“Blanche’s story is also that of Brest”: she wrote a book about her 104-year-old grandmother

Born in 1920, Blanche Le Bris went into exile with her family in Brest in 1922 to escape the rise of anti-Semitism in Poland. But she did not escape the trauma of the Occupation in France. Later, in the Breton city, in the same way as La Librairie de la Cité which she created in the barracks with her husband Pierre, Blanche Le Bris became “a monument of Brest”, points out her daughter Jacqueline Millet.

“Telling her past was not really her way of working,” explains Valérie Millet, her granddaughter and author of “Blanche, Memoirs of a Brestoise d’adoption”, in which she respected the choice of her grandmother. mother to recount only the first fifty years of her life. In this book, “everything is true. Even if Blanche had quite a romantic life,” says her granddaughter.

Collect the ultimate memories

It was first of all family stories that gave material to the book. Then, interviews between the grandmother and the granddaughter. Finally, the family archives of Pierre Le Bris “traced the path of research” for Valérie Millet: “He had recovered a whole bunch of articles since 1940”.

“She was surprised that I wanted to write about her and not about my grandfather,” says Valérie Millet, “because he was the bookseller, and the focus at that time was more often on the man.” “It makes me happy and it also surprises me a lot,” confirms Blanche.

She was surprised that I wanted to write about her and not my grandfather. Because he was the bookseller, and the focus at that time was more often on the man

Brest, a character in its own right

“By writing the history of Blanche, we also retrace that of Brest, its destruction and its reconstruction.” Hence the unconscious obviousness for Valérie Millet to make “a character in its own right”. As the subtitle indicates, “Memory of an adopted Brestoise”, the significant events in Blanche's life are inseparable from that of the country of Brest. Like the roundup in La Roche-Maurice on October 10, 1942, which took away her parents and forced her to flee, entrusting her infant to strangers.

“Rediscovering my mother”

“We realize that we know very little about our ancestors,” explains Valérie Millet, who writes above all for Blanche’s grandchildren. “The book allowed me to rediscover my mother in another way,” continues Jacqueline Millet.

To counter the difficulties of her life, Blanche Le Bris “tried to dance and laugh, because opportunities don’t come by themselves,” explains the centenarian. At 104 years old, she still enjoys entertaining people and meeting new people.

Practical

Dedications for “Blanche, Mémoires d’une Brestoise d’adoption” by Valérie Millet: November 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Leclerc Plougastel-Daoulas, December 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Leclerc de Ploudalmézeau, December 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Équilibre du Monde bookstore in Saint-Renan, on 1 February from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Cultura in Brest.