Operation Heirs of Memory
The “Héritiers de Mémoire” operation, run by the French Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Memory, Culture and Archives (DMCA), in conjunction with the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sport and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, highlights outstanding defense education projects from schools and secondary schools.
These projects are the subject of documentary films and awards at a national ceremony at the Panthéon.
History-geography teacher Mme Isambert responded to the call, and the pedagogical and educational project entitled “In the footsteps of the Great War” was launched.
Discover the ceremony
This educational trip, organized for third-year students, enabled them to learn more about the Great War and, more specifically, the Hauts de France region.
The students had already worked on this subject in their history classes.
The project was enriched by the work of our German teacher, Mme Langenscheid, and our English teacher, Mme Pautet, during their modern language classes, to offer students an interdisciplinary approach and an open-minded view of the memories held by other countries.
The materials studied were diverse: letters, poems and songs about the Great War, paintings by Otto Dix, comic books, postcards…
The students visited the Historial de la Grande Guerre and the main battlefields in the Hauts de France region.
They discovered the Beaumont-Hamel Memorial, the Vimy Memorial, the Necropolis of Notre Dame de Lorette and the Thiepval Museum, where they admired the frescoes by Joe Sacco, author of graphic novels.
The students drew inspiration from these visits and trips to create an exhibition.
The project received a commendation from the Ministry of the Armed Forces, which invited the project participants to the awards ceremony held at the Pantheon on May 12, 2022.
The trophy was presented to our delegation by Mrs. Janick JULIENNE, inspector of the history-geography academy.
4 students attended the ceremony and recited a poem in English (In Flanders Fields) and an expressionist poem in German (“Abschied”).
The delegation also visited Simone Veil’s tomb, during her stay at the Panthéon.
Back at Lfd, the students were welcomed by the school management, students from the various classes and teachers.
Our principal, Mr. Dillenschneider, presented the group with the gifts received from the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
A great success for the ninth graders, and a fine example of the importance of pedagogical and educational projects.
Our thanks to the teachers and students for their dedication and hard work on this project.
