CULTURE / HISTORY / Five Gapençais have recently been recognized thanks to the work of high school students from Sévigné
– Hautes-Alpes –
Gap honors the memory of these “Righteous”, these French, non-Jewish people who during the Second World War saved Jews from Deportation. In France, there are just over 4,000 of them. Father Joseph Richard-Duchamblo, Auguste and Clély Brochier, Rosa Gontard and Roxane Durand, five Gapençais, are now added to this list. They were recently recognized thanks to the work of high school students from Sévigné. A work that gave the City the idea to name the roundabout at the Lycée Saint-Joseph “Carrefour des Justes parmi les nations”. The inauguration took place this Monday.
“Passing on the torch of memory to younger generations.”
There were about twenty high school students this Monday morning who attended the inauguration of this roundabout alongside the veterans. Students from the Sévigné high school in Gap, who will this year, in turn, work on a project to transmit memory. Two teachers, Delphine Rolland, a professor of Literature and History, and Céline Auphan, a professor of applied arts, have been working with their classes on these issues for several years. The book “Gap au fil de l’histoire: les chemins de la mémoire” won the Ilan Halimi prize in 2022. Written by students from the Agora program at the Sévigné technical high school, this book recounted the journey of a Jewish family from Gap during the Second World War. With their students, these teachers put together a file to have five people from Gap recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations,” explains Céline Auphan. The file was then sent to the French Committee for Yad Vashem. A committee whose mission is to honour the “Righteous Among the Nations”, says Serge Cohen, the regional president. He made the trip to Gap on Monday.
A recognition file must be submitted for two other Gapençais
A historical trail with explanatory panels on the history of Gap during the Second World War is also being set up. A memorial work that must take its rightful place in the city according to the mayor, Roger Didier. Several street signs in the city of Gap are also evolving. Explanations of what the person has achieved for the city or the territory are now affixed there. A memorial work with the assistance of the historian, Jean-Pierre Jaubert.
Aurore Vallauri’s report
