THE  WRITE  WHALE
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The
Write
Whale
Lea Bardone was born in Italy in 1916 and grew up in Brignoud, France.
During the war, Lea and her husband ran a café, which became the
headquarters for underground activities saving countless Jewish people.
Identity and work papers were forged in one of the café's back rooms.

Lea established a great reputation for staying calm and cool under
stress. In 1944, Lea's husband was arrested. Lea feared reprisals and
fled with her children to the mountainous region of Dauphiné. Relying on
her steady composure and quick wit, she undertook dangerous
missions while in hiding, including smuggling small arms and
munitions.

After the war, Leon Poliakov testified that "[Lea's] merits were great in
warding off any danger, facing questions of neighbors or occasional
police who were sometimes intrigued by the presence of strangers in her
establishment, and to whom she always managed to furnish proper
explanations. The courage and presence of mind of Lea Bardone,
especially during the months when her husband was held by the
Gestapo in Nice, were beyond any praise."
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
LEA BARDONE