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Born on 28 January 1904 in Dąbrowa Śląska (Czechoslovakia). Ernest was a brilliant maths teacher and loved music and singing. He conducted several choirs in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Silesia before moving to Villard-de-Lans in 1940. He was accompanied by his wife, Malgorzata. He was a maths teacher. He founded and directed the Chor Villard-de-Lans choir, which played a central role in the school's relations with the local community and beyond. In 1944, after the arrest of Wacław Godlewski, he became headmaster and demonstrated great skill in managing events at Vercors and the consequences of the change of regime in Poland in 1945 and 1946. His wife was the school secretary. After the war, they returned to Poland. Ernest died in 1958.

Born on 23 February 1927 in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle). The Delingiers lived in Metz, where the father works at the Polish savings bank. The family took refuge in Toulouse when France was invaded. The father worked for the Polish Red Cross and in the Resistance. He was taken prisoner in March 1941. Jerzy, his eldest son, was sent to the high school in Villard-de-Lans at the start of the 1942 school year. Wanda followed him a year later. Jerzy was killed by the Germans during the fighting in Vercors. Wanda, deeply affected, continued her studies at the school until it closed. She then went to the new high school in Paris where she passed her baccalaureate. She studied at the Institut Scientifique de Beauté and went on to work as a beauty care teacher before becoming training director for the French section of the Elena Rubenstein brand. She married Mieczysław Jóżwiak (who died in 1995) and then Guy Devillers. Wanda died in 2018.

Born in 1913 in Poland. Helena was the governess of two children in a noble family. When war broke out, she followed the family to the south of France, then to Villard-de-Lans. She became a seamstress and linen maid at the high school. She stayed in Villard-de-Lans all her life. She worked at La Clarté, a girls' college run by Marcel and Denise Malbos, former teachers at the high school, as a linen maid and housekeeper. She was much more than an employee for the Malbos family, eating all her meals with them, and was the godmother of one of their children. Helena died in 2009.

Born on 10 March 1928 in Le Chambon-Feugerolles (Loire). Józefa's parents emigrated to France just after the First World War. Her father worked in the coal mines and died prematurely. Her mother then supported the family. Józefa was able to continue her studies and attended the high school in Villard-de-Lans between 1942 and 1946. She then went to the high school in Paris, where she obtained her baccalaureate. She subsequently enrolled at the Sorbonne and married her former Polish teacher, Stanisław Roszkiewicz. They left for Poland in 1949. In 1950, Stanisław was arrested and imprisoned. When he was released, he could not find work. Józefa became the sole provider for the family, working as an accountant.

Born on 11 May 1932 in Nîmes (Gard). Krystyna's parents emigrated from Poland in 1930. Her father worked in the Alès coalfield and joined the Polish Army in Italy during the war. Krystyna entered the high school in 1944. When it closed, she returned to the Gard region, where she passed her baccalaureate and obtained a secretarial diploma. She then worked for the Alstom foundries and married Maurice Haon, who also worked there. In September 2023, Krystyna was still with us.

Born in 1930 in Villard-de-Lans (Isère). Suzette's parents own the Hôtel du Parc and the château where they lived and where the school was based. Her adolescence was strongly marked by the 800 students and teachers with whom she interacted on a daily basis. When the high school closed, Suzette continued her studies in Villard-de-Lans and Grenoble, and travelled to Italy and England, before returning and helping her parents to run the renovated family hotel. She married in 1956 and accompanied her husband until they separated in 1967. She returned to Villard-de-Lans. The hotel was sold to the city of Avignon. His father was running an estate agency. Together they developed the business, and Suzette took over until her retirement in 2006. Suzette remained in Villard, always attending the gatherings of former students and friends of the Polish high school. Suzette died in 2022.

Born on 2 April 1933 in La Mure (Isère), in the heart of a mining area. Franciszka's family lived in the La Mure mining area in Isère. Franciszka entered the high school in Villard-de-Lans in 1944, and then the high school in Paris in 1946. She passed her “petit bac” (equivalent of GCSEs or junior high school diploma) in 1948. She returned to La Mure to finish her studies, specializing in commerce. She stayed in La Mure and went on to work for Houillères du Dauphiné (coal mine), then, after marrying Maurice Bérard, for the family business (vehicle appraisal and bodywork). A regular at the annual alumni gatherings, she would remind people that she was the youngest student at the high school. Franciszka died in 2023.

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Born on 20 January 1909 in Sambor (Poland), Tadeusz was one of fourteen children, four of whom did not survive beyond birth. His father worked on the railway being built between Krakow and Lvov. The ten surviving siblings were born in different places along the route as the family moved. His education was limited to primary level, which was the norm. This was something he always regretted.

In 1929, Tadeusz enlisted in the Nineteenth armoured regiment in Lvov and went to the non-commissioned officer school. At the time of the invasion, he was attached to the Second Krakow Air Regiment. He was evacuated to France via Bucharest. He joined the Villard-de-Lans high school in 1940, passed his baccalaureate in 1941 and moved to Toulouse to work in the aeronautical factories. When the free zone was invaded, he crossed the Pyrenees to eventually reach Scotland, where he joined the air force.

After the war, he worked briefly at the Polish embassy in London, where he met his wife. They left London and settled in Huntingdon, where he resumed his career as an engineer. He retired in 1976 and died in 1978.

Born on 31 October 1929 in Lubliniec (Poland). When Poland was invaded, Krystyna's family lived in Krakow, where her father served in the air force. He fled to Romania, was imprisoned there, escaped and joined the Polish army in France. The rest of the family also travelled to Romania, and then eight months later to Lyon, Vichy and a Red Cross shelter in the Pyrenees. Krystyna went to the high school in Villard-de-Lans in 1942 and then to the one in Paris where she passed her baccalaureate. Her studies ended there. She went on to become a journalist and editorial secretary for various magazines, including Le Nouvel Observateur and Reader's Digest. She is one of the pillars of the alumni association. She married Calude Fassina. In September 2023, Krystyna was still with us.

Born on 14 September 1923 in Zadworze (Poland), Ferdynant was a young boy when his family emigrated to France. His father worked in the foundries at Hayange (Moselle). When war was declared, Ferdynant joined the Polish Army in France. After the fall of France, he was sent to a labour camp in Guarrigues - Château de la Bastide, in the south of France. Demobilised, he came to the high school in Villard-de-Lans in 1941. He left in February 1944 to reach Great Britain via the Pyrenees and Spain. He joined the Polish Army Officer Training School in Scotland. Demobilised in 1946, he returned to France and became an industrial draughtsman. Ferdynant died in 1988.

Born on 26 September 1931 in La Machine (Nièvre). Henryk's family emigrated to France after the First World Wars. His father worked in the Schneider iron ore mines. Henryk arrived in Villard-de-Lans in 1944, just after the tragic events at Vassieux-en-Vercors. He stayed until the school closed and continued his studies at the Polish high school in Paris. He obtained his baccalaureate there in 1950 and left for Poland. He enrolled at Warsaw Polytechnic. He returned to France and married Sabine Dadan in 1956. He pursued a career at Établissements Metrix in Annecy. Henryk was still with us in September 2023.

Born on 9 February 1926 in Kamieniec Wielkopolski (Poland). Janina’s mother died when she was three. Her father, with the four children and her mother’s sister (whom he later married) emigrated to France in 1930. He worked as a miner in the north of France. The economic crisis forced them to return to Poland from 1935 to 1937. They then came back to France, to work in the mines again, but this time in the Massif Central. Janina was a good student and her Polish teacher encouraged her to go to the high school in Villard-de-Lans, which she did in 1943. She saw the start of the fighting in the Vercors and returned home with some difficulty. On her arrival, she heard the terrible news of the massacre at Vassieux, from which her future husband, Marian Liber, a fellow student, miraculously escaped. Janina finished her studies at the high school in Paris. She and Marian moved to the Metz region, where they taught and then ran a driving school. Janina was very active in the alumni association. She died in 2007.

Born on 13 December 1901 in Krasnosiółka (Poland). Zofia taught biology and chemistry in Warsaw before joining her brother Julian, the Polish ambassador to France, in 1938. She taught at the first Cyprian Norwid Polish high school in Paris, and then at Villard-de-Lans from 1940 to 1945. She was also one of the supervisors at the girls' boarding facility. She was in Villard-de-Lans during the fighting in the Vercors and took part in the difficult task of going to Vassieux to identify the bodies of the students who had been massacred. Nicknamed "Amoeba", she was much appreciated by students and teachers alike, and was considered to be "the heart of Villard". She kept up a regular correspondence with her former students (there are 300 letters in our archives!), and remained in constant touch with the Villardians. In the summer of 1946, she returned to Poland and continued her work as a teacher. Zofia died in 1988.

Marcel was born on 24 October 1915 in Molière-sur-Cèze (Gard). Denise Menot was born on 2 August 1918 in La Tronche (Isère). In 1938, Marcel was a student at the University of Lille, where he met a Polish teacher, Wacław Godlewski. They become friends. After the fall of France in June 1940, Godleswski took refuge with the Malbos family in Robiac (Gard). At the beginning of October, when the high school was launched, Godlewski asked Marcel he would work there as a French teacher. He stayed from the first to the last day. In June 1944, he married Denise Menot, who also became a French teacher at the school.

They followed the high school to Paris but returned to Villard-de-Lans after a year. They set up their own junior high school, La Clarté, based on the educational principles of the Polish high school. They spent the rest of their lives in Villard-de-Lans. Marcel became one of the driving forces behind the alumni association, of which he was honorary president. He died in 1995. Denise was very active in Villard's social life. She died in 2005.

Born in Paris on 12 October 1924. Edward's family emigrated to France after the First World War. His father set up a bakery in Paris. In 1937, Edward was sent to Poland to continue his schooling. While he was in France for his school holidays, war was declared. He entered the Villard-de-Lans high school in 1940 and passed his baccalaureate in 1943. He became a liaison agent between England and France and carried out some particularly dangerous missions. In 1949, he left for Canada where he worked as a baker. When his father fell ill, he returned to Paris, married Krystyna Kubiak, moved back to Canada and gave up baking to work as sales representative. Edward died in 2004.

Born on 27 Avril 1922. He was a student at the high school in Villard-de-Lans from 1940 to 1942.

Born in Chelmza (Poland). Maria's parents emigrated to France in 1931 and lived near Saint-Étienne. In 1943, she entered the high school in Villard-de-Lans and then, at the start of the 1946 academic year, the high school in Paris. She returned to Poland in 1947. She obtained her Matura there in 1949. She studied to become a French teacher, but it was not long before such teaching was abolished. She then worked in import-export. In 1957, she returned to France, was unable to find a teaching post and became a social worker. Maria was also known by the name of Orliac. She died in 2023.

Born on 14 December 1923 in Olszanica (Poland). Student at the high school in Villard from 1940 to 1944.

Born on 15 July 1923 in Kaclin (Poland). His family moved to Guegnon (Saône), close to the future demarcation line, in 1925. Ludwik joined the Resistance (POWN-Monika) in 1941. He helped to smuggle escapees from German prison camps in the occupied zone to the free zone. When the free zone was occupied, Ludwig was sent to the Vercors to monitor the arrival of students at the Cyprian Norwid Polish high school and report back to Colonel Huet's military staff. It was in these circumstances that he was admitted to the high school in 1943. He was on holiday at home when the Vercors uprising broke out. He did not return to the high school, but joined Lieutenant Topor's Polish partisans, most of whom were Poles who had been forced into the German army. After the war, Ludwig joined the American army, where he monitored German prisoners. He took advantage of a convoy to return to Poland.

Born on 28 November 1929 in Warsaw (Poland). Andrej's father was taken prisoner at the start of the war, when the Soviet army invaded Poland. He never saw him again. A year later, one of his grandmothers, of French origin, obtained authorisation to move to Lebanon. The family settled in Beirut and then moved to Chambéry in France, where his mother taught Polish. Andrej joined the Villard-de-Lans high school in 1945, and then the Paris high school in 1946. He passed his baccalaureate in 1947 and went on to study architecture in Grenoble, London and Paris, during which time he married. After graduating, he opened his own practice in Vienne (Isère). Andrej was still with us in September 2023.

Born on 5 April 1924 in Lyon (France). Edward's parents came to France on a contract in the early 1920s. He attended the Parc high school in Lyon. In 1941, joining the scouts brought him into contact with leaders of the Polish POWN Monika resistance network and he became a liaison agent. In 1942, he joined the high school in Villard-de-Lans. After witnessing the fighting at Vassieux, Édouard joined the Resistance and then the Polish Army in England, and entered the Cadet Officer Training Unit. He was made a lieutenant. Demobilised in June 1947, he returned to France and pursued a career in industry. His knowledge of Polish enabled him to work with Poland for ten years. Having married, Édouard settled permanently in Meyzieu, in the Lyon region, where he was active in cultural and veterans' associations. Edward died in 2017.

Born in Krakow on 25 August 1923. Bronisława's parents arrived in France in 1928. Her father worked in the mines and died in an accident at work. Her mother died shortly afterwards. Bronisława became an orphan at the age of eleven. Her younger brother was sent to Poland; she was placed in an orphanage in Lyon, then in Montceau-les-Mines with the Sisters of Saint-Vincent de Paul. They sent her to the Polish high school in Villard-de-Lans. She obtained her baccalaureate in 1945 and moved to Paris, where she entered the Sorbonne. In 1946, she married Kazimierz Kalusinski, of Polish origin, a war veteran and former student at the Villard-de-Lans high school. They left for Poland in 1948. Nine years later, disappointed by the political regime, they managed to return to France. Kazimierz worked in the metal industry and Bronisława in the field of dyslexia. Bronisława died in 1988.

Born on 26 August 1924 in Warsaw (Poland), Jadwiga's father worked at the Polish Republic Police Station in Gdansk. In 1935, the family moved to Warsaw where her father, Alfred, held senior government positions. In September 1939, Alfred was ordered to go to France to manage the Polish monetary funds that had been transferred there. He helped to set up the Villard-de-Lans high school, which Jadwiga entered in 1940. She passed her baccalaureate in 1943 and joined the Resistance. Her father was arrested in 1944 and deported to a concentration camp. Life became difficult. She got a job at the Grand Adret sanatorium in Villard-de-Lans. When Alfred returned from deportation, the whole family went back to Poland. Jadwiga married Henryk Krajewski in 1948. She worked in finance and then in Foreign Affairs. Jadwiga died in 2010.

Born on 20 May 1921 in Grybow (Poland). Adam's parents were teachers. In 1939, he enlisted and fought in the First Polish Independent Highland Brigade. Taken prisoner and interned in Hungary after the September campaign, he joined the Polish Army being assembled by General Sikorski in France. Wounded, he reached the free zone after the armistice in June 1940 and received treatment at the military hospital in Lyon. There, he learned of the creation of the Polish high school in Villard, joined it and completed his secondary education there in two years. He enrolled as a student in Grenoble on a Polish Red Cross scholarship, and at the same time worked for the French Resistance. Arrested in Uriage by the SS intelligence services, he was detained in the Natzweiler (Alsace) and then Dachau concentration camps. Liberated on 5 May 1945, he returned to Villard to convalesce and became engaged to Irena Sobusik, a student at the high school, whom he later married. He resumed his studies in Grenoble. In 1946, he returned to Poland where he held successive positions in vocational education. He is the author of the book Mon Villard-de-Lans, several chapters of which were included in Notre École, a book published by the association. Adam died in 1999.

Born on 27 April 1925 in Noeux-les-Mines (Pas-de-Calais). At the start of the war, Tadeusz was a scout and worked as a Polish-French interpreter at the Ministry of War in Paris. After the fall of France, his family took refuge in Toulouse and Tadeusz joined them. In 1942, he entered the high school in Villard-de-Lans. At the end of 1944, having obtained his “petit bac” (junior high school diploma), he was recruited by the Polish Army, which sent him to an officer training college in Great Britain. After being demobilised, he returned to France and trained at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. He married Izabela Krasinska, also a former student at the Villard-de-Lans high school. He pursued a career at the Alpha-Perlex plastics factory. Tadeusz died in 2012.

Born on 3 April 1920 (or 13 March 1922) in Radzyń Podolski (Poland). He was at the Polish high school in Villard during the 1942-1943 school year.

Born on 17 March 1924 in Krakow (Poland). She was at the Polish high school in Villard during the 1942-1943 school year.

Born on 9 June 1928 in Thionville (Moselle), Janina's parents emigrated from Poland after the First World War and settled in Lorraine. His father worked in a large company. At the start of the war, the family moved to the area around Châteauroux (Indre). Her father joined the Polish Army, fought, was badly wounded, taken prisoner and died of his wounds in 1942. Janina was taken in by the Polish Red Cross and sent to Villard high school in June 1942. She passed her baccalaureate in 1946 and went on to study business in Grenoble. There she met her future husband, Stanisław Panek. They settled in Colombes, near Paris. Janina died in 2023.

Born on 22 November 1917 in Goszczanow (Poland), Henryk served in the First Armoured Battalion stationed in Poznan when war broke out. After the defeat, he fled Poland for France and joined the Polish Army in the fighting at the Marne. After the fall of France, he was demobilised and admitted to the high school in Villard-de-Lans. He passed his baccalaureate in 1943. He reached Great Britain via the Pyrenees and continued the fight in the armoured division of the Polish Army. He was seriously wounded during the fighting for the liberation of France. Treated in an English hospital, he remained in Great Britain and pursued a career in industry.