History is never far away.

La Forteresse: Chinon from the ramparts

Most history fans come to Chinon in search of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, their sons Richard the Lionheart, Geoffrey and John and of course, Joan of Arc and the Dauphin. Chinon castle, known as La Forteresse has after all, witnessed some of the most momentous events in the earlier history of France, and at the heart of all these stories are Anglo-French relations. www.forteressechinon.fr

I mentioned in an earlier blog, a conversation I'd had at a party recently, late on in the evening, which another guest had initiated on this very subject, particularly with regards to World War Two. Amongst other things, he said to me that the British had no idea what it was like to be invaded or the kinds of choices individuals faced in order to survive an occupation. His remark has been racing around in my head ever since and has coincided with various events, all of which relate in some way to this same point.

La Forteresse

I've just downloaded a book on to my Kindle, called Marianne in Chains: In Search of the German Occupation in France 1940-45. I began reading it a couple of days ago. Written by Robert Gildea, a distinguished British historian of France, Marianne in Chains won the Wolfson History prize. It has been described as 'a very fine history of everyday life in the French heartland', meaning the Loire valley. So . . . recent history and very close to home. Chapter one is about Chinon. The German Occupation of France has been regarded as a period characterized by cold, hunger, the absence of freedom and above all fear. Also a time when the indigenous population was cruelly and consistently oppressed by the army of occupation. What makes Marianne in Chains so interesting is the author's use of the book as a means of uncovering the strategies people adopted to survive at the time, rather than using it as an occasion to apportion blame. As a result, Gildea's story is provocative as well as riveting. It was published in 2003. There are various reviews available on line. 


Just recently we came across a French DVD, Le Chagrin et La Piété (The Sorrow and the Pity) by Marcel Ophüls. A two-part documentary made in 1969, part one - The Collapse, and part two - The Choice, focus on the behavior of the inhabitants of the French town of Clermont-Ferrand during Nazi occupation, as a means of exploring wider events associated with Vichy and its close relationship with the German Occupying forces. Regarded as too controversial by the French government, it wasn't released until the 80s. We bought a copy. It runs at a hefty 251 minutes and combines archive footage with interviews by Resistance fighters, collaborators, spies, farmers, government officials, British politicians, writers, artists and veterans. It is an attempt to explore the reality of occupation. In an interview for The Guardian in 2004 (ahead of a showing at The National Film Theatre) Ophüls argues against the film being viewed as prosecutorial by its critics. 'It doesn't attempt to prosecute the French. Who can say their nation would have behaved better in the same circumstances?" The full interview is available on line. www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/may/24/1

Maillé poster image

A couple of weeks ago we made a return visit to Maillé - a village approximately 40 minutes away from Cravant, and a casualty of war.  On 25 August 1944, the liberation of Paris was finally secured.  In Maillé that same morning, retreating SS units closed the village off, set surrounding farms on fire, then around midday, they entered the village and massacred in total 124 residents - the youngest was three months old, the oldest 89 - as well as livestock and other animals. Most buildings were destroyed.  La maison du souvenir, in the centre of Maillé, houses a permanent exhibition - a living memory as it is referred to on the website - that recounts the events of that day. There are still people alive and living in the village, who were children at the time, and who remember the day and the terrible things that happened, very clearly. The former director of La Maison du Souvenir,  Sébastian Chevereau, has also written a book, 25 août 1944, Maillé . . . Du crime à la mémoire, describing what happened as 'la terrible conséquence d'une conjunction de circonstances' - an appalling combination of circumstances. www.maisondusouvenir.fr The website is available in English.

My partner in conversation, whatever the particular reasons behind his remark, has caused me to think. The 'closeness to war' which we have both referred to, is something I've luckily never had to experience. War has always been and is being conducted, 'over there'. The 'combination of circumstances' that I've had to deal with at times may have been difficult, but never life-threatening to me or someone close to me. I  therefore have no 'living memory', only an awareness of the tragedies of invasion and war,  acquired through newspapers, films, TV documentaries, books, the internet and the personal stories from courageous individuals and survivors from World War Two, who I've met along the way. At best I'm a voyeur, and from a safe distance.