Shooting of a film in Villard-de-Lans about the school's founder, Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski. À une certaine distance de l'orchestre (“A Certain Distance from the Orchestra”), by Rafaël Lewandowski (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

Home
Le foyer des libertés
The aftermath
Preserving the memory

Preserving the memory

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

High school alumni associations were set up, and gatherings of old friends multiplied as the work of remembrance began.

In 1958, in Krakow, around thirty former students got together to create the first “Villardians Alumni Circle”.

In 1974, former students and teachers from Poland and France gathered in Villard to create the “Union of Alumni of the Polish High School”. It is dedicated to remembrance of the school.

At the turn of the century, as the alumni got older, the association essentially became a rallying point.

In 2010, the association opened to the outside world. Its management passed from former students to their children. Work on preserving the memory of the school resumed.

8.3.1 “Create a circle of former Villardians.”

1958 — First reunion of alumni in Krakow (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais — Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Stéphane Malbos. Polish Resistance fighters in the Vercors. 2011.

In 1958, in Krakow, around thirty alumni gathered to “create a circle of former Villardians that will bring together all the high school ‘s students living in Poland, and former teaching staff. The international delegate, Panek, will likely travel to France to contact former students living there, as well as in the UK and elsewhere, with a view to preparing, if possible, an international meeting in Villard itself.” This circle organised regular meetings.

In 1974, as the 30th anniversary of the fighting in the Vercors approached, encouraged by the mayor of Villard, André Ravix, former students and teachers from Poland and France came together in Villard to create the Union des anciens du Lycée Polonais Cyprian Norwid, à Villard-de-Lans, et de leur famille – Amicale Villardczycy (“Union of alumni of the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School, in Villard-de-Lans, and their families — Amicale Villardczycy”). Among them, their very active president:

Lucjan Owczarek[/bio].

This association was primarily concerned with Polish memorials in the Vercors: names engraved on war memorials and in cemeteries, Polish graves in Villard and La Doua, in the suburbs of Lyon, etc. and played an active role in commemorative ceremonies. It strove to obtain recognition for the merits of teachers and friends still living in France: Wacław Godlewski, Philippe Blanc, Marcel Malbos, André Ravix. They received the Gold Cross of Polish Merit, one of Poland ‘s highest honours. A “Rue du Lycée Polonais” was inaugurated in Villard and a “Villardians Street” in Warsaw.

In the 1980s, humanitarian actions were organised by former students and teachers and by Villard town council to send food, medicine and various supplies to Poland.

At the turn of the century, Lucjan Owczarek died and was replaced by Henri Gielec. The alumni were ageing, their energy was waning and the association became primarily a rallying point. The annual general meeting is traditionally held in Villard-de-Lans. A powerful, joyful moment, when everyone meets again.

Today, the association is opening up to the outside world. With the gradual and inexorable disappearance of those directly involved in the saga of the high school, it amended its articles of association in 2010 to accept all those interested in the memory of this event, in promoting it and in making it available to the general public and to researchers through translations, publications, a website, exhibitions, events, etc.

The Mémoire du Lycée Polonais Cyprian Norwid – Villard-de-Lans 1940-1946 association is based in Villard-de-Lans. Its presidency has passed from former students to their children, first Stéphane Malbos and then Georges Nowak. Beyond the symbolism, it ensures that the flame is passed on, and that the memory is preserved.

8.3.2 “This inscription carved in stone…”

First meeting of the Alumni Association. The Polish consul in Lyon unveils a commemorative plaque, with Lucjan Owczarek, president of the alumni association, at his side, and André Ravix, mayor of Villard, on the right (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association - 1976).

—Extracts from speeches. The first major gathering of the Union of alumni of the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School in Villard-de-Lans and their families - Amicale Villardczycy - took place in Villard on 27 June 1976.

André Ravix, mayor of Villard – Municipal Bulletin of Villard-de-Lans

In those tragic years, the Polish government ‘s concern, in ensuring the continuity of the high school, was to prepare an elite at the very moment when your country was in danger of seeing its own deliberately physically annihilated by the occupiers. However, they did not know the Polish people and their extraordinary vitality, which enabled them to draw the strength for their resurrection from the very depths of the abyss.

We are delighted to be here together to name one of our oldest streets Rue du Lycée Polonais, and to inaugurate this plaque on the wall of the former Hôtel du Parc, the centre and heart of the high school ‘s life during the Villard years of its existence.

This inscription carved in stone should remind future generations, transcending human memory, that nothing worthwhile can be achieved without sacrifice, and that in order to be reborn, one must, like young nations, like your country, know how to face death.

Wacław Godlewski, headmaster – Municipal Bulletin of Villard-de-Lans

The experience of this “school unlike any other” , its vitality, the scope of its aspirations, the intensity of its nostalgia, the strength and determination of its leaders as well as its students and staff, and finally, the value of its achievements that are still bearing fruit today, contains other original aspects that deserve to be remembered. These are undoubtedly the reasons, along with the previous ones, why all of us, French and Polish, are here, thirty-six years after the creation of the school, in front of the walls of the Hôtel du Parc which once sheltered us, in front of this courtyard full of memories, and now in front of this commemorative plaque which preserves them, in front of this street which from now on will bear the name of the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School 1940-1946.

8.3.3 “Those from here and those from there found it hard to part.”

1978 — Karol Obidniak (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Karol Obidniak, student. About the 1976 gathering - Our school, 2017, after Nasza Szkola, 1998.

I had my doubts right up until the last moment. The prospect of this friendly meeting between former students and teachers of the Polish high school caused me some concern. I went there with my heart full of anxiety, because it seemed absurd to me to want to revive what in this case never succeeded in coming back to life. It seemed inevitable that such meetings, years later, would be nothing but literature, reawakening aspirations that were impossible to satisfy, and dreams laden with disillusionment.

So I was anxious, for many reasons, especially those I couldn ‘t foresee. Would the classmates who hadn ‘t returned with us to the homeland, who had chosen to offer their energy, their youth and their knowledge to France, understand us? Would what once bound us together prove strong enough to resurface with the first handshake, the timid embrace?

I began to observe the classmates seated next to me on the plane that was taking us to Lyon, thirty-two of the ninety former ViIlardians living in Poland, and I felt somewhat reassured: I saw around me faces satisfied with their existence, with their modest achievements to which I could personally subscribe without fear of tarnishing my reputation. Engineers, economists, lawyers, doctors, writers, poets – what a diverse range of paths! And each of them can take pride in having brought with them a small stone, which was placed in Poland long ago and is now an integrated and anonymous part of its foundations.

We know each other well, but individually. What will happen when we meet face to face? We ‘re from here, they ‘re from there. How will the people of Villard welcome us? Who remembers that wartime life, a life of rebellion and vibrant youth so confident in victory? Who remembers those who lost their lives fighting fascism when they weren’t even twenty years old? Who remembers? Can this memory be revived? If that could be achieved, how much more beautiful would reality be, how much more meaningful it would become!

Friday: our first day in Villard is spent feverishly exchanging our observations. As is usually the case, everyone remembers different things. But imperceptibly, like a mosaic where the elements come together, the image of the past begins to be reconstructed.

Saturday 26 June: our plenary assembly is solemnly opened at 10 am in the town hall meeting room. There were those who recognised each other immediately and others who first read the names on the badge before falling into each other ‘s arms with warm words of welcome. The opening speech was given by the main organiser, the president of the Polish Villardians, Lucjan Owczarek. The mayor of Villard, André Ravix, then took the floor to welcome everyone before handing over to Wacław Godlewski, who was one of the school’s headmasters.

Sunday: the day of the big event. Since 27 June, one of the main streets in Villard-de-Lans has been named after the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School. We see the commemorative plaque on the façade of the Hôtel du Parc: “Here, in the former Hôtel du Parc, was established from October 1940 to June 1946 the Cyprian Norwid Polish Lycée, the only free Polish secondary educational institution in occupied Europe.” Speeches followed. The first to speak was André Ravix, followed by Wacław Godlewski. Then it was the turn of one of the surviving leaders of the Resistance and, finally, a fiery speech by the Polish consul in Lyon. The choir sang the Polish anthem Jeszcze Polska nie zgineła, followed by La Marseillaise. Students from Gdansk and the French participants beside me no longer hid their tears. It was a solemn, moving occasion, during which it felt that the fraternal ties were as sincere and as strong as in the time of the dramatic ordeal.

Lunch was served in the large dining room of the Hôtel du Parc, and once again the choir sang within its walls. And when in the evening, at the Hotel Alsace, those from here and those from there found it hard to part, promising to see each other again soon, our French friends, succumbing once again to our exuberance, our traditional passion for life, lit a fire in the market square, leading us to dance and sing until dawn.

8.3.4 “This passing of the baton from one generation to the next was historic.”

2011 — Seated, on the right, Stéphane Malbos, Marcel’s son, the association's new president; on the left, Georges Nowak, Bernard’s son, president since 2022 (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Stéphane Malbos. Minutes of the association 's general meeting. September 2010.

The “Polish Variations in Vercors”, a five-day event organised by the town council, took pride of place. To mark the occasion, the play by Karol Obidniak and Jozef Wedrychowski, Pensionnaires de l ‘Hôtel du Parc, was adapted and performed four times for an audience of nearly a thousand people. The play was later performed six more times, attracting another fifteen hundred spectators. Ewa Cendrowska ‘s film, Retour au Vercors, has been converted to digital format. DVDs have been made, which you have received. The film was shown on a loop throughout the event in Villard ‘s village hall, La Coupole. An exhibition with seventeen-panels was created and presented. A slide-show was also presented. Finally, a Polish all-male choir, like the Berger choir, came to sing at a mass and then performed a programme of traditional and religious songs that reproduced one of Berger choir’s original concerts.

The Polish Variations in the Vercors, centred around the high school for this first edition, were an exceptional opportunity to raise awareness of our story. The municipality of Villard and the Maison du Patrimoine (Heritage Centre) are to be thanked for their investment, on both a human and financial level.

Speaking of financial investment… Money forms the sinews of war! It is essential that we find the funds to continue our various initiatives. We put together an application for a grant and this year obtained EUR from the Rhône-Alpes region; EUR from the Ministry of Defence; and EUR from the Polish Historical and Literary Society (SHLP). This EUR will enable us to finalise two projects that are close to our hearts: the publication of Tadeusz Lepkowski ‘s book and the translation and publication of Adam Skinder ‘s memoirs

These books will be published on our website, as are Henryk Grabowski ‘s Le Villardien, and Obidniak and Wedrychowski ‘s Les Pensionnaires de l ‘hôtel du Parc. Our aim is to make all the significant works written about the high school available to the general public in French.

Other projects were completed this year, with the renovation of the painting of the Virgin of Ostrobramska. Renovation of the Station des Polonais memorial has begun. We want to add to it the missing names of students who died or disappeared during the war. Renovation of the Polish tomb continues. We are going to replace the headstone. We are planning to put up an explanatory plaque listing all the victims of the war and those buried in the vault. We have finally had the plaque on the Château wall renovated.

Regarding the archives, the association has participated in the purchase of a “professional” scanner, which has greatly lightened the workload involved in digitising the documents in our possession. Nevertheless, this digitisation work is taking place on a very piecemeal basis. First, we need to gather as many documents as possible so that they can be appropriately organised. Digitisation only comes at the end of the process. We met Pierre Zaleski, President of the SHLP, and Ewa Rutkowski, its archivist. They agreed that our association ‘s archives should be kept at the SHLP. They have dedicated premises that are ideally suited. The photos and documents we entrust to the SHLP will thus be kept alongside Chopin’s scores and Adam Mickiewicz’s poems!

Finally, our association’s last general meeting marked a turning point, with the election of the children of alumni to key positions on the board. For our association, this passing of the baton from one generation to the next was historic. It will soon be reflected in the revision of our association ‘s articles. We are going to transform ourselves from an alumni association into an association open to all those concerned by the exceptional event that was the Polish high school.

8.2Villardians

Today9.0