Sorry if you got an earlier blank post. I fat-fingered it and sent without intending to.
The view from our living room window at dawn:
Linda took some time to work on her collaging while the rest of us got organized for the day’s outing.
Our main goal for the day was to go to the Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, located in the buildings that were once the headquarters of Klaus Barbie (the building itself has an eerie feeling to it). To be clear this is a museum of the Lyonnaise resistance and the deportation of the resistance fighters. There is less mention of the deportation of Jews. The official explanation is that at the time the center was developed, the main focus was on the Lyonnaise resisters and that the Shoah was not yet a “historiographic topic”. It seemed to me that the omission could have been rectified in the years since. An exhibit about Jews in France and Lyon during the war will open next month so perhaps there will be more balance. Still, the collections we visited were impressive for their careful and extensive documentation of the German occupation as well as the resistance organizers and fighters. This quote on the wall struck me as ironic, but very relevant to us in the States now.
“Memory is the root of deliverance, just as forgetfulness is the root of exile”. - Baal Shem Tov
Especially in light of what is happening now in our country, the video testimony by people who were young kids when the Germans marched in particularly struck me. They talked about playing by the road when the Germans marched in. They had believed all the talk about how the French would fight back valiantly defending their communities - and then a few months later, the Germans were in charge. With very little fighting, suddenly many Lyonnaise were working for the German regime/Petain government - whether by choice or by force. An example of how quickly things can shift toward fascism and how hard it is for everyday, non-political people to take in what’s happening.
I confess my knowledge of the “Free French” government under Petain and its consequences was pretty basic before this visit
The similarity between the propaganda put out by the Petain government and the stuff that comes from MAGA was dramatic. A lot about fierce nationalism, the need for “true” Frenchmen to lead, the glorification of the qualities of the so-called “real” French man and the duty of French women to tend the home and preserve the ideal family.
And, no surprise, the usual suspects were trumped up (pun intended) as the hindrances to pure French family life and success:
The heading says, “Leave us in Peace” and the black wolves and serpents are Free Masons, Jews, deGaulle, and Lies (this from a government which, like ours was manufacturing a steady stream of lies). There were also many first-hand accounts and detailed documentation of how the resistance formed, how it was organized, and the challenges they faced. I won’t try to summarize it here, but there’s more info at: www.chrd.lyon.fr (tap the address bar once you get there and you can get it to translate to English)