Cyprian Norwid Polish High School
Cradle of Freedom
The Cyprian Norwid Polish High School is a little-known episode of the Second World War. From 1940 to 1946, some eight hundred students, teachers and staff gathered in Villard-de-Lans at a school "unlike any other": the only free Polish school in occupied Europe. A refuge and a centre of moral, cultural and military resistance, the high school fulfilled its mission: to continue the fight against the enemy, in the Vercors and elsewhere, and to train the elite of tomorrow's Poland. Over the years, links were forged between the inhabitants of the Vercors and the school's students, links so strong that the latter would always refer to themselves as "Villardians"!
Resources
A history of world events and the high school, from 1939 to 1946.
References for about eight hundred students, teachers and staff. Around three hundred in-depth biographies (currently being updated).
Around 1,500 period photographs gathered under the portraits of their thirty donors.
Documentaries on the history of the high school and a reunion of Villardians. A slideshow of over two hundred photos. The Vercors battles as told by a Villardian.
A full range published by the association: A historical "bible", a book for the general public, accounts of students’ journeys and daily life, a play and an epic poem.
From Vassieux-en-Vercors to London, not forgetting Villard-de-Lans. Visuals from seven of our exhibitions.
Photo gallery
