Auschwitz seminar at Maison d’Izieu From 16 to 20 September 2024, the Maison d’Izieu welcomed 26 guides and educators from the National Auschwitz Museum to hold a seminar with them in Izieu, Nantua and Lyon. The seminar takes place regularly two years. The seminar participants were able to explore the house and the museum’s exhibition spaces during the week, accompanied by Cyrielle Forses, who is responsible for research and education. In addition to discovering the museum, the participants also had the opportunity to watch the film ‘Denise et Marco’ and then discuss the film with each other and the director Frederika Smetana. The participants were able to trace the growing tensions in the colony before the raid in the temporary exhibition ‘They were children!’ using the objects on display for the first time and the exposed original documents, and to get an idea of the first signs of remembrance after the raid. Stéphanie Boissard, the responsible for research, documentation and archives, accompanied them. The guided tour of the village of Izieu by the museum’s director Alexandre Nugues-Bourchat enabled the seminar participants to understand the environment in which the colony was located. The workshop ‘How the history of Izieu’s children is written’ and the lecture ‘Diversity of families: lecture on the roots and life paths of the families of Izieu’ helped the participants to get to know and understand the Maison d’Izieu better. On Tuesday, Roger Wolman’s visit as a witness and former child of Izieu was on the agenda and he shared his testimony with those present in the form of a lecture. At the end of the week, the participants travelled to Nantua to visit the Resistance and Deportation Museum of the department Ain. The seminar group then travelled on to Lyon to visit the Montluc Prison National Memorial and the Centre for the History of the Resistance and Deportation at the Museum of Lyon. The seminar’s intention was to present the research and mediation work done at the Maison d’Izieu such as the place’s history, the genocidal process, the fate of Jewish children in the Shoah and the process of cultural memory. The week’s results: enriching and interesting exchanges for the teams of both memorials, as well as moments of sharing and conviviality to strengthen Franco-Polish relations. You can also access the article on the Auschwitz State Museum seminar by clicking here. 01 / 00 Partagez sur vos réseaux :
The Maison d’Izieu welcomes its new Director Dominique Vidaud and Alexandre Nugues-Bourchat On 1 July 2024, Alexandre Nugues-Bourchat took over from Dominique Vidaud as director of Maison d’Izieu. Following in his predecessor’s footsteps, Alexandre Nugues-Bourchat joined the Maison d’Izieu team in 2017 as a teacher on secondment from the French Ministry of Education. He holds a doctorate in contemporary history and worked as a History and Geography teacher in secondary education. At the Maison d’Izieu, he has organised several commemoration ceremonies and took part in scientific conferences. As Mediation and education manager, he managed a part of the team and worked in close cooperation with the other employees. This year, he distinguished himself as co-author of the book “Izieu, mémoires vivantes” [English: Izieu, living memories] that he wrote with Dominique Vidaud. It was published by the Le Progrès Editions and is an important reference on the Maison d’Izieu and the construction of memory. There is no doubt that, thanks to his commitment, he will be able to defend the interests of Maison d’Izieu with eloquence and conviction. Dominique Vidaud is appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour Ten years have gone by since the arrival of Dominique Vidaud in the Maison d’Izieu. As a History teacher, he has taught in Denmark, Greece in Spain and also worked on the development and evaluation of teaching methods. He became a member of the Maison d’Izieu team in 2014 and took over the direction of the memorial museum in 2016. After a long and successful career, he has entered his retirement in the end of July. Only a few days after his departure, the High Chancellerie of the Legion of Honour published the list of the people that would be awarded by the Legion of Honour this year. Dominique Vidaud is honoured for his commitment “at the service of general interest and the influence of France”.
Students from Düsseldorf (Germany) at the Maison d’Izieu On Tuesday 4 June we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of German students from the University of Düsseldorf at the Maison d’Izieu. One part of the students study History, the other part study French language and culture. As part of a seminar about French literature about the Second World War, the students, accompanied by their professors, are on a trip to discover memory culture in France. For this reason, they visit different memorial sites, including the Maison d’Izieu. Our German ASF-volunteer Johanna accompanied them in their visit through the house and the museum. She then showed them excerpts of the trial against Klaus Barbie. Lesser known in Germany, it awakened interest and curiosity. The students and their professors asked many questions about the different topics addressed throughout the visit. It was interesting to see how German and French perspectives could differ or agree. After the visit, an improvised time of exchange took place between the students and Johanna and Franziska, our German communication intern, who covered the visit. 01 / 07