Les Derniers – The Vel d’Hiv roundup
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Eyewitness accounts from survivors
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Eyewitness accounts from survivors
The Les Derniers project consists of a series of short documentaries, streamed free of charge on the internet (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Each episode follows a meeting with a former concentration camp deportee.
Through eyewitness accounts from survivors of the Second World War and the Holocaust, the Les Derniers (“The Last”) documentary series illustrates a chapter of French history. By passing on the memory of events, the series aims to raise awareness, particularly among the younger generation.
Sophie Nahum, the director of the documentaries, launched the project in 2017, because of the urgent need to gather the testimonies of the last remaining survivors – children or teenagers at the time, who are today in their 90s.
For that reason, she chose to visit them in their homes, as one visits a grandmother or grandfather, and ask them about the war and deportation, and also about how they rebuilt their lives afterwards and how they view the world today.
She decided to take “an alternative approach to remembering our history”, namely by using social media. These eyewitness accounts are therefore told from the homes of the witnesses, and take the form of friendly, informal chats.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces Directorate for Heritage, Remembrance and Archives provided financial support to the project.
