Dachau concentration camp inmates on a death march through a German village in April 1945. Photo: United States Holocaust Museum.

A French village which saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis has opened a museum to celebrate its wartime virtue.

The BBC recently visited Le Chambon, which sits high in the mountains near Lyon, to meet with a few of the people who owe their lives to the village’s kindness.

According to the report, more than 1,000 Jewish children alone were spirited to the village during the Nazi reign. A fierce protestant ethic and an empathy for the persecuted were the main driving forces behind the village’s kindness.

Said one survivor: “They saved our lives. That’s what it meant and we will always be grateful to them for that. Le Chambon is in our hearts and in our heads.”

Watch the BBC’s video report here.