On December 19, 2022, LfiSV 3rd and final year students, their teachers and parents enjoyed an unforgettable afternoon when Ginette Kolinka, author of the book Retour à Birkenau (Return to Birkenau), adapted by the Acontratempo theater company and performed in the Neanderkirche, came to Düsseldorf.
Everyone was bowled over by the remarkable performance of actress Capucine Derval, whose adaptation remained faithful to the original text.
At the end of the performance, Ginette Kolinka, seated in the front row, joined Emily Lombi, the director, and Capucine Derval at the front of the stage to sing “Le chant des Marais “, which many sang along to, the text having been distributed at the door.
A powerful moment.
There was a palpable tension in the room, as we were looking at a woman of great age, who had managed to survive the Nazi hell, “by chance”, she said, and who for a long time had never been able to speak, even to those closest to her.
And here she was before us, moved and happy to come and testify.
Which she did for an hour, answering each of the students’ questions in her outspoken way.
These had been prepared by their French and History teachers.
Extracts from the book had been studied in class.
Impressed by Ginette Kolinka’s fate, they asked her to explain what her daily life was like in Birkenau, and how she was able to return to normal life in France after the war.
The students also asked her if she still felt hatred towards the Germans.
To which she responded with a message for the students, for all of us – a message that the post-war generation has nothing to do with what happened, and that we must accept others as they are, whatever their religious or cultural background or skin color.
And now that we’ve heard her story, she’s counting on us to continue passing on this message, so that what she experienced never happens again.
It’s worth noting that Ginette Kolinka granted us her very first visit to Germany to come and meet schoolchildren, which touches us and adds all the more to the strength of her testimony.
Everyone was deeply impressed and moved by Ginette Kolinka’s personal testimony.
A beautiful lesson in life.
On December 20, a theatrical workshop was held all morning for3rd grade students.
For the Acontratempo team, the aim was to get them to express their emotions using a variety of techniques.
But before that, they were given time to talk about what they had experienced the day before.
There’s no doubt that they felt in harmony, enabling them to take part in the workshop.
These two days were particularly rich in emotion, but also in reflection.
These reflections will feed into the final year students’ trip to Poland, as they will be leaving with the meeting with Ginette Kolinka in mind, and no doubt they will have a different perspective, a different approach, in Birkenau.
Ms Annick Berthod, History-geography teacher
