France

10-13 November 2021: Spirit of Reconcilition, France

What concept do today's local youngsters have of Europe, and how does it differ from older generations? How has our national history influenced our experience of European nationality?

These and other interesting questions have veen addressed in our transnational activity in France. TERA Maison de l'Europe organized a two-day event inviting us to reflect, together with local participants and citizens, about the reconciliation process, the Schuman declaration and later foundation of the European Union. This aimed to be a diverse event where we were able to share and contrast local and international experiences regarding our common history.

For the implementation of this project, TERA-MDE worked in partnership with the high school SILLAC. The students involved in the project made a lot of English  language actions with their teacher or/and with TERAMDE. They prepared an exhibition about Anne Franck, about Europe and about the wars which they presented and discussed with their European peers during the meeting in Angouleme. November 11th is a holiday in France because of the remembrance of the end of the first worldwar, armistice of 1918 and to honor the memory of those who died for France. To understand the 2nd  worldwar and the resistance in France, the group visited the Espace mémoriel de la Résistance et de la Déportation. The guide explained the period 1939 1945. Then the group could attend the official ceremony of remembrance. As every year, the armistice of November 11, 1918 was celebrated in Angoulême with two consecutive events: Wreath laying at the Beaulieu monument in the presence of civil and military authorities and Taking up arms on the Champ de Mars square  with detachments from the Angoulême defense base, the defense base support group, the 1st RIMa, the 515th RT, the BA 709 and the national gendarmerie. The visit was followed by a meeting with a history teacher who spent time to answer questions about the colonial empire of France, the second world war, the collaborators of the Vichy regime, the war in Algeria and the hosting of Spaniards during the war. Afterwards a visit to the national comic museum was schedule including an exhibition about Picasso, a famous Spanish refugee to France. November12th was dedicated to workshops at the high school.  It is an old building from 1885 which was a vocational school. 1941 the school becomes an hospital and again a school at the end of the war. That very day a monument to remember the life of several students who died in World War I and World War II was in the courtyard. The French students had prepared a ceremony to remember the past of the school with a wider audience. 10 former students of the school and who are retirees now agreed to be interviewed on their personal memories about the fall of the iron curtain and integration of Europe. In the afternoon, the group could attend a lecture from a PhD professor Kocher-Marboeuf from the university of Poitiers about the history of France from the revolution and the creation of the republic until the European Union. Then every partner presented the movement of the resistance in his own country followed by a moderated discussion about the values of the EU.

For more information visited TERA Maison de l' Europe