Debate: Hidden Children

the programme is to be repeated Wednesday 2 May at 02:40 on BBC ONE. Guess the best thing for you is to record it unless you are a nightowl!

Hi,

Thanks for your interest.

First, the programme is to be repeated Wednesday 2 May at 02:40 on BBC ONE. Guess the best thing for you is to record it unless you are a nightowl!

Now to answer your questions. I too read Hallie's book; in fact, until its publication, I avoided dredging up the painful past. By pure coincidence I stumbled across a book review of Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. It prompted me to phone Prof. Hallie and our conversation began to open my window into the past.

I read Suite Francaise in French, shortly after its publication in France and loved not only the story and its characters but also greatly appreciated the mastery of the language used. In 2005 I too had the pleasure of meeting Denise Nemirovski in France - a delightful lady.

I have not yet seen the BBC's Hidden Children production (I hope it will be shown in the US at some future time). The producers must have recorded well over 2 hours of video and voice while filming in Le Chambon, but I have no idea how much of it made the final cut. As far as I can remember, the College Cevenol was mentioned during the filming but we did not delve too much into its activities. During my stay in Le Chambon, the College did not exist in its present format. The classrooms were dispersed widely in the village (some classrooms were across the street from the temple, some were in farmhouses). It all seemed to function on a "catch as catch can basis" and I am sure that there was much improvisation to accomodate an ever changing body of non-paying students and a likely shortage of teachers.

The most important thing to remember of course is the fact that some 5,000 inhabitants on the plateau Cevenol managed to save some 5,000 refugees, most of them Jews and they did so without ever seeking reward or recognition. If you see the program on 2 May, you will see that I was one of those fortunate enough to have been sheltered there for some 8 months. You might also want to look at the documentary film "Weapons of the Spirit" produced in the late 1980's by Pierre Sauvage.

Finally, we did not make contact with the present administration of the College while filming in Le Chambon.
The names Trocme and Theis are of course well known in the village but I doubt that there are many villagers still alive today who knew them back in the 1940's other than as children (such as myself).

Hope the foregoing is helpful.

Peter Feigl

[Edited by: James for retailer plug]

Hello Tracy:

Was there ever a time when I "forgot" what had happened in my past? Yes. For years I suppressed the events, consciously or unconsciously. Perhaps that was a good thing. I believe that it helped me focus on my new family, career, advancement, future. Delving on the past was not going to help and would only enbitter me. My 2nd diary always was in my posession from the day I started writing in it - yet I would not or could not bring myself to open it and read the entries therein until 1987. Not until I visited Auschwitz in 1998 did I allow myself to form a mental image of my parents' last days, herded into a cattle car, the agony they must have suffered, questions whether they survived the trip to Auschwitz, did they have to walk to the gas chamber - and that is when anger really welled up in me. How can supposedly normal god-fearing people show such inhumanity to their fellow men?

Peter

Hello Janey.a

You asked how my experiences affected my views on life and humanity? Is it possible to forgive?

The cynicism I often am accused of is likely rooted in my wartime experiences. I have a tendency of questioning motives, especially those of politicians, and always seem to question authority. Perhaps more people should do so?
And like you, I often have ask myself if I have the strength of character or conviction to open my door and heart to some stranger seeking help/shelter/protection in a police state where (unjust) laws brand me as an enemy of the state for rendering assistance to fugitives of officialy sanctioned/encouraged persecution.

As to forgiveness - I hold no grudge against and cannot blame any Frenchman or German aged 19 or younger in 1945 but cannot help wondering when meeting today someone in their mid-80's or older: "And what did you do during the years 1940-45?" I am immensly grateful to those courageous souls I had the good fortune of meeting. Alas there were too few of them and as I said above, I don't know how I would have behaved under the circumstances.

Hello Jacqueline,

About your question regrading my religious beliefs, let me say this. My parents were completely secular - non-practicing Jews. Other than to attend some friend's or family member's wedding, I don't think they ever set foot in a synagogue. Hence, until my baptisme at age 8, I had no exposure to organized religion. After that, I considered myself catholic and found it difficult to understand why I should be persecuted as a Jew.

I began to have doubts about the power of prayer after the novena, organized by the devout catholic lady in whose care I was at the time of the arrest of my parents, failed to return my parents to me. As time went on, my serving at or attending mass became a means of providing "cover". Once in Switzerland (May 1944, age 15+) I never felt any "need" or desire to go to church. And there was no "returning to Judaism" since I had never been there before. Today I still have serious problems with most organized religions, viz Ireland (catholic/protestant), Iraq (sunni/shia), India (hindu/moslem), Sri Lanka, Afghanistan - need I go on?

I do believe in ethical behavior, in the need for people to speak up when witnessing discrimination, persecution, bullying, picking on the weak, scapegoating. I have tremendous respect for Quakers, Unitarians and Buddhists (forever seeking the truth) because they do not pretend to have the ONE and ONLY key to the gate of heaven.

Yes, I did get marrtied. I was fortunate enough to find the woman of my dreams in 1953. After a 4 months long romance, we were married in 1954 and recently celebrated our 53rd anniversary which would not have been possible had my wife not shown me as much understanding for my meshugases as she did. We have 2 daughters and 2 grandsons.

As to your last question. The state of Florida mandated teaching of the Holocaust in 1992 and since then, I have been invited to speak about my wartime experience and the good deeds of those who saved me at teacher seminars, public, private and religious schools as well as churches, social gatherings and organizations.

I appreciate your interest in me and my story. You also may want to read my replies to other queries and comments in this forum.

Peter

I am not quite clear what you mean by "the research of the programme". If you refer to the BBC's research, I think they did a very thorough job. Speaking of my own story, as told in the Hidden Children programme, it is well documented by the entries in my diaries which in turn have been corroborated by documents found in French national, departmental and municipal archives and in Swiss cantonal archives.
As for the French fessing up to the misdeeds of the Vichy government, it took president Jacques Chirac to bring to the attention of the French some 6-7 years ago that not all french citizens were in the resistance and that unfortunately there were a goodly number of nazi collaborators.

I watched The Hidden Children with great interest, brilliantly and evocatively made. My grandfather was on the same transport - convoy 30 - to Auschwitz as Marcel Rozenbaum, the little boy in the opening sequences of the film. I am researching into the internment camp at Sepfonds, south-west France, where my grandfather was held and should be greatful for any further information. I have just returned from their memorial service last week. Are there any survivors from the camp reading this blog?

Hallo,I have just joined the group discussion.
'Hidden Children'is one of the most memorable programmes I have watched in ages;congratulations to the production team.
Can you tellme more about your source material please?
I was particularly captivated by the heartbreaking snippet about poor little Colette Rozen:I have emailed YadVashem and visited the French Shoah Foundation website.
Please email whatever information you are able supply.
Thank you

I agree with all the comments about the programme - very well made and a very moving story. It just underlined for me how incredibly important it is to get these stories recorded before the people concerned are no longer with us. Best wishes, John

Your programme on hidden children shone a light on a forgotten corner of the Second World War.

Your programme covered France but there are many other stories from other parts of Europe showing the strength of human fortitude in the struggle to survive.

I suggest to continue the theme you hav ealreday begun your series include the film that was shown at the Jewish Film Festival in 2005, 'Hiding from Hitler'.

The web site is www.hidingfromhitler.com

There is an opportunity to study the impact or being a survivor of human issues like war, trauma and lawlessness, with a group called Hope Alive. It is a rare coming together of people who inflicted suffering on others, and those who suffered and those who stood by and watched. The group looks at the issues from the point of view of 4 generations of the family and how abuse and neglect and loss affect the human family. There is a training day in England later this year.
Yours sincerely
Tracy Joynes

Gary - Have you considered contacting the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) which is based in North London. I am sure they would be able to help - after all, this is their raison d'etre.

Hi Gary,
There are numerous websites that can help you learn more about that period in history. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM.org) contains a wealth of information.

The Imperial War Museum in the UK has an excellent exhibit. The BBC has the greatest "time line" I have seen anywhere - taking the viewer day by day through the 1933-45 period. Yad Vashem in Israel also is a fount of knowledge. Obviously you will find many duplications of information because many documents found after the war were copied and made available to many researchers in many countries.

Another personal record of the events is Viktor Klemperer's 2 volumes entitled "I Shall Bear Witness". Klemperer a Jewish university professor married to a gentile kept a day to day diary of the events from Hitler's assumption of power in Jan. 1933 until the end of the wa in 45.

Gary, I'm one of the producers of this week's Timewatch: The Hidden Children, and I'm glad you think it is important to tell stories like these. Although I know the stories very well, I still find it extraordinary what these four children went through. I'm not an expert on formal study of this period - I hope someone from the Open Universtiy can help you there. But I think it is possible to get involved. We only told four stories, but there are many others. Although these events were 65 years ago, some of the children can only now bring themselves to talk about what happened, and you might be able to help someone tell their story.
We came across these amazing survivors when a neighbour of ours, a woman we'd known for some years, started to tell us about what had happened to her, a story she hadn't told before. This was Suzanne, one of the Hidden Children in tonight's film.

what i cant understand is how the french police could treat children like this. what is going on in some ones head to stand outside a gas chamber and kill toddlers and babes. i am a grandfather and would kill my self first

This was a very moving and emotional documentary which included the stories of a handful of very brave Frenchmen and women who defied the Nazis at the pain of their own deaths.