CONFERENCE CULTURE ET PATRIMOINE - MAI

5.30PM - NOVELTY ROOM - FREE ADMISSION Conference organised by Culture et Patrimoine en Côte Vermeille. "The return of prisoners of war, STO and deportees in 1945". By Georges SENTIS, Doctor of History Presentation: The return of prisoners of war, STO conscripts and deportees from the Third Reich in the spring and summer of 1945 was a major event. Firstly, because of the number of people involved, just under two million. Then, because it put an end to separations that, for some, had lasted since May-June 1940. And finally, because for hundreds of thousands of families, the time of mourning began. The Return had to contend with many material difficulties, such as the evolution of the fronts, the destruction of rail and road infrastructures in Central Europe, which made repatriation operations complicated, and the state of health of many deportees. Not to mention the political problems faced by the Spanish Republicans in leaving the Mauthausen camp. But the reception of the repatriates was marked by a great outpouring of solidarity from the local population. Over the years, and thanks to the work of historians (in particular those responsible for the Rivesaltes camp memorial), the time has come for a scientific history and a calmer memory. The entry into the Panthéon, on 21 February 2022, of two foreign and communist resistance fighters, Mélinée and Missak Manouchian, bears witness to this. Culture and Heritage in the Côte Vermeille 06 81 02 25 93 cpcv66650@gmail.com