It was his eighth memorial trip to Poland with students. Muriel Guedj, an English teacher at the private vocational high school L’Initiative, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, of Jewish faith and passionate about the history of the Second World War, knows from experience the fruits of this type of projects on young people: questioning, opening up to the world and learning the importance of transmitting memory.
40% of the world’s Jewish population murdered
This Friday in November 2024, the seven First Professional students, almost exclusively young women, are particularly attentive. Since the beginning of the year, with their English teacher, they have already watched the films Escape from Sobibor – from the name of another camp that they will also visit in Poland – Schindler’s Listand visited the Shoah Memorial in Paris as well as that of Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Silence, listening, a few well-thought-out questions: everything shows that they have already integrated benchmarks and precise knowledge about the history of this tragedy of the 20th century, the death announced, planned and executed on an industrial scale of five to six million Jews, or 40% of the world’s Jewish population, half of that of Europe at the time.
Acts of resistance and disobedience
Since the beginning of the school year, during this weekly lesson which had prepared them for this trip, Muriel Guedj had decided to question the biblical verse contained in the book of Isaiah: “Mistreated, he humiliated himself, he “He didn’t open his mouth, like a lamb that lets itself be led to the slaughter.” (Is, 53, 7).
She did not intend to allow the idea to flourish in the minds of the students that the Jews would have remained passive in the face of the threats of extermination weighing against them. “Do you remember, in Drancy, the tunnel dug which allowed Jews to escape? “. She also emphasized the numerous acts of resistance and disobedience. “No, the Jews did not allow themselves to be led to the slaughterhouse without saying anything! »
Emotion, exchange, discussion
Photos of the Auschwitz camp were circulated in the class, a discussion on the meaning of black and white in Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List has started. Emotion, exchange, discussion are an integral part of memory work.
-Ameline, 21, often raises her hand and actively participates in the class. As she leaves class, she confides: “I particularly like history, it allows us to better understand current conflicts. I can’t wait to go to Poland to learn even more this period, it’s a great opportunity! But of course, it’s hard too. We don’t go there with a smile from ear to ear…”
Sofia, 17, of Tunisian origin through her mother, whose grandfather was Jewish and who has an atheist father from a Christian family, believes that “all religion is respectable and calls, by definition, for peace. » She was especially looking forward to going to Poland to “discover a new country.”
The teacher has very rarely faced reactions of indifference or rejection from her students. She even testifies that it is “the Arab-Muslim kids who thank me the most when I return from Poland. They tell me that they learned a lot, that they were moved… I remember one of them, last year, Elias, in his final year. He was a leader, a somewhat restless student, who lived in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis). He openly said that he “didn’t care at all” about the Holocaust, that he was just happy to go to Poland to be with his friends. On the way back, he told me that he had held back tears several times during the trip. He also told me that there were Jews in his family. It really touched me.”
Muriel Guedj was able to verify this: this preparation of several months allows us to go even further in the memory work once there. When they return, she also asks her students to write down what struck them, what they learned. In order not to leave all the room for emotion and to let reason do its work in the minds of these young adults.
