The Ambroise-Paré hospital and nursing school in Lille, France, was established on 18 November 1923 by Thérèse Matter and Eva Durrleman. They secured the necessary funding to purchase buildings on the Rue Saint-Maur to create this training facility for young women, later transitioning the program into a boarding school for nursing students in 1933.
Early Career and Training
Born on 22 December 1887 in Rouen to engineer Etienne Matter and Cécile Besselièvre, Thérèse Matter studied at the Protestant Health Center's school of nursing in Bordeaux under the guidance of Anna Hamilton. Alongside nursing colleagues Alice Bianquis, Eva Durrleman, and Madeleine Rives, she sought to establish a new clinical institution. With the assistance of Pastor Henri Nick, the group acquired properties in Lille to begin their administrative and medical work.
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During the German occupation of Lille, Matter and Durrleman engaged in clandestine rescue operations. In September 1942, they intervened to save Michel Baran, an infant slated for deportation, by posing as German-speaking nurses to gain access to the Lille railroad station. They subsequently sheltered Maurice Serfati, a man who had escaped a deportation train, and the sisters Hélène and Perla Lipsyck, whom they disguised as nursing students.
Post-war Activities and Legacy
After the conflict, Matter and Durrleman facilitated the adoption of the Baran brothers by the Marszak family. They maintained their professional roles at the hospital until the 1950s, officially retiring in 1956 to a residence at 55 Avenue du Maine in Paris. On 29 November 1990, Yad Vashem recognized Matter, Durrleman, and France Neubert as Righteous Among the Nations. Matter died on 29 May 1975 and is interred at the Montparnasse Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 22 December 1887, Rouen
- Died: 29 May 1975, Lille
- Citizenship: French
- Primary Occupations: Midwife, nurse, hospital administrator
- Key Recognition: Righteous Among the Nations (1990)
- Burial Site: Montparnasse Cemetery
- Retirement Year: 1956
Questions readers ask
What was the Ambroise-Paré facility?
It was a hospital and nursing school in Lille, France, founded by Matter and Eva Durrleman in 1923.
How was she honored for her wartime actions?
She was declared Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1990 for protecting Jewish individuals from deportation.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1990
- Worked as nurse, French resistance fighter and hospital worker
