Patrice and I attended a very touching ceremony last Sunday to honor 98-year-old Raymonde Piedallu, a local woman who hid two Jewish children during World War II. The two "girls" (now in their late 60's and 70's) were there along with some of their family from Israel and Canada and our little salle des fêtes was packed to capacity. She was given a medal of honor by the president of the National Assembly from Paris and there had mayors and representatives present from other cities in the region.
When I was growing up, hearing about WWII (or "the last war", as it's still sometimes referred to here) everything seemed (and was) so far away. It's "over there" and "somewhere else", but living here in France, seeing roadside memorials to fallen American and British soldiers or ordinary French citizens killed on that spot for their resistance is an unreal feeling. The Nazi headquarters in our village was just a few minutes walk from our house.
The picture above is Patrice with Raymonde - she was the lunch lady at his school and he remembers her giving him spiced cake with cinnamon, which he still doesn't like to this day! It was really a beautiful afternoon and I feel really lucky to have witnessed this little piece of history.
You can click on this link below for the story of the reunion last year between Raymonde and the women she saved.
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/200810231013/Jewish-sisters-reunite-with-French-woman-who-was-like-a-mother-to-us-during-World-War-II.html
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