Association for the Memory of the Hidden Children and the Righteous ANNUAL REPORT Chambon-sur-Lignon FRANCE

Transcription

1 Association for the Memory of the Hidden Children and the Righteous ANNUAL REPORT Chambon-sur-Lignon FRANCE

2 A country of «righteous Among the nations» During the Holocaust, in Chambon-sur-Lignon and all the surrounding villages on the Plateau Vivarais- Lignon, thousands of Jews and political refugees have found refuge and were saved during the Second World War War. In France, the rescue operation that took place in the Chambon-sur-Lignon on the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon was unique in that it involved the majority of the population of an entire region -Protestant, Catholic and non-religious- who banded together to carry out what they viewed as their Christian, moral or political duty. Memorial plaque in the Chambon In 1978, former refugees formed a committee to erect a memorial bronze plaque which is posted on the outside wall of a public building. In 1988, Yad Vashem The Memorial of Holocaust Martyr s and Heroe s at Jerusalem collectively awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations to the residents of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the neighboring communities who gave help to the Jews during the German occupation of , saving them from deportation and death. Le village est devenu le symbole de l action des Justes parmi les Nations dont la présence est visible à Jérusulam dans le jardin de Yad Vashem, in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at Washington. Yad Vashem collectively certificate of honor The garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem with Chambon Stone Holocaust Memorial Museum at Washington 1

3 OBJECTIVES The Association for the Memory of the Hidden Children and the Righteous (L Association pour la Mémoire des Enfants Caches et des Justes AMECJ) was founded in Le Chambonsur-Lignon in May 2010, at the initiative of Prosper Amouyal. Founding members included children of former members of the Resistance, children of the Righteous, and children of the Hidden Children themselves. Its goal was to create a memorial dedicated to the history of the refugees hidden on the Plateau during the Second World War, the majority of them Jews. The Association was supported from the beginning by Simone Veil, concentration camp survivor and first president of the European Parliament. Madame Veil became the Association s Honorary President. The Association offered its support to the municipality for the creation of a memorial museum, including a history trail, as well as supporting publications and educational projects associated with the refugee story. Between 2011 and 2013 the AMECJ committed close to 215,000 to support the Lieu de Mémoire. French President Jacques Chirac and former President of the European Parliament Simone Veil visit Le Chambon on 8 July AMECJ was formed on 10 May Front row, right to left: Prosper Amouyal; Paul Shaffer, President of the French committee of Yad Vashem; His Excellency the Israeli Ambassador Daniel Shek; Eliane Wauquiez-Motte, mayor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Rear row: André Gast, Annie Gueirouard and the members of the Rhône-Alpes committee of Yad Vashem. 3 June 2013, opening of the Lieu de Mémoire by the mayor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, Eliane Wauquiez- Motte, in the presence of Mme George Pau-Langevin, Delegate to the French Minister for Education, and Mme Edith Cresson, former French Prime Minister and honorary member of the AMECJ, together with numerous personalities and patrons. 2

4 CULTURAL AND RESEARCH PROGRAMME Since the opening of the Lieu de Mémoire in June 2013, the AMECJ has continued its commitment to the commune of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, owner and manager of the Lieu de Mémoire. The Association s aim is simply to promote the Memorial. Each year, in accordance with its Articles of Association and in support of its historical and educational mission, the Association proposes a cultural and research programme for the Memorial Dep Since January 2014, the AMECJ has supported the creation of an annual cultural and research programme for the Lieu de Mémoire. The programme distinguishes between national and multinational events, in which the Lieu de Mémoire takes part (European Night of Museums, Garden Open Days, European Heritage Days and the like), and projects that are unique to the museum. These unique events can be proposed by the Committee of Experts, as well as by those who have been active in setting up the museum s permanent exhibition, and by local associations. The programme of unique events is essential to building the museum s visitor numbers. It encourages regular visitors as well as bringing new visitors, who often discover the story of Le Chambon for the first time. 3

5 3 June 2014, inauguration of the Garden of Memory by the mayor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, Eliane Wauquiez-Motte, and Laurent Dassault, in the presence of the landscape artist Louis Benech and members of the Association for the Memory of the Hidden Children and the Righteous (L Association pour la Mémoire des Enfants Caches et des Justes AMECJ). The year 2014 was marked by the inauguration on 12 June of the Garden of Memory, designed by the landscape architect Louis Benech, and made possible by the sponsorship of Laurent Dassault. The garden features a sculpture by the artist PaulArmand Gette, funded by the Regional Department for Cultural Affairs (Directions regionals des affaires culturelles DRAC) of the Auvergne, and by the construction company GTM. The garden, a gift to the entire community, is open during museum hours. Entry is free. 4

6 The same day saw the opening of the special exhibition Images From The Kingdom of the Dead : Childhood Drawings of Deportation Avigdor Arikha, was a young internee in a camp in Ukraine. His widow, the poetess Anne Arikha, and Jean Clair of the French Academy, made these documents available to the public, seen for the first time in France. Wandering family Deportation Survival in the camp The prolific work of Avigdor Arikha, one of the greatest painters and printmakers of the second half of the twentieth century, is displayed in major museums around the world. However a group of his works, long forgotten even by the artist, were found in a cardboard box in his studio-apartment in Paris. On some fragile sheets of paper, yellowed by time, were drawings scrawled by a 10-yearold boy. Childhood memories? Yes, but what sort of childhood? That of a little Jewish boy crazy about drawing, caught in the horrors of the war and the rampant anti-semitism that devastated his birthplace in Eastern Europe. The drawings follow an unbearable odyssey. The boy takes to the road with his family. He sees his father die, beaten to death. In 1942 he is arrested and interned in Mogilev camp (now in the Ukraine) with his mother and sister. And there, amidst the inhumanity of the concentration camp, comes a simple act of kindness. A Romanian guard gives him a pencil and some paper. Then he draws the unspeakable, the suffering, death, lives lived on the edge of life. Late in 1943, representatives of the International Red Cross visit the camp to negotiate the release of children. Someone sees the drawings of the young Avigdor, and puts him on their list for release. In March 1944, he is released with his sister, and sent off on the long trip to Palestine. He sees his mother for the first time 14 years later. She has kept the drawings, records of another life. For a long time, he cannot look at them. (Excerpt from press release) 5

7 Catalogue: Images du Royaume des morts, dessins d enfance faits en deportation (Images From The Kingdom of the Dead: Childhood Drawings of Deportation ). AVIGDOR ARIKHA, text (French) by Jean Clair of the Academy Française: Éditions P.O.L., Paris, The fragility of the 16 drawings means they cannot be kept on public display for long periods. All are reproduced in this catalogue, with an accompanying text (in French) by Jean Clair of the Academy Française, plus a biography of the artist, and a bibliography. In 2014, France commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, and the Lieu de Mémoire in collaboration with the Office of War Veterans and Victims of War (Office Nationale Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre ONAC) in Haute-Loire mounted an exhibition of Great War memorabilia, together with a series of conferences focusing on the liberation of the Plateau in the summer of Pastor Jacques Vernier led a discussion on the work of John Norton Cru, a native of Labatie d Andaure, and the publication in 1929 of Cru s book Witnesses (Temoins). According to the historian Jean-Marie Guillon, Witnesses is a pioneering work, «a milestone in the writing of the history of the Great War, and a milestone in the writing of history full stop. «Then, in an evening of readings from letters, Pascal Riou, accompanied by a musician, brought back those poignant moments, some painful but some funny, that typified life for the Chambonnais between 1914 and

8 Among the many events offered during the summer of 2014 was an evening dedicated to the commemoration of the roundup of the Vel d Hiv in Paris in July 1942, and its denunciation by the students of Cévenole College on 10 August The students presented a letter of protest to Georges Lamirand, the Minister for Youth in the Vichy Government, during the minister s official visit to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. The theatre company Se non è vero commemorated the Vel d Hiv raid with a reading from the archives and testimony of Daniel Dares, who miraculously escaped the raid with his brother. Se non è vero then paid tribute to the role of Le Chambon in recognising the need to hide Jews, whatever the danger to those who hid them. At the initiative of the Friends of the Lieu de Mémoire, 10 August has become a milestone date, honouring the memory of those residents and young people who resisted the anti- Jewish laws of the Vichy government. The Lieu de Mémoire supported the «March in memory of 10 August 1942» held this year in Chaumargeais, where André Chouraqui was hidden and where the ironically-named «school of the prophets» was set up. 7

9 On 28 August 2014 Peter Grose launched his latest book The Greatest Escape: How one French community saved thousands of lives from the Nazis (published in the United States and Australia as A Good Place To Hide). He was accompanied by Nelly Trocmé Hewett, the daughter of the pastor André Trocmé. A story resonant in our days, the age of refugees, and a grand narrative in its own right, all told with absorbing skill. Peter Grose s tale of the astounding «rescue village» of Le Chambon is no sentimental yarn of deliverance of all those the Nazi regime had in their sights, but a tale of the practical deliverance of the hunted. A book to cherish and recommend! --Thomas Keneally, author of SCHINDLER S ARK, Incredibly moving... Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the most extraordinary circumstances. A book full of love for the region. Grose underlines the role played by the brilliant forger, Oscar Rosowsky. A reminder of the best that humans are capable of, but also an inspiration. --Times Literary Supplement, Peter Grose s book stands out as a complete story about life on the Plateau during World War II. Peter uses only facts to tell us a true story. He is one of those rare raconteurs who can write a history book that reads like a novel. --Nelly Trocme, eyewitness and daughter of Andre and Magda Trocme Fabulous. A page-turning account, told with the full cooperation of many of the survivors. Meticulous and dogged research. Compelling. --Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, This book s publication is perfectly timed. Yes, it s a deeply humane, diligently researched, skillfully written, and intelligently structured book. And normally those would be the strengths to mention first. But this book tells the story of people living in an isolated community in the Loire Valley of France joining together to save somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000 Jews and others during the Nazi occupation. It is published just as there is a resurgence of anti-semitism in Europe, as though the Holocaust provided Jews with a brief respite from their too-long career of dealing with hatred, and that respite is now over. Because of that timing, this is not just an important work of history. It is also a vital story for the current moment. Lawrence J. Epstein, author of The Basic Beliefs of Judaism, A 21st century Guide To A Timeless Tradition (Amazon.com reader review). Peter Grose is a former publisher at Secker & Warburg, a former literary agent at Curtis Brown, and was until recently the chairman of ACP (UK). He is the author of two highly acclaimed books on the Second World War. He now lives in France. 8

10 2015 The 2015 season began with the European Night of Museums, on Saturday 16 May. The Lieu de Mémoire again organised a team of volunteers to act as guides to the museum and history trail. Students from Year Four received special training before becoming «guides for an evening», welcoming and accompanying visitors. The beginning of the season was also marked by the show «Cabaret Terezin, only the songs have survived...» ( Caberet Terezin, seules les chansons ont servecu ) The show was staged in the Temple of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, with a matinee for 196 middle school children from Le Chambon and Tence, followed by an evening performance for the general public, which attracted an audience of 123. After the weekend Rendezvous in the Gardens, a remarkable meeting was organized in the Garden of Memory, bringing together the landscape artist Louis Benech, the sculptor PaulArmand Gette, and Guy Tortosa, an Inspector from the Ministry of Culture and Communication and a member of the steering committee which organised the project. In the afternoon Marie-Blanche Potte, conservationist and garden specialist, presided over two conferences, held in the Le Chambon sports complex Bretchs House. Louis Benech spoke about Looking and working, or the art of the garden», while Guy Tortosa talked about «Sculpture in the garden». The event was attended by members of the Gardens of the Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes committee, and many visitors, a total of 160 people. 9

11 CHILDREN FROM HERE, CHILDREN FROM THERE PHOTOGRAPS BY MARC RIBOUD Exhibition from July 6 to August 30, 2015 "I still say to myself often that I must look at and experience the world with the fresh eyes of a child. Marc Riboud, 1989 This year the Lieu de Mémoire is hosting an exhibition by the photographer Marc Riboud, on the theme of childhood. «We meet a lot of children in the photographs of Marc Riboud and very often he captures them while they are watching something. (...) Almost all these children are watchers, as though Marc rediscovered through them this curiosity, this astonishment, this hunger for visual surprises that has been one of the great engines and joys of his life. (...) And the tiny Chinese boy who photographs Marc Riboud with his fingers, transforms Marc from the watcher to the watched. - Catherine Riboud The exhibitions in the summer of 2015 are aimed at a wide audience: between 9 May and 21 August the Lieu de Mémoire is sponsoring a lecture series»the men who made 1945»; it will hold meetings focusing on intellectuals who made an impact on the Plateau in the war years; there will be a five-day gathering to mark the 70th anniversary of the Liberation Camp of Jewish Boy Scouts held at Chambon and Chaumargeais in the summer Eyewitnesses, who were young scouts at the time, will come to Le Chambon from 19 to 23 July to tell the story of their «war» to Jewish Scouts camped nearby. On Thursday 23 July at 3:00 pm they will hold a meeting open to the public. The programme ends in September 2015 with European Heritage Days. After the 2014 heritage tour focusing on the writers who lived on the Plateau, in 2015 the tour will be devoted to monuments and headstones of the Second World War, leading to the many places of interest on the Plateau. 10

12 MILESTONES IN 2014 COMMUNICATION Communication activities focused on the setting up of a website for the museum. This was organised by the AMECJ with the financial support of the Foundation for the Holocaust Memorial (Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah), which allocated a 10,000 grant for the project. The site went online after approval of its final form at the General Meeting of the AMECJ on 12 June The website receives 400 to 700 visits per week. A virtual tour of the Lieu de Mémoire via the website allows foreign visitors to get to know the museum even before they arrive, and encourages them to make a detour to Le Chambon as part of their visit to France. www. memoireduchambon.com Work has begun on an English-language version of the website. This will be online shortly, after the contents have been read and checked by a professional translator. The website was created by the agency OpenScop, based in St Etienne. Total cost: The Association received a grant from the Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah of 10,000. The positive balance of 482 will be carried forward, and will form part of a future grant application for 2016 programming. 11

13 EDUCATION ACTIVITIES In the Casino supermarket chain, through its Casino Foundation, funded the transporting of schoolchildren and students from the Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes region to the Lieu de Mémoire. The Foundation also supported the first educational workshops, as well as various media projects including the design and printing of a visitor s booklet. Participation by schools increased significantly this year, from 1018 schools in to 1703 in , an increase of over 60%. These improved figures reflect better lines of communication between the Educational Committee and its partners in the National Education organisation, and the generosity of patrons who, at the suggestion of the AMECJ, provided transport between the hotel and the Lieu de Mémoire. The Casino Foundation also renewed its part-sponsorship of transport costs for secondary schools situated outside the department of Haute-Loire. These costs are also supported by the General Council. The sponsorship programme has met with great success. Nearly 50% of high school students visiting the Lieu de Mémoire this year benefitted from this support. In just one year the Lieu de Mémoire opened its doors not only to local schoolchildren but also to students from more remote schools in Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Loire, Saône-et-Loire, Correze, and Gard. Many young people were thus able to discover the history of Le Chambon for the first time. 12

14 Schools accounted for 12% of visits to the Lieu de Mémoire in , and nearly 20% in Comparison with the Children s Memorial in Izieu, north-east of Le Chambon, is interesting. The Izieu memorial was established in 1994 and dedicated to the memory of 70 Jewish children arrested and deported in April 1944 under the orders of Klaus Barbie. The Izieu Memorial s educational service has several full-time paid staff as well as a manager. In addition, between March and May, the local commune provides support. As a result Izieu receives 55% of its visitors from schools (visitor figures from 2010). As well as secondary school students, the Lieu de Mémoire in Le Chambon receives primary school pupils, mainly from the department of the Haute-Loire. The primary school children are brought there through a joint project with the French Ministry of Education. This was made easier this year by the new school timetables, particularly for those schools adopting the new schedule ending the school day at 3:30 pm. The remoteness of Le Chambon is a real handicap, particularly compared with the Maison d Izieu, which enjoys fast highway access from nearby Lyon. The Lieu de Mémoire in Le Chambon still needs additional generous support for student transportation if it is to carry out its mission to bring the wartime history of the Plateau to as many young French people as possible. 13

15 The Lieu de Mémoire has real assets when At the school, no distinction At the school, no religion No differences, no violence. At play, all together At play, hand in hand Trust among friends. Resist, to save the country Resist, to save our Faith No more fear, just defiance. Homage to Roger Darcissac, wartime headmaster of the Le Chambon primary school, by Romain, Clémence and Marilie it comes to increasing the number of visitors from schools. The themes proposed by the educational workshop, focusing on the concept of the «Righteous» and examining different forms of Resistance, are popular with secondary teachers. The Lieu de Mémoire is seen as an iconic place, where the history of the Second World War and the Holocaust are embodied in ways young people can relate to. Poetry readings, taking place within the framework of Resistance workshops, were the subject of an exhibition during the Spring. Total budget 12,500, financed by a grant from Georges Henri Levy. 60% was allocated to the financing of transport. The balance was used for the workshops, as well as to subsidize the school performance of Cabaret Terezin, and to promote the Poets Spring. 14

16 Renovation of the kindergarten s covered playground Since 2008, the Le Chambon kindergarten s covered playground has served as a summer display space, notably when the commune of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon hosted the exhibition The Righteous of France mounted by the Holocaust Museum (Memorial de la Shoah) of Paris. The covered playground s deteriorating condition required a complete renovation of walls, floors and ceilings as well as windows and doors. When completed, this renovation will provide the Lieu de Mémoire with additional space for exhibitions during the summer school holiday months. This year the commune is displaying a selection of photos by Marc Riboud of children from around the world. By the time the kindergarten re-opens at the end of summer 2015, the children will have a covered playground completely soundproofed and adapted to school activities. Every summer, it will provide the Lieu de Mémoire with a large extra space for temporary exhibitions or other events. (Total budget 150,000. Sponsored by AMECJ, together with a gift of 30,000 from George Henri Levy. 15

17 Annual attendance up The Lieu de Mémoire was inaugurated on 3 June Attendance figures are based on two school years: and , and include the summer months of July and August. Accurate numbers are available for the two full years, and show an increase of nearly 12% year on year. This increase is mostly the result of strong and increasing school support, but is also due to a varied programme of events and exhibitions each year, which encourages visitors to make return trips. Non-school numbers have increased by about 5%. Currently, the Lieu de Mémoire has neither the budget nor a real communication programme at regional and national level to buy advertising pull-outs, distribute flyers, mount a substantial media campaign or carry out a bulk-mailing. The commune of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon paid for a printed flyer covering the whole 2015 season, which allowed the Lieu de Mémoire to avoid the cost of printing duplicated documents for each event. The Lieu de Mémoire has a growing mailing list, its main communication tool to promote forthcoming events and exhibitions. With help from the Office of Tourism of the Auvergne region, the Lieu de Mémoire has set up strong lines of communication with local bus operators. This has brought increased numbers of adult groups to the museum. All of these activities are still in the development stage, They require additional funds to meet operating costs. Guided tours outside opening hours or at the weekend need extra volunteers, who usually have to both welcome and look after an entire group during their visit. 16

18 Attendance numbers are promising, but to continue to improve them the Lieu de Mémoire needs a communication plan at both national and international level. A programme of events outside the two summer months will reach a local audience. The launch of the English-language version of the website will encourage foreign visitors, especially Anglo-Saxons closely interested in the theme of the Lieu de Mémoire. English speakers account for 58% of foreign visitors to the museum, of whom more than half are American. The statistics compiled from attendance figures between April and June 2015 (based on a total of 3047 people) show that visitors are overwhelmingly from nearby parts of France, mostly from the regions of the Auvergne and Rhone Alps. The number of visitors from the department of the Haute- Loire alone amounts to over 36% of the total. 17

19 AMERICAN FRIENDS OF CHAMBON MEMORIAL WEBSITE PHONE