I was able to see the tourist attractions that children point out in books, like the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa, and I was able to experience rare monuments dedicated to the tragedies and sacrifices of WWI and WWII.

It is hard to believe that I stood on the same beaches that thousands of soldiers marched on to liberate France while we enjoyed a tour of the area and ate at a local restaurant as if nothing happened. The eerie peacefulness of the area and the horrific photographs that you know were taken at the same spot where young children now swim and build sand castles is eye-opening.

At the same time, you realize how small you are during such an experience. It is amazing that in an 8-hour plane ride you can travel half a globe and experience a completely different culture.

My favorite place that I visited was the Louvre, and the second was the Pantheon, where I saw the final resting place of Rousseau and Voltaire. They wrote some of my favorite books, and I didn’t even realize I would see them! As for the Louvre, the amount of tourists was overwhelming. At the Mona Lisa, there was at least 100 people crowded in front of the work trying to get as close as possible. I was able to fight through the crowd, and I saw the masterpiece for the second time of my life. It was worth the crowd.

 You would never believe how much I had to fight to get this picture!!

Overall, the experience was amazing. I am extremely glad that I had the opportunity to learn about WWI, WWII, and French culture at the very heart of Paris and Caen! The most important thing I learned, besides that my knowledge on WWI and WWII was very rusty, would be that the City of Light is nothing like you read in the picture books. The city is even more beautiful than any picture you can buy, the people are not as arrogant as we think they are (but they are a little bit at times) and the monuments they create are timeless, peaceful, beautiful, and breathtaking.

My opinions of French culture never really changed, but I learned that they are very nice. I only had two people be rude to me, and I was lectured once on how could I visit Paris without learning French! I did get the occasional “sniff” when I asked if they spoke English, but after seeing how many tourists they get, I can understand their frustrations.

I miss Paris, but by the time I left I was sick of French food (shhhh, don’t let them know). I hope our blog gave you an idea of what it was like, and hopefully it will encourage others to visit!

Like most students from the American school system, I was not aware of other cultures’ histories unless they affected us. As a country we are only a little over 200 years old but during my travels I saw structures that have literally been here for thousands of years. Before this trip my sight was very narrow but now I can see so much more. There is a huge world out there and I can see that now. I have learned more about France in three weeks then I have in my entire life. I know that World War II was far more complicated than what our schools teach. There are many sides to that war and many different people involved in it. It was not a black and white war or a good versus evil war, like many believe. It was far more complicated than that as I have learned from the French’s perspective. There were those who did terrible things but there were far more people just trying to survive.

I traveled to over six countries in 30 days and have learned a vast amount about the world. The 30 days went by so fast and as soon as I got back it felt like a dream. I wish that dream had never ended.

The American Cemetery

Taking a class at the university could never prepare someone for the things they might experience and feel when standing at the historical monuments in person. Yes, America has quite a few historical monuments that bring about similar feelings, but for France, World Wars I and II took place on their soil while we were an ocean away. Today’s American citizens could never compare such experiences of having their home country invaded and occupied, but for France the past still remains in the everyday of the citizens’ lives. Social order was heavily changed once France was occupied during World War II, with the weight of events still dictating how people act in social situations today by trying to have the utmost respect for another person despite differences so as not to repeat the mistakes made by others in the past.

Sky view from the top of the Eiffel Tower

In total, the experience of studying abroad has really changed my thoughts on several issues here in the U.S., and though it is a bit hard to explain the feelings one might gain through studying abroad, I insist everyone take the leap of experiencing another culture at least once in their lives. The world, as it turns out, is much bigger and brighter than one could ever imagine, and the past memories that mold our world can turn every thought around the minute you learn how oddly similar yet different we are.

Making globes during World War II – Caen Memorial Museum

The view from the top of Montmartre, in front of Sacré-Cœur. Absolutely beautiful!

Paris is a huge city! In order to run more effectively this large city is split into twenty arrondissements municipaux which are really just smaller administrative districts each with their own mayor. Each of these arrondissements has its own culture and personality. This is especially true of the 18th arrondissement, which is on the outskirts of the city and also the home of Montmartre.

Me standing in front of
Sacré-Cœur.

In the mid-nineteenth century this district started attracting a vast community of artists. Reasons for this migration from the hustle and bustle of city life to the more village-like setting offered by Montmartre would include the drastically cheaper living costs, and perhaps the presence of many vineyards. During this period many well-known artists, including but certainly not limited to Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh worked in this area. For those of you who know anything about art this also means many different types of art were being created in this place: impressionism, post-impressionism, surrealism, cubism, and figurative art to name a few.

Courtney standing in front of Le Bateau-Lavoir where Modigliani and Picasso once lived and worked in an artist commune.

Many famous cabarets or clubs could and can be found in Montmartre. Le Chat Noir, which was one of the first and perhaps most well-known cabarets ever was there. Le Lapin Agile was a very popular spot for artists to visit since it was created in the 1850s and still sits towards the center of the great hill that is Montmartre. Plus, the red light district which includes the club Moulin Rouge is at the bottom of the hill.

4 years of Nazi occupation during WWII certainly took its toll on Paris, which was once the great art capital of the world, and Montmartre was not spared from this. Many of the artists who resided in the area left during the wars never to return.

Today Montmartre is still an extremely interesting area to visit. Although it may be a shadow of its former glory in regards to the art being produced there it is once again a very artistically centered community. Everywhere you go there are street artists of many mediums willing and ready to produce and sell art for a price.

Sketch done by an artist in La Place du Tertre

The area itself is simply beautiful. It has been deemed a historical area at this point so little modification is allowed. Several famous movies have been filmed in the area including Moulin Rouge (1952), Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Amélie. While we were exploring the area we met a film crew working on some sort of movie. Unfortunately we were not able to ask them what they were filming.

Again Montmartre, despite the climb up the 130m high hill, was one of my favorite spots in Paris. It is a very lively location with plenty to do and see. It is absolutely beautiful there and full of history!

The eternal flame at Mt. Valérien

At the beginning of the trip to Mont-Valérien we traveled to an area just outside of the city of Paris. We walked up a hill towards the fort, and at the entrance we saw a giant wall and an open area in front. The area in front was symbolic of France in the fact that it was made to represent the French flag. The steps were blue, the middle was beige to represent white, and the path around the middle was red. The flame in front was called the “eternal flame” which burns in memory of the Resistance. [The Resistance leader Charles DeGaulle dedicated the memorial site on 18 June 1960, the anniversary of his call for Resistance from London.]

Memorial bell

Inside the museum you can learn about victims and the history of the Resistance

The museum held a lot of interesting information such as about how the Germans put a V for victory on the Eiffel Tower to try to deter the Resistance. The one thing in there that made this fort very eerie to be in was the last letters the victims sent to their families. Out of the 1,009 people executed there, they have 19 of these letters on display. As one of the letters was read you could hear the emotion behind the words, and I couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to have to write something like that. The next thing was the church right by the museum that was called the “antechamber of death.” It used to be used for mass but during the Occupation they used it to hold the prisoners for up to eight hours before their execution. On the walls are still traces of the messages some of the prisoners left before their execution. It was fascinating but at the same time surreal to see something like that.

Inside the chapel where prisoners were held in the moments and hours before their executions

Our tour guide told us that not many Americans go to see Mont-Valérien because the U.S wasn’t involved in the executions that occurred and the memory of it. Everything there was in French because mostly Frenchmen were executed there and French go there to honor the fallen. [Foreigners were also executed.] I felt like we were trespassing a little since it was so heavily in a French point of view, but at the same time I was honored that I had the opportunity to see something like this that many don’t get to see. My time at Mont-Valérien was both a humbling and great experience that I won’t forget.

The building itself was begun under the reign of King Louis XV as a dedication to Saint Genevieve. Construction began in 1758. It was not completed during his reign, however, and when the French Revolution occurred the original plans were modified.

It is a strange mix of the ideals of the French Republic and religion. On the walls are beautiful paintings depicting the story of Saint Genevieve, who is the patron saint of Paris. Her story is she calmed the people of Paris while the approaching army of the Huns threatened them. She organized city prayers, and the army turned back and never set foot in Paris. She was believed to have created the miracle, and is forever recognized as the patron saint of Paris.

Along the rear walls is a memorial to the writers that were killed during WWII. The writers during this time were politically involved, and often were persecuted if they did not abide by the German censorship during the occupation. The memorial lists the names of those writers, and recognizes their sacrifices.

Underneath the building are the crypts. The crypts are generally simple with the exception of a few famous figures, such as Voltaire’s statue. Jean Moulin is also buried here, and he was an important figure for the French Resistance. He helped to unify France during WWII and worked with Charles de Gaulle during the Resistance.

He started his political career in 1937 as the youngest prefect, but during the German Occupation he refused to cooperate with the German government. He was tortured by Gestapo, one of the highest ranking officers in the Nazi regime, but he never succumbed. He was later removed from his position by the Vichy government and tortured again for his involvement in the Resistance.

Sculptures at the Pantheon

This is a great place to visit since it does not receive as many tourists as other areas, although the map for the crypt is very confusing!

Artillery damage on the original columns outside the Pergamon Museum.

This past weekend, the students had a break from coursework to explore Paris or other European cities. I traveled to Berlin to see a friend of mine who now lives there. It was my first time in Germany, and like Claire, one of our students who also visited Berlin this weekend, I found the differences from Paris striking. You can read about Claire’s impressions here.

Traces of war and its aftermath are visible everywhere in Berlin. Buildings and monuments are scarred by bullets and artillery. Allied bombings damaged and destroyed much of the city, but importantly, many remains of the city’s landmarks have been preserved to serve as reminders of architectural and artistic accomplishments, but also of the country’s Nazi past.

Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, built in the 1890s, you can see some of the beautiful mosaics that decorated the interior. But there are large sections missing on the ceiling and on the floor. In fact, most of the church itself is missing because of a 1943 bombing raid. A display inside explains the history of the church and its preservation. When the structure was scheduled for demolition in the 1950s, the people of Berlin protested, wishing instead to preserve it as a monument to peace and reconciliation. Another example of this type of memorialization is the former railway station Anhalter Bahnhof. During World War II, the station was used to deport tens of thousands of Jews. Today, though, all that is left standing is the central section of the front entrance.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

I also visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which opened in 2005. Looking at this Holocaust memorial, I was struck by its grayness and its simplicity—it consists of 2,711 large cement blocks of various heights—some at ankle level and some that tower over visitors—spread out in a grid over five acres. The ground on which the blocks stand is hilly, and when you enter, it seems at first like a maze. Yet there is really nowhere to hide; you are exposed at all times. I was visiting the memorial with two seven-year-olds, both of whom really wanted to play hide-and-seek. I felt somewhat guilty participating in what seemed like a disrespectful activity and I mentioned this to some friends. One of them, Bethany Keenan, a professor at Coe College, is also leading a study abroad program in Europe this summer and had just been to the memorial. She told me that their tour guide had explained that such games “. . . might be disrespectful but they could also be life-affirming and celebratory, and as such can be considered a reappropriation of the space against the Nazis. If someone has a problem with hide-and-seek or other behaviors there, they should speak up. The way the site is produced puts the onus on the bystander to comment—and the lesson that bystanders must say something and stop things they disapprove of was the main message that most of the memorial sites in Berlin were aiming for.”

Topography of Terror site

The consequences of the aftermath of war are also striking, particularly since there are portions of the Berlin Wall scattered throughout the city. Construction of the Wall began in 1961 to cut off the stream of refugees fleeing west, and it stood for twenty-eight years as a symbol of the division of Germany and the Cold War. A large section of the Wall stands intact at the Topography of Terror site. A nearby sign explains that by 1989, 136 people had lost their lives at the Wall, shot down by GDR (German Democratic Republic) border guards. The accompanying outdoor exhibit provides information about the topics such as the rise of the Nazi Party, book burnings, and the persecution of Jews.

Commercialization of the Wall. You can pay to have your passport stamped here.

Postcards–then and now

One of the things that I was not expecting in Berlin was how much World War II has been commercialized. Tourist shops sell postcards depicting tanks, war planes, and soldiers; you can buy “authentic” pieces of the Berlin Wall and T-shirts advertising Checkpoint Charlie (a well-known crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War). You can pay to have your passport stamped with the official Checkpoint Charlie stamps at a section of the Berlin Wall. Much of the memory of war has turned kitsch.

The Wall for sale in a tourist shop

Seeing the evidence of destruction everywhere I looked was disturbing. What struck me the most during my visit, however, was the continual threat of danger. I went with my friend to pick up his daughters from their elementary school. On the way back, we walked through a park that they go through every day. Posted signs warn visitors to keep off the grassy areas, not to maintain the lawns, but because there are still unexploded bombs there. World War II can still claim victims.

The grassy areas in this park still contain undetonated explosives.

Our tour guide for our visit to the World War I battlefields of the Somme remarked that it is clear when a war begins but that it is never clear when it is over, or who its last victims will be. In the Somme, much of the land is now unusable for farming—nearly one hundred years later—because of all of the lead in the ground. In these areas, they let the forests grow. For the same reason, it is unsafe to eat the fish from the river. Each year, people are uncovering shells, artifacts, and human remains. For example, when we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Pozières, we learned that the man serving us (who is also a battlefield guide) had just two years before unearthed the body of an Australian soldier, along with a number of relics, at Mouquet Farm. You can read about the story here. For some families, such discoveries answer questions and bring peace. Other families will never know what became of their loved ones. For them, is the war ever really over?

My visit to Berlin was at once difficult and inspiring. Signs of destruction and violence are omnipresent, but as Claire mentioned in her post, construction and renovation projects are underway all over the city. The past remains visible and serves as a reminder to us of the horrors of war, but also of human strength and perseverance.

Holocaust Memorial at Drancy – opened September 2012

When designing the study abroad program, we purposefully scheduled four longer days of classwork during the week so that students would have long weekends to explore France and other European countries on their own. The students took advantage of this for the first time over the weekend. Some went to London and some went to Berlin while others visited places outside Paris that were of particular interest to them.  I was one of the people that took advantage of the weekend to visit a place I’d never been before. I went to visit a new museum that just opened in September 2012 in the Parisian suburb of Drancy.

Drancy is located north of Paris and tourists travelling from Charles de Gaulle airport into the city center pass it on their journey. It’s often not high on the list of places to visit in France, but for a historian of the Second World War and the Holocaust in France (like myself) it is a must-see.

I began research for dissertation on daily life in France during World War II in 1999.  Since then I have made regular (and extended) trips to France to work in the archives and libraries here.  I have spent months researching the Holocaust at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. I have spent countless hours in the Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine (Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation) in Paris. I have participated in international conferences and seminars on war and genocide, and in all of my research I have learned about Drancy. But I have never been there myself.

So what is so important about this suburb for someone who studies the war and the Holocaust in France?  Drancy was literally the antechamber to the death camps in Poland. An unfinished housing development in the city, the Cité de la Muette, served as the main transit center for Jews after their arrest and before their deportation to extermination camps. Between March 1942 and the summer of 1944, an estimated 63,000 of the 76,000 Jews deported from France passed through the camp. The buildings that were used to intern these men, women, and children still exist and are now the home of new residents. The buildings and the site have an interesting history that is part of a permanent exhibit explaining the events that transpired there and that serves as a dialogue between the past and the present.

A view of the Cité de la Muette building

In the 1930s, the Cité de la Muette was an architectural novelty. The four-story, U-shaped building was constructed completely on site in order to be more cost effective. But the economic depression of the 1930s meant that the metal-framed building covered by concrete panels was never finished. The Germans requisitioned the apartment block after the Occupation of France in 1940 and it was first used as a detention site for French and English prisoners of war. Starting in August 1941, it became a camp for arrested Jews. When the Nazis’ “Final Solution” began in earnest in 1942, Drancy became the transit camp that would serve as the last step before deportation. The apartments were never finished so internees stayed in open, unfurnished rooms. There was no indoor plumbing and two buildings of latrines were constructed in the building’s courtyard. The entire complex was surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers.

So on Sunday, I took advantage of the free shuttle service provided by the Mémorial de la Shoah (Holocaust Memorial) in Paris and travelled to Drancy for a guided tour of the site and the new museum. We began our tour outside, looking at the building (that was classified as a historic site in 2001) and the earlier memorials on the site. In the area in front of the Cité de la Muette there is a sculpture as well as a railcar like the ones used to deport Jews to the death camps.

As our guide explained, both of these memorials demonstrate the links between history and memory.  The inscription on the sculpture mentions the 100,000 Jews deported from France. The sculpture was created and dedicated before the historical research was conducted that now places the number of deported Jews at approximately 76,000. The design is also symbolic in many ways (see this link for more info on the symbolism.) The columns on the side mirror the iconic image we have of the entry to Auschwitz, which is reinforced by the train tracks behind the sculpture.  The placement of the railcar in front of the camp buildings also reflects our common perceptions of the Holocaust. In this case, however, it gives a false sense of reality since there was no railway in front of the camp. Inmates chosen for deportation were bussed from Drancy to nearby train stations.

Sculpture with building and railcar in the background

View from the museum windows

We continued our tour inside the museum, which was built across the street from the Cité de la Muette and overlooks the site. On the ground floor, visitors see photographs, names, and date of deportation of some of the Jews that passed through the camp. The museum currently has 12,000 pictures of victims that were interned at Drancy. The fourth floor is the home of the permanent exhibit. The room itself is almost the exact opposite of the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, which is in the basement and is a dark, somber space. At Drancy, the exhibit and displays are all in white in a room with floor to ceiling windows on two sides.  Videos explain the history while interactive displays allow you to learn more about individual experiences.

One of the videos talks about the three camps in Paris that were annexes to Drancy. Jews that were considered “non-deportable” because their spouse was “Aryan” or because of their previous military service were transferred to camps within Paris where their job was to sort and package the domestic items looted from Jewish apartments. (For more information on this topic see this book.) I was reminded that one of these camps was in a furniture store called Lévitan located in the 10^th arrondissement of Paris. The building with its memorial plaque is less than a block away from the hotel where we are staying.

Plaque explaining Lévitan’s role during WWII

The former Lévitan furniture store

Overall this was an incredible learning experience for me.  I finally saw the place that I have read so much about and the tour discussed the issues we are covering in our courses including the construction of memory. The museum certainly is a way to remember those who suffered and died during the Holocaust.

Will and Delancey are serenaded at the welcome dinner

We had a busy first week, and we have more in store for Week 2! During the first week, we focused a lot on the Great War and on getting settled in a new city. Paris is a huge cosmopolitan center and it’s an adjustment for many people: new place, different language, diverse culture, distinct foods.

The students have gotten used to taking the metro and navigating the city. They’ve also seen some of the iconic sights and some not-so-touristy places. They are discovering France’s history on a daily basis.

Claire & Courtney in S&T gear at the Louvre

This week promises to be just as exciting as we start to shift our focus to World War II:

Monday:

Walking tour of the Latin Quarter including stops at Notre Dame Cathedral, the Pantheon, the Sorbonne, and the Luxembourg Gardens.  We will be discussing the role of the Catholic Church during the war, students in the Resistance, and Jean Moulin on our trek. We have also read excerpts from the Journal of Hélène Berr, a Jewish woman who attended the Sorbonne during the Occupation.

Tuesday:

Trip to Mont-Valérien. This fort on the outskirts of Paris served as the execution site for hostages taken by the Germans during the war. It is now a memorial site with competing historical narratives (Gaullist and Communist).

Wednesday:

Walking tour of the Marais and visit to the Shoah Museum.  The Marais was one Parisian neighborhood with a large number of Jewish inhabitants during the war.

Visit to Vel d’Hiv memorials and the Eiffel Tower.

Thursday:

We will wrap up our time in Paris with a trip to the Montmartre neighborhood. An artistic hub, many wartime writers (such as Marcel Aymé) lived in this area and captured scenes of daily life under the Occupation in their works. The students will also be completing a photo scavenger hunt this week in search of memorials related to World War II.

Memorial plaque on the Seine