Memory of the «Malgré-nous» of the Pays de Bitche: 80 years later, let’s keep the memory
On August 19, 1942, 80 years ago, the Gauleiter Bürckel, who headed the Gau Westmark, to which the Moselle was attached, signed an ordinance that left a heavy mark on the region.
Having for mission to Germanize the Moselle in 10 years, it decrees the obligatory military service: new stage after having established the ReichsArbeitsDienst (service of obligatory work and military preparation) for young men and women aged 17 to 25 in April 1941.
On August 29, he will make the official announcement with that of the grant of German nationality which has just been decided by Hitler.
30,000 Mosellans were forcibly incorporated. 8,000 Mosellans did not return, including at least 514 from the Pays de Bitche.
The first children of Bitcherland fell in February 1942 (Joseph Krebs de Soucht could be the first on 8 February).
The people of Bitcherland are invited to remember their “despite us” by coming to share the memory of their family.
What do you mean?
- By allowing families to put on the “wall” of memory the name of a member, or members, of the family that was forcibly incorporated.
That the person was forcibly incorporated, refractory, deserters, prisoners of war. But this also extends to women and men in the RAD (ReischsArbeitsDienst) and the Kriegshilfsdients for women kept beyond.
This “wall” is made of the memory of those who died during the war, but also of those who returned.
Concretely, a roll of cardboard paper is intended to receive inscriptions from the public. Whether it is a name and a village of origin, dates of birth and death, dates of incorporation, units of places, personal memories passed on.
It will be kept in the memory space and will be completed as time goes on. - By keeping documents in donation, deposit or digitization.
A computer with a scanner is available on site to scan documents that the public may wish to entrust.
It is always possible to entrust these documents to the memory space as a gift or simple deposit.
These documents can be official documents, photos, mortuary images, letters, memoirs... anything concerning a person forcibly incorporated and allowing to preserve his memory.
