1941-1943. A group of students in front of the school. On the left, Henryk Zdziarski (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

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Origins
Start of the school year

Start of the school year

Chapters

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

On 18 October 1940, the second Cyprian Norwid Polish High School opened its doors on the premises of the Hôtel du Parc et du Château. Ambroise Jobert, a Polish history teacher, welcomed the students on behalf of the French authorities.

On 18 October 1940, the second Polish High School, also named Cyprian Norwid, but having no real connection to the first, officially opened on the premises of the Hôtel du Parc et du Château.

Zygmunt Lubicz-Zaleski wrote: “The opening ceremony took place almost a week ago. For the French, the speeches were given by the Mayor of Villard-de-Lans, a very kind, jovial man, and Ambroise Jobert, a teacher representing the Prefect and the Rector. Jobert moved everyone. He read his entire speech in Polish. It was very simple, full of tact and peaceful faith. This caused a sensation among those young people who did not hold France and the French in high esteem. The director of the Polish Office in Lyon, the Polish Red Cross delegate and I spoke for the Poles, in French (mostly) and Polish (briefly). Zygmunt Dyga gave an energetic rendition of an Étude, two Mazurkas and the Polonaise in A major by Chopin. People said everything went perfectly, and I think so too.”

2.6.1 “The Polish Red Cross was responsible for recruiting students.”

Demobilised soldiers and refugees in a work camp in the Alps (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Tadeusz Łepkowski, student. A free Polish school in occupied France (2012), based on Wolna szkoła polska w okupowanej francji (1990).

While Zaleski and Godlewski were finalising the teaching staff and organising the school ‘s economic, material and legal infrastructure, the Polish Red Cross in France was busy recruiting students. With time running out, Chiczewski sent a circular to the directors of Polish refugee hostels on 5 October, containing detailed information about the school and the admission requirements.

It stated that the school year would start on 15 October for the final year of junior high school and the two high school classes (modern literature and mathematics-physics). To be admitted, students had to present a school certificate or pass an entrance exam, which would be held between 15 and 18 October. The school was mixed. Boarding facilities would be provided for students. Applications would be accepted until 12 October. Applications had to go through the directors of refugee hostels and local Polish Red Cross delegates.

Studies were free, but there were registration fees of 50 francs for the high school and 25 francs for the boarding facility. The latter cost 300 francs a month (including food), but exemptions would be provided by the governing committee of the Polish Red Cross. Exemption request forms would be sent to hostels for this purpose. The circular ended with an appeal to “the wealthiest families” (without further specification) to make it their duty to help the Polish Red Cross in this difficult situation.

2.6.2 “The school was inaugurated on Friday 18 October 1940.”

Zygmunt Lubiscz-Zaleski surrounded by students (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Tadeusz Łepkowski, student. A free Polish school in occupied France (2012), based on Wolna szkoła polska w okupowanej francji (1990).

The inauguration and the start of the school year took place on Friday 18 October 1940 in the dining room of the Hôtel du Parc. Zaleski had invited Ambroise Jobert. Here is how the headmaster described the ceremony in his memoirs: “For the French, the speech was given by the mayor of Villard-de-Lans, a kind-hearted jovial man, and by Mr Jobert, who represented the prefect and the rector. Jobert moved everyone by giving his entire speech in Polish. It was really simple, full of tact and peaceful faith. For the Poles, the speakers were: Domański, director of the Polish Office in Lyon, Bobrowski-Korolko, Polish Red Cross delegate, and myself, in French (at length) and Polish (more briefly). Zygmunt Dygat gave a particularly energetic rendition of an Étude, two Mazurkas and the Polonaise in A major by Chopin.. People said everything went perfectly, and I think so too.”

We could leave the ceremony at that, were it not for the fact that Zaleski, in April 1945, with the benefit of hindsight, remembered one thing and one thing only, namely that Jobert had spoken in Polish. As he emphatically pointed out: “It caused a sensation (among these young people, generally ill-disposed towards France and the French).” The observation was relevant to the psychological context, that of a strong reaction, both emotional and political, to the catastrophic fall suffered by an allied and protective power. France, which they believed should have won and had a duty to itself to do so, had disappointed them: not only its soldiers, but also those civilians who, in the vast majority, had rejoiced at the armistice and had so readily accepted a bitter defeat; that these young people who had fought in Polish units on French soil felt disappointment was inevitable. It was only later that a re-examination of the facts in the light of subsequent events corrected this initial, highly emotional judgement.

On 24 October, Zaleski noted with some astonishment: “I ‘m sitting in class (second year of high school), the students are doing a written exercise… I have to convince myself that this is reality, that I ‘m not dreaming… Yes, in reality… I ‘m the headmaster of the Cyprian Norwid high school in the mountains and am teaching literature to the senior class.”

The second launch of the high school had been completed quickly and successfully. The Polish high school had gone from being a project to a reality.

2.6.3 “This man was a harbinger of a new chapter.”

Francine Bertrand on the Les Bains slope in Villard-de-Lans (Association Mémoire du lycée polonais - Polish High School Memorial Association).

—Francine Bertrand, Villardian. Our school, 2017, based on Nasza Szkola, 1998.

Do you remember? It was 1940. These were dark days and hearts were weary, with sad thoughts and the shame of defeat at the front. There was a heatwave that summer. A lot of exiles arrived. Each recounted the outrages they had suffered and devised strategies for revenge. This helped to ease the burden of their despair. In our shop, which smelt of pepper and ground coffee, food items were beginning to run out. Nothing like this had ever happened before!

One day in October, a foreign customer came to see my father. He was the harbinger of a new chapter in the village’s life. He asked if we could provide some of the food needed for the future students at the Polish High School, which was due to open at the Hôtel du Parc et du Château. My father, always a shrewd businessman, assured the man that he would be “yes, very gladly”. There would be no problem with the bread and rice, and as for the rest, he would do the best he could. The gentleman seemed rather pleased. I was going about my business, but I was listening and watching. That ‘s how I met Mr Godlewski.

The school’s doors soon opened. The young students were easily distinguishable by their language and the way they looked at everything, discovering the resort, this mountain village, the beautiful valley and the mountain range, wonderfully blue at dawn and red at sunset. These young people had to live peacefully far from their loved ones, nursing the wounds caused by the tragic occupation of their beloved homeland. And so a wave of students arrived, walking the streets, strolling around and slowly getting used to life in our little town. Then the girls arrived…

2.5The choice of Villard-de-Lans

Infrastructure and funding2.7