Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski in the classroom (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

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The headmasters

The headmasters

Charpters

1. Before
2. Origins
3. The participants
4. Daily life
5. ”A school unlike any other”
6. Fighting
7. Twilight
8. The aftermath
9. Today

The first two headmasters were also the founders of the school. When they were deported, a teacher - and the leader of the very popular choir - took their place.

Three strong personalities succeeded one another as headmaster of the high school. First, from 1940 to 1943, the founder, Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski, who was often travelling due to his other responsibilities, was greatly assisted by Wacław Godlewski, co-founder and general secretary. Then Godlewski in 1943 and 1944, after Zaleski was arrested and deported. Finally, when Godlewski was in turn arrested and deported, Ernest Berger was headmaster from 1944 to 1946.

3.2.1 “This peaceful humanist with a benevolent smile.”

Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski in a street in Villard-de-Lans (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Adam Skinder, student. Our school, 2017, based on Mój Villard de Lans, 1978.

Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski (1882 – 1967) was an early advocate of the restoration of his homeland, which was then divided between three empires, and this led to his imprisonment. He continued his studies in Berlin, Munich and then Paris, where he settled in 1910. Because of his commitment to the Polish cause and his reputation as an intellectual, in 1924 the new Polish state appointed him delegate in France for the Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education.

Lubicz-Zaleski was a poet, writer and accomplished pianist. He lectured at the Institute of Slavic Studies and at the Sorbonne. He was in Poland when it was invaded. He embarked on a long and challenging journey to France. He was commissioned by the Polish government in exile to found what was to become the Polish high school in Villard, of which he was the first headmaster. He taught Polish literature there. He was arrested in 1943 and deported to Buchenwald, from which he returned after the Liberation. He remained in France, once again representing Poland and tirelessly contributing to its influence and to Franco-Polish friendship. He died in 1967 and is buried in the Polish necropolis in Montmorency cemetery. Cyprian Norwid lies not far from his grave.

Adam Skinder, student- Our school, 2017, based on Mój Villard de Lans, 1978

It is impossible to fully describe the personality of Lubicz-Zaleski, this peaceful humanist with a benevolent smile. Looking a little lost in everyday life, he would often be seen walking from our hotel to the Post Office, limping slightly, after teaching a series of lessons. But he radiated charisma to those around him. He would have a direct and cordial conversation with every new arrival, exhorting them to honour their compatriots and to fulfil their duties as students. From this interview, each of us came away with a new view of the world, free of the feeling of failure and the temptation to be discouraged, which had been replaced by a feeling of hope and confidence in the future, including the immediate future.

When he wasn ‘t forced to be absent by his many obligations, Zaleski always made sure he was present at meals. Rarely, too rarely, after dinner, when there was no one left in the refectory, he would sit down at the piano and, completely absorbed in Chopin ‘s music, or even, perhaps, in his own compositions, he would play – or rather, give a concert. And we would listen, without him seeing us, sitting on the windowsills, fascinated by the sounds that mixed sadness and joy, misfortune and hope, love and faith, but most of all, nostalgia.

This “beauty frozen in time” – as he liked to define music – was something grandiose for us, exiles far from our homes. As soon as he heard the slightest noise or movement, he would get up, close the piano and hasten away.

3.2.2 “He was close to everyone and exuded kindness.”

Wacław Godlewski in 1939 (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Wacław Godlewski (1906 - 1996) was 20 when he left to study in France:

Montpellier, Grenoble, La Sorbonne. In 1931, he settled in Lille as a Polish lecturer and professor of medieval history and aesthetics at the Catholic University. At the request of Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski, he helped found the Polish high school, becoming its general secretary and then its second headmaster, while teaching history and literature at the school and in Grenoble.

He was deported to Mauthausen in 1944, from which he returned physically and mentally scarred. He died slightly more than fifty years later, having made a major contribution to the development of Polish studies in Lille, and was buried in Villard cemetery.

Adam Skinder, student- Our school, 2017, based on Mój Villard de Lans, 1978

Wacław Godlewski – whom we called Wacek, a diminutive pronounced with a familiarity tinged with both warmth and respect – taught history and Polish to the scientists. He had been a lecturer in Polish at the University of Lille and was also an accomplished mountaineer in the Tatras. He did not like publicity and generally avoided loud voices and social occasions; he was close to everyone and exuded kindness; he loved everything Polish while also being a friend of the French. He was always on the move, overburdened with work and a never-ending series of emergencies that demanded quick decisions.

He usually dressed in a brown zip-up anorak, knickerbockers, low brown shoes, and had short, slicked-down jet-black hair. He gave his lessons at the Hôtel de la Poste, usually standing on the steps, leaning against the doorframe, less often while walking, and very occasionally sitting down. In his left hand he held assorted sheets of paper, while with his right he unzipped and zipped his anorak, or smoothed his short, tidy hair, or made grand gestures to emphasise a particular point. His voice was nasal, muted, virtually monotone.

If you just watched him, his lessons could seem boring and soporific, but if you listened carefully, they offered a wealth of knowledge. He was able to pass on his love of Polish literature, culture and history in a way that, far from generating weariness and saturation, made us aspire to continue learning.

3.2.3 “A cordial yet reserved attitude.”

Ernest Berger (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Ernest Berger (1904 - 1958) was a brilliant mathematics teacher, but also loved of music and singing.

Before arriving in Villard in 1940 – at the age of 36 – he had directed several choirs in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Silesia. Chor Villard was his last creation, and would play a central role in the school ‘s relationship with the people of the village and far beyond. In 1943, he became the third headmaster and skilfully managed the terrible events of 1944. In 1945 and 1946, he faced the consequences of the change of regime in Poland. His wife was in charge of the school ‘s administration. After the war, they returned to Poland. He died in 1958.

Adam Skinder, student- Our school, 2017, based on Mój Villard de Lans, 1978

Ernest Berger was dark-haired, wore glasses, was short, stocky, and very energetic. He was a man of great depth of feeling, with a very broad range of interests; extremely competent in his subject, he also had an enormous talent for music and for friendship. His open and sincere nature taught us that he was both understanding – within the limits of the rules and general propriety – and demanding – within the limits of the programme, naturally. He made it a point of honour to maintain a cordial yet reserved attitude in all circumstances. But he did have one weakness: music, or more precisely choral singing.

Berger was a model of punctuality: I don ‘t remember him ever arriving late or running over time. He prepared his lessons extremely meticulously and delivered them to us without unnecessary digression, in a way that was so accessible and so rigorous that we were spellbound. Often, when a new concept was to be introduced, he would choose one of the best students to develop it the blackboard, with his guidance, of course.

We know that, during the school’s final and most difficult period, during the fighting in the Vercors, he served as headmaster. He continued in this role after the war and then, after returning to Poland, rebuilt the school system in Silesia, a region that had been recovered from Germany. He was a model for me throughout my education, both as a teacher and as headmaster, and I was certain that I could never equal him.

3.1Diversity

The teachers3.3