i'm sure with a lot of people in those situations with the resistance like
They were probably still fairly paranoid that there were people
I mean there are still fucking nazis running around and shit that they're like hey
I'm not gonna talk about being a part of the resistance and then some
crazed radical was like
Just comes after him. I don't blame her at all. This ended up probably being more of just humble
Yeah, humble but also I could see it being I could see the yeah
We're not gonna get into it. Like I don't want to blow this blow this up
Yeah, it's like bartell shink and his resistance the the people who survived being so worried
And not able to get their stories out there because the judges in nazi germany were the same judges after nazi germany
It's not like new people just show up
But she she was even offered
Pretty within the couple years after that the legion of honor, which is the highest french civilian award
to him around but she refused it she said nah
I don't want the attention. She literally said I don't want the Jesus
So her kids spent
Pretty much all of her life just like not knowing what she did but knowing she did something. Yeah
And she ended up dying in 2002
But in 2013 a dude by the name of ronald friend
He was a professor in some college somewhere. He starts nominating her and pushing for her award of righteous among the nations
Which was awarded. She's the only irish person
At the time of the source, which was a couple years ago
So probably still the only irish person to get this award
damn
and turns out ronald
Was one of the kids she smuggled in her trunk
Through the pyrenees. Oh, yeah, he had been looking for her for 70 years
She was he was five years old when it happened. Yeah, damn and I was able to find
like
part of his story, uh, which was really cool because he
You know, he was five years old. He was jewish
His parents saw the writing on the wall and fled for switzerland
His brother and father got over the border, but the mom and him were stopped by
By a nazi. Yeah, so the dad and brother came back
And they were sent to that camp the lois's camp
Oh the ributas or whatever it was and then they were separated
And he ended up I think he pretty much just stayed with the brother didn't know where the parents went
But the brother was older the brother kind of had an idea of where they were supposed to go
If they could get out of the country. Yeah
and I
It's not implicitly said
But you know they were at that internment camp, but they were smuggled out by mary
So i'm i'm pretty dang sure they were brought in by lois. Yeah mary smuggled them through the to the pyrenees mountains
And then they they were basically house hopped
For a couple of months until they got on a boat
And got to the u.s in 1944
So it was like two years of being just hopped around
And he tried he's been trying to figure out everything that happened the names of the people for his entire life
And this was the missing piece was mary elma's
because
He couldn't figure out who drove him
To the drops. Yeah, he just could not figure out who this was
I mean he was so young at the time exactly like shit
And you know she never wrote a book she never she never came out publicized anything so they
She ended up
He or he ended up working with a a bunch of organizations who are trying to uncover stories like this
And they they found a letter signed miss elms. It was spelled wrong
But he's like okay. This is something to go go on and he figured out that there was a lady by elma elma's name
And he he basically figured out through those correspondences trying to get like supplies and shit
Who this lady was I see okay, and he was like ah it's
He said I I wish I could have met her as an adult
Yeah, and I wish she had been recognized for this immediately like the invaluable service that she had
For so many children and she didn't even get any kind of recognition until
11 years after she died yeah, damn
Like and and she didn't want it. I mean she didn't want the recognition
But I still think she deserves to be recognized she wasn't she wasn't actively seeking it out, but yeah
Very well deserved that's for sure damn and sometimes I get I get a little nerdy with some of the locations
I found the her dad's original like chemist shop the pharmacy. It's a mcdonald's now
Jesus god damn it yeah, but
it's
It's crazy
Because it's so easy and I feel like I did this a lot in
In a lot of the earlier episodes where it's so easy to just focus on one person and one person's contributions
Like it's so easy to look at shindler and his wife and say yeah, this is the impact they had
But it's so much more valuable to look at the people around them. Yeah, like who covered for them
Yeah
Who helped smuggle the people out who helped provide the supplies like these huge?
for it yeah systems and networks just
So that this one person the one person who was actually brave enough to load kids into the trunk and drive across the country
Yeah
To facilitate that one person who has that bravery
So that other people who still want to be brave and still contribute
But don't want to like be that close to the line can still contribute. Yeah
To make sense to make a difference. You don't have to be the one driving the fucking car
Yeah, and we usually focus on the one driving on the car and that's still deserved definitely
But I like the the intricate and connectedness. Yeah, that's cool of these different resistance groups
So in two weeks more
Underground resistance women. No, I don't know maybe no problem. That's wild. I love it. But yeah, it's a
Oh, I didn't cough this whole episode to right now. Wow
But as you knew patreon was coming up, yeah, the the benadryl is working it's kicking in
Good to be sleeping. No time. Oh, I'll be angry or asleep
Why not both? Yeah, let's just do both
Um
Oh, yeah, that's all I've got for you today good stuff mary elm elm is
And louis gundon gundon not bad. Well, we appreciate you guys tuning in
It was a short but very very sweet episode today
And if you're interested in a story, that's
Really fucking close to what this one was but
Pretty pretty interesting story. It's this mixed with the warriors. Yeah, right
Yeah, this but like child gangs. Uh, then check us out on patreon aj's exclusive was last month april's
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Hop on there. Check it out. Uh, we have
We do an additional episode a month
some
Sloppy seconds some of the
Additional episode a month, uh some sloppy seconds some additional content checks out on there at least click on the link below
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Yep. Yeah. Yeah
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