Growing up in northeastern France, in a region shaped by significant upheaval related to the French-German tensions, I became aware of the importance of reconciliation and remembrance. Indeed, my family shares direct ties with these turbulent times, as they lived in Meuse, in occupied France and witnessed these conflicts. My great-grandfather was a prisoner in Germany, and went through forced labor in a farm, separate from his wife and children. Despite her very young age, WWII left lasting effects on my grandmother, which makes this part of our family history particularly moving.
Photo: Private
After a school trip in Auschwitz, as I shared the pictures of camps and museums with my grandmother, she began to tell me the story of her father. Everybody in our family is aware that he had to experience forced labor, but because of the traumas, this topic became a taboo, as my elderly stayed silent. Therefore, I was surprised when she handed me an old and fragile journal, hidden for all this time from the rest of the family, including my grandmother’s siblings, that belonged to my great-grandfather.
Although my great-grandfather didn’t recount every detail of every day of his time in Germany, he gave additional indications. Through a list of materials, techniques that he learned, postcards and German administrative papers, I got a broader idea of what happened. Every month, he would fill a list of what package and letters he received, a lot of them were from my great-grandmother. For example, there are pictures of his friends, who he met in Germany, and postcards of where they stayed in Gastewitz, 811km away from his family.
Photo: Private
He also recounted literary recommendations and, what I find the most emotional part, drafts of letters he would send to my great-grandmother. The last one, called “Retour” (“Return”) was written after his liberation, which happened on the 28th of March 1943. This letter is very emotional, as he promises to never leave his wife and family again, and to stay by their sides as long as possible. He also expresses a lot of relief to be able to see his beloved again that he missed during almost 3 years, even though the fear of being mobilized by the French army on the battlefield crystallized the family’s dynamics until the end of the occupation and the war.
Photo: Private
Moreover, a lot of events stay unclear as we only have little information about his experience and also because my family, since they didn’t speak German, didn’t keep every administrative paper, that could have helped to learn more about his status. This ticket is an example of his rights as a French prisoner in Germany.
The only thing he mentioned the most according to my grandmother is one of a friend that he made, whose nickname was “Le Chien” (The Dog), who also lived in France in Bretagne. We understand that they shared strong ties during their captivity, since he kept a postcard of the home of his friend.
My great-grandfather’s story isn’t unique but shared with a lot of French prisoners of WWII. The silence during the post-world-war to resonate with the will to overcome these traumas but also to protect his family. I find this story essential to the question of French and German ties but most importantly to the question of remembrance.
