8.2.1 “They still call themselves Villardians.”
8.2
Villardians
Teachers, students and staff were all deeply affected by their time at the high school. For them, the Vercors is a second home and Villard-de-Lans represents a France that helped and protected them. For these reasons, they call each other “Villardians” and have maintained strong, ongoing, lasting ties.
The events of 1944, particularly the summer, were a huge emotional shock at the school. All the details, behaviour, actions and possible negligence have been analysed over and over again. The young people judged the adults harshly. Serious reservations were expressed about the FFI - Vercors command, the poorly planned, perhaps avoidable defeat and the pointless sacrifices. It was a dark year, but also a glorious year, that of the Liberation, which opened up new prospects for the school’s students. On the Vercors plateau and alongside its inhabitants, students, teachers and staff from the school had worked, fought, loved, played, laughed, suffered and some had perished. The Vercors was their home and never had they more fittingly borne the name of “Villardians”.