”A school unlike any other”

After centuries of fighting, unions and successive dismantling, Poland had only been united since 1918. A heightened sense of patriotism opposed the invasion and destruction by Hitler and Stalin of everything that embodied this nation. It was essential to prepare its renewal.

Spirituality at the school was not purely patriotic, it was also religious, but in the form of a benevolent Catholicism, open to others.

Relations between the school and local residents were not without problems. At first, mistrust prevailed. Over time, tensions eased and give way to curiosity, then sympathy and respect.

Faced with this school that was very clear about its goals, the Vichy regime’s attitude was twofold. The school was closely monitored and the occupying forces’ directives were applied without hesitation by the administration, yet there was complicity at the highest level.