Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed

In war, soldiers use their experience to become battle hardened and learn to preserve their lives in the most dangerous situations. The Chambonnais, in contrast, learned the desperate need of the refugees and felt a moral imperative to help them. As a result, some of the Chambonnais died, notably Daniel, Trocmé’s cousin, who was the monitor of The Crickets, the first funded house established after Trocmé met with Chalmers. Daniel later was also responsible for the funded House of the Rocks, and it was there that he was arrested in 1943 after the arrival of the Gestapo in southern France.

While the Gestapo detained Daniel and his charges at the House of the Rocks, Magda heard of the raid and bicycled to the house. She was allowed in because the soldiers thought she was a maid, and she went to the kitchen after nearly exposing Daniel as the leader of the house. The Gestapo demanded that Magda and the school’s cook make them food. After eating, they interrogated all the children and Daniel. The children ranged in age from eight years old to teenagers. Many of them came out of the interrogation with bruises and injuries. During this time, Magda learned from Daniel that a Spanish boy at the House of the Rocks saved a German soldier recently.