As promised, I decided to do some research on my own. I found some interesting things that I hadn't already learned from Sarah's Key. I looked at a few different websites, found a book that included excerpts of letters written from the head of French police and the Germans making the orders from the roundup.
I started with Wikipedia. It's not the best source for reliable information, but I like to start there, because it's a good place to get ideas of other things to search for.
Here's the link for Velodrome d'Hiver on Wikipedia for some basic information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vel'_d'Hiv_Roundup
I work in a library, so I figured I might as well see what kind of books we have on the topic. The best one I found is The Claims of Memory: Representations of the Holocaust in Contemporary Germany and France
This is the book that has letters in it between French and German officers. It also includes pictures of the camps, specifically Drancy, as well as pictures of a few of the memorials and a museum. There is an entire section of the book devoted to Vel' d'Hiv specifically, and another section for Drancy. I'd definitely recommend this one for anyone looking to learn more about the Holocaust, specifically it's execution in France. You can probably find this in your local library, but it's also available on Amazon.com:
I also read a survivor's story which was really touching. Unfortunately it was the only one I was able to find online. There are probably a lot more out there, but I'm fairly certain that there are very few survivor stories from the Jews of Vel' d'Hiv'. Here's her story:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3942285,00.html
Around the same time Madeleine Testyler told her story, a movie was made about the roundup in Paris called La Rafle. This is available on Netflix, but only on DVD. I'm not sure if it's available in video stores, but it is available on Amazon.com as well:
La Rafle is a 2010 French film. From the Vélodrome D'Hiver, where 13,000 Jews are crammed, to the camp of Beaune-La-Rolande, from Vichy to the terrace of the Berghof, La Rafle follows the real destinies of the victims and the executioners. Of those who orchestrated it all. Of those who trusted them. Of those who fled. Of those who opposed them. Every character in this film has existed. Every event, even the most extreme, transpired on that summer of 1942.
Letters from Drancy is an article I found online. It has several letters written from one woman to her sister as well as others. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/jul/18/worlddispatch.jonhenley
I also found a 60th anniversary commemoration speech (July, 2002): http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Commemoration-of-the-60th
I was unable to find President Jaques Chirac's speech in its entirety from July 21, 1995 when he publicly addressed France's role in the Holocaust. I did find an article someone wrote about it, and it includes many of the important parts of Chirac's speech, as well as commentary from other Eurpoean diplomats.
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/1322/chirac-hailed-for-citing-france-s-role-in-holocaust/
I hope you all find this information helpful and useful, and if you happen to do any research of your own and find anything interesting, let me know!
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment