Le 8 mai in France {Remembering WW2}

Il y a 70 ans {1945 – 2015} Le fin de la seconde guerre mondiale.

It’s been 70 years {1945 – 2015} The end of WW2. [in France]

In my novel, my characters Aurélien and Emmeline are French winemakers and the story brings us to their lives during WW2. I’ve spent many years researching for the book and my writing can’t stand alone without the basis of history. To write their story I’ve had to learn about winemaking, of course, but also life during wartime…during an actual wartime that brought pain to millions of people all around the world. Many days I’ve had to pull my plug and take a walk or pet the dog to bring me back to the safety of my life after letting my mind wander in the suffering that unfolded 0ver 70 years ago.

This month, France will commemorate Le 8 mai, a day of peace, reflection and remembrance for the lives lived during the war. I thought this video from Comme une Française was helpful as a introduction to non-French folks interested in learning more.  Here are a few additional links (some referenced in the video) to firm your grasp on the second World War in France.

 

The Museum of National Resistance in Champigny-sur-Marne  La résistance française plays a heavy role in history as well as in my novel.

Le Mémorial de Caen et sur les plages du débarquement. Visit the memorial and beaches on your computer.

PROVENCE TO COMMEMORATE “THE FORGOTTEN D-DAY  This is an article exploring the efforts of the Allied forces in Southern France. I’ve been particularly interested in this region as the novel takes place in Provence.

 

And another, simply fantastic video that comes to us from Ask a Winemaker:

Held as a prisoner of war for five years, Robert Guiberteau welcomed the daughter of the German family on whose farm he was forced to work during WWII onto his harvest team in Saumur, France in 1963. Robert’s son tells the story and his grandson Romain Guiberteau makes the wines at the estate today.

If you are interested in winemaking and the business of wine during the second world war, I invite you to follow me here and on twitter (@jillbarth). I’ll share more of what I learned as we move through the summer. I’ll also keep you up to date on the availability of my novel.  It’s with thanks that I find readers that find this topic captivating.