École élémentaire des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais, Public elementary school in Le Marais, Paris, France.
The École élémentaire des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais occupies a former butcher's pavilion from the Blancs-Manteaux market, inaugurated on 5 June 1823. Its stone facade has a triangular pediment with the carved inscription 'ÉCOLE PRIMAIRE COMMUNALE GARÇONS' and a relief of two winged figures flanking a crest. Two bronze fountain spouts shaped as ox heads, made by Edme Gaulle in 1819, are mounted in the pediment.
The school was founded in 1844 to provide education for Jewish children in the community. It suffered devastating losses during World War II when 165 students were deported to Auschwitz.
The school's name comes from the rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais, and its address at no. 10 is now officially the parvis des 260-Enfants, named in 2018. A plaque placed on 7 May 1971 records that 165 Jewish children from the school were deported and killed in Nazi camps. The first pupil enrolled in 1847 was Sophie Léopold, aged five, the daughter of a shoemaker.
The school is located on Rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais in the 4th arrondissement and can be easily accessed via Saint-Paul metro station. The building sits at the edge of Le Marais neighborhood and is well integrated into the local area.
The school operated on a different schedule from other Parisian schools, closing on Saturdays to observe the Sabbath. It opened on Thursdays when neighboring schools remained closed, allowing it to serve its students' needs.
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