It's Remembrance Day, and as with most other European cities towns and villages, remembrance ceremonies are held here around a central monument.
One of the more poignant of our local monuments is the one above in our tiny nearby village of Frayssinet le Gelat; the village where I go on Sundays to buy my bread.
The monument chronicles the deaths of 15 villagers on the 21st of May 1944. An SS officer had been shot by the French resistance, and in retaliation the Germans took hostages; 10 young men and 5 young women, all from single child families.
All 15 were then shot; the punishment being that the families' lines of descent would come to an end.
You might notice that the words Barbarie Nazie are written on a separate piece of blueish stone, screwed onto the monument. Underneath, it originally said Barbarie Allemande but in the name of International rapprochement the wording has recently been changed (diplomatically).
As you can see, the 15 martyrs are not forgotten.
Today is Poppy Day and we will remember all who died in the wars and at 11 O Clock we will stop work at our desks and the shops will stop serving and the buses stop moving and the pedestrians in the streets will stop walking and we will remember in silence. It gets sadder and sadder each year as more and more fighting and wars go on.
ReplyDeleteAt 11 O Clock, all will come to a standstill here too.
DeleteI was in town once on Remembrance Day - and like you said everything stopped and the church bells rang a solemn peal - it was very moving.
DeleteRachel's right, it gets sadder and sadder each year.
DeleteCro, this may be a silly question but , having just come to France, and being an hour ahead of UK at what time do we observe the minute's silence? Perhaps you can enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteAt 11 Ally; what the English might refer to as 10.
DeleteOurs starts at 11:45 and we have the 'minute' around 12. It all depends on how long the words of the Minister of the Republic and the Mayor take.
DeleteI have always assumed that this was because of the lack of hour change in 1918.
I don't suppose the actual hour makes much difference; it's the remembering that counts.
DeleteActually it's the glass of wine together afterwards!
DeleteHa ha.... typical. Any excuse for that glass of wine. Cheers.
DeleteWe have the remembrance days in other days, not like the rest of the world, but it is the same. Sadly much was forgoten.
ReplyDeleteThere were several wartime atrocities in this area; the most famous probably being that of Oradour sur Glane. They are certainly not forgotten here.
DeleteOradour sur Glane is certainly difficult to forget.
DeleteVery poignant post
ReplyDeleteArilx
Sadly there's a lot to remember around here.
Delete11am here, and we shall turn the leaf blowers off and pay respects too. A tragic story Cro. My father was in the Luftwaffe, and my uncle Horst was in the SS. The war drove them apart for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteI like to think we'd remember ALL victims of war, not only our own nation's. But somehow I don't think that everyone does.
DeleteHuman nature I suppose
DeleteIt's a solemn day all over the world. I agree with Rachel about it getting sadder each year; how can we have learned so little about the folly of war?
ReplyDeleteI wish you'd said that to both Bush and Blair.... just look what they've started!
DeleteThey wouldn't have cared.
DeleteWe need to remember every day - although a particular token silence is good - because it is happening somewhere in the world all the time. Living as I do near to Catterick Garrison I see so many young men who have survived war but at the cost of limbs - occasionally all four. And yet it goes on. Nothing in the world is worth killing for.
ReplyDeleteThere should be a monument in every city with that last sentence on.
DeleteI too have noticed the PC drive to pretend that the Nazis were a separate people from the Germans. This should never be allowed to happen. The Nazis were German and supported by the majority of them. My late father was one of the first British officers to enter the camps. A clip of him actually appears in the documentary Night will fall. You will notice that despite it being German civilians burying the victims his men have their sten guns loaded with open bolts ready to fire.
ReplyDeleteHe always said that the fanaticism displayed by the German people was never reflected in films or theatre and within my lifetime it and the horrors they inflicted would be glossed over by the powers that be. Sadly I fear he was right!
Oh no not all Germans supported Hitler. All French were not Petain followers. If one Nation goes permanenty back to what happened ir's Germany. You British bombed out Dresden and are probably considering this is a colleteral War damage. My aunt was a 5 year old child when her parents and her 2 months old baby brother died burnt before her eyes . Look at the photos of Cecil Newmann who came to Berlin in 1945 and was horrified.
DeletePredictably, this is the reply that so many offer, around the world. "It wasn't us, we were only obeying orders".
DeleteThis is just a stupid answer Mr. Cro.
DeleteI'm glad you agree.
DeleteOh Cro ..... so sad and, of course, there are millions of stories like that. I just cannot imagine living through such terrible and frightening times and that's why we mustn't forget them. I shall be thnking of those 15 today along with all the others that gave their lives. XXXX
ReplyDeleteMy (late) next door neighbour was just taken from his farm and sent off to a camp in Germany for no reason other than he was one of two brothers, and they considered that one could do the work of two.
DeleteI think the Barbarie Nazie Memorial Stone yiu show has nothing to do with Armistice Day of November 11th.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not Mia, but it's there that they are remembered, both in May and today. They were victims of war.
DeleteMia, the Nazis were overwhelmingly suported by the German people. The opposition to it was very small. It's nice that you try to gloss over it and try the usual distraction over Dresden but after the true horrors of the camps, the medical experimentation, the forced labour, the routine execution of prisoners of war, the executions of civilians in retribution, etc etc your mewlings have no significance. Quite frankly Germany and the Germans were damned lucky to have been allowed to exist at all. I suspect had the cold war not intervened the Poles and Russians would have been more than happy to have ensured their destruction. Such barbarity had not been witnessed in Europe for centuries so your self pitying cries about Germans cut no ice at all!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to say that if you start a war, you have to expect some retaliation, and that's what they got. That, sadly, is the way of warfare.
DeleteRo how old are ? You are a hater. If you are British you should give no lessons, your own history is not really filled with glory. My fahre is a Jew so no lesson to me.
DeleteMy father
DeleteI don't think that Ro is a 'hater' as you call him. He was just telling it as it is. Attempting to change history does you no favours; you must accept what the Germans did, and not try to disown it.
DeletePlease, this was not intended as a rights and wrongs posting. It was posted in memory of ALL those who died in the two world wars, and since.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but some comments started to be polemic as Mr. Ro who gives a global judgment about Germans. Can just not accept it, that's all.
DeleteYou are so right to remember those who gave us our freedom Cro.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a part of my life since I was a small choirboy. After Bonfire Night came Remembrance Day, and the two were strictly adhered to.
DeleteWe noticed " Barbarie Nazie " on the war memorial in Sarlat too.
ReplyDeleteHad that one been altered?
DeleteWe all lose in war, but they never end. Bless all those who gave their all and their families who can never heal.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteHere in the States, we call November 11 Veterans Day. The moment of silence is not oberserved, but lots of stores have coat sales. I am not sure how that leads to remembrance.
ReplyDeleteI watched some of last night's tv coverage of a debate amongst Republican presidential candidates, and did not hear much remembrance aired.
War continues round the world, even as most folks might wish to give peace a chance.
Best wishes.
Men seem to enjoy killing, but not being killed. Maybe some dramatic solution is required... which would of course requires killing the killers.
DeleteMia, pointing out the truth is not hate. Modern day Germany is a far cry from the war years but your attempt to wash German history clean, like so many who wish to forget the harsh lessons it taught, is not on. The acts of the German people, the vast majority of whom particiated, during thse years were utterly reprehensible. Trying to mitigate those acts with the losses that Germany took merely puts you in denial of those acts. They did not happen in the 17th century but mere decades ago. I am sorry to say your comments merely put you on a par with other deniers.
ReplyDeleteMay I apologise on behalf of Mia, Ro. She has serious hatred problems, and as you are probably aware is one of the more virulent of internet trolls. I give her space her simply because it gives her an outlet for her bile (as long as it's not over abusive).
DeleteMr. Cro, how disappointing , Sie heulen mit den Wölfen...1sr I'm not a Troll 2nd I have no hatred problems. .3rd I do not deny what happened during the Nazi regime, but I will never accept when persons make a global judgment. If one man kills all men kill? This would really be too simple. I made just a comment in saying that I thought that Armistice is related to WWI and find myself insulted by a guy like Ro .So I say to him just fuck off. Sorry but a certain Rachel speaks like this in all her posts, I suppose it's the language used and understood by Brits.
DeleteCro, I really think the Nazi's controlled their people much like the North Koreans control theirs. Intimidation, fear, hunger, torture, brainwashing, etc. Not an excuse, but an example of turning neighbors and friends and family against one another. Evil.
ReplyDeleteBut there were plenty of recruits! They loved their power, their uniforms, and their brutality.
DeleteIt is all very sad and tragic. I hope younger generations will learn the lessons of war. I remember reading about how young Japanese men were literally dragged from their homes to serve in the Japanese army. You are right about the false power recruits and recruiters get from all the sign waving and adoration they receive. I feel devastated for France, England and Europe as a whole for those wars. We lost many young men too. And, the poor children. It is unfathomable.
DeleteHow right Weaver is. Will mankind ever learn ?
ReplyDeleteCro, out of respect for the day, and your initial standpoint on how comments were leading away from the main message, I tried not to respond to some attitudes on here. However, as you have taken a stance,I now have to say that I find some of the comments, there basis, and the attitudes of the authors absolutely ludicrous. Most German people supported the Nazis, how badly informed, and quite frankly a stupid statement. There is so much I could say regarding many of the comments, but there would simply be no point in making the point.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse the grammar mistakes, but fish fingers are being cooked at the same time.
DeleteFish fingers take priority.
DeleteMay I suggest commenters here read Kurt Vonnegut's letters home from his time as a Nazi POW. Kurt's family were pacifists and Kurt was a fair man himself. His letters written from 1941 should be compulsory reading for all young people today, as I have said recently on my own blog. I have never been so moved as to read of his experiences under the Nazis.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone on here would be moved to read such letters Rachel.
ReplyDeleteOur village was also touched by in-fighting between members of various Resistance groups. You can read about it by googling A Dry Chronicle of the Purge by
ReplyDeleteRobert Faurisson - it is translated into English. The two men killed from our village are commemorated on our war memorial. There was a plaque up on one of the local houses, showing the birthplace of one victim the plaque mysteriously disappeared about ten years ago. Memories, sadly, are long and not always what you would expect.