—Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski had been the representative in France of the Polish Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education since 1924.
He was therefore familiar with the intricacies of the French political system and the men in power. Pétain ‘s government continued to rely on many of those who had been in power before the armistice. Lubicz-Zaleski met with them and obtained discreet but genuine support, which was indispensable.
- Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski, Headmaster – Memoirs 1939-1945. From Grotowice to Buchenwald (2002), based on Pamietnik 1939-1945. Od Grotowic do Buchenwaldu, 1998
I have been in Vichy since yesterday (18 September 1940). I went straight to the Ministry of Education where an unpleasant surprise awaited me. Châtelet has been relieved of his duties as Director of Secondary Education. Rector Terrachet is replacing him. The change in itself has no impact. They are both men of great value. Except that Terrachet is not due to arrive for another eight days! I explained the situation to the Inspector General, Mr Bruhat. He seemed keen to help, but I am not sure what he can do. I cannot reach J. Chevalier, but Bruhat has promised to do his best to resolve the matter of the Polish high school and the possibility of our young people attending French high schools. We exchanged a few thoughts on defeat and… hope. We tend to speak in innuendo, but understand each other perfectly. Rosset, the Director of Higher Education, does not use innuendo, but expresses himself forcefully and straightforwardly about the situation: “The war is not over!” he exclaimed, with restrained anger. Rosset clearly supports us and is genuinely in favour of young Poles being able to enrol in French high schools. He is obviously not certain of the decision in the higher circles (because of foreign pressure).
My visit today to the Director General of Technical Education, Mr. Luc, was truly moving. We talked at length about many things. When it comes to enabling our young people to attend French high schools, Luc was categorical: “Yes, of course, yes.” He proposes to address the issue officially: the Minister of Education, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the government, an official decision, etc. When I explained to him that in the current circumstances this procedure could lead to a refusal, he immediately agreed and took full responsibility within the scope of his powers. We therefore have the right to refer to him in the discussions with school heads.
The Villard high school also looked after young Poles at university, of course. The attitude of the Ministry of Education was very friendly: First Jacques Chevalier, then Luc and Terrachet, all of them. I ‘m sorry I didn ‘t remember the name of the Director of the Primary Schools Department, thanks to whom I was able to settle the important issue of reopening Polish classes in primary schools in the north of France, which had been closed by the very zealous Inspector Schmidt. This man, whose name escapes me, was later head of the Department of Secondary Schools and, once again, offered to help with Villard-de-Lans. I didn ‘t accept any material help from him, but his administrative protection was invaluable.
