History tells the facts – Art tells the story
Visit this wonderful museum which was a beacon of hope for expectant mothers exiled during the Retirada.
Elisabeth Eidenbenz was the remarkable Swiss woman who created La Maternité Suisse in Elne as a refuge for expectant mothers exiled from Spain during La Retirada and World War II.
Two of the most feared French collaboration groups were La Carlingue and La Milice, pro-Nazi French militia set up by the Vichy Government under Petain to fight ‘terrorists’, otherwise known as the Resistance.
Michel Torrent (code name Milor René Jules) fled Saint Malo under German occupation and found refuge for himself and his family with his grandparents in Perpignan.
We all learn differently, and as we grow older, one of the greatest blocks to learning is memory. And yet many of us can still sing along to new songs – and remember the words!
In 1940, Louis Torcatis joined the French Resistance under the pseudonym Bouloc and became head of the secret army of Languedoc Roussillon.
Many of us have taken to the hot springs of Dorres without knowing anything of its interesting history during the Second World War. The fashionable contempt in which the French hold the clergy seems to have been completely unjustified in that era…..but judge for yourselves.
In 1943, when the Gestapo came to Prades , Jean-Michel’s father was fighting with the Resistance and frequently absent.
A “Lest we Forget” drive around the Pyrenees Orientales can be the moment to visit or revisit some of the villages and enjoy the autumn colours whilst taking in some of the fascinating War and anti war Memorials.
