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A second exchange with Darmstadt
2022-2023
The Amicale de Mauthausen invited 16 pupils from Senghor and 8 from Gymnasium LIO in Darmstadt to take part in French and international ceremonies in Mauthausen (Austria) on 7 may
The school group discovered the castle of Hartheim, a site of extermination set up by so-called doctors and "specialists of the IIIe Reich from 1938 and 1939.
Three musicians in the group played in the courtyard.
In the morning, Alexandra traced the history of Steyr in the 1930s and 1940s, an indispensable context and an excellent tour, in French and German -quite a performance!
The group of 24 sing "the Bog soldiers" before an audience made of the French Ambassador, people from the Amicale de Mauthausen, Spanish delegates and other spectators.
Pupils were also invited to lay a rose on the 20-odd monuments:
Crédit photos@Ludovic.Piron
It is always a great moment when pupils can meet officials or members of associations. Here they were lucky to meet Mr Paul Kosiek, whose father was the first US soldier to get to the camp in May 1945. The pupils offered him "our" book -the version in English.
We also learned the story of the 56-stars spangled banner (photo, right), produced in haste by inmates so as to welcome the 3rd US division on 5 May 1945.
Some exhibit panels produced in Évreux before the trip proved useful, especially those about Hartheim and Gusen. They were once more a way to make contact and share what had been learned.
The 2 panels about Gusen and Hartheim were offered to museums there.
Another indispensable moment before taking part in the ceremonies: creating something on the spot, in Darmstadt.
The challenge this year: to clean the plaques at the Gusen Memorial... Click on the pictures to watch a video
After the ceremony, on Mauthausen Appelplatz, Juliette, a Franco-German pupils from Darmstadt was invited to read a paragraph of the Mauthausen Oath with members of the International Committee.
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