On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Evian Accords, which put an end to the Algerian War, the Limoges Resistance Museum is launching an appeal to collect objects dating from this period. The goal is to mount an exhibition which will be presented next fall with these objects and the testimonies of their owners. Several Limougeauds have already agreed to make loans, often with a lot of emotions.
Among the people who responded to the call from the Musée de la Résistance, Claude Sicard lined up photos, drawings and manuscript sheets covered in his finest handwriting. Young called Limougeaud incorporated into an artillery regiment in 1960, he was 19 when he landed in Algeria. He then discovers a country that overwhelms him, both by its beauty and by the horrors it faces.
– Nathalie Col
“I didn’t know what awaited us, I sensed it, but I didn’t know it. But I quickly regained confidence because I liked the country and especially that rex blue sky, it was great. ‘wrapped, which allowed me to make drawings and paintings.” Because Claude, a professional photographer, has a real talent for drawing and painting.
– Nathalie Col
This will be his escape during this period, during which he is assigned to the maintenance and repair of telephone lines with his regiment. He draws whenever he can, sitting in the back of a jeep or even in the henhouse which serves as his dormitory. He manages to send some of his works to his parents in France.
It was a way for me to mark what we have experienced. I wanted to keep a testimony of it. – Claude Sicard
These are some of these drawings, paintings and letters of the time, as well as photos that the octogenarian entrusts to the Museum of the Resistance for this exhibition. Valuable documents that the director collects while listening to him tell how he lived this period, on which he also began to write recently. “What motivated me was first of all to leave a mark for my grandchildren later. And also, perhaps so as not to forget”
“It’s a goldmine!” – Annie Martin the director of the Limoges Resistance Museum
Touched by his story, Annie Martin, director of the Limoges Resistance Museum, is amazed by the documents he presents. “It’s a gold mine! It’s both a slice of life, its adaptation to the situation. And then, I would say that it is a story about men and women .” This is exactly the ambition of this exhibition, the aim of which is to retrace this period from all points of view. But some objects are still missing, especially from Pieds-Noirs or Harkis who lived through the Algerian war and still have memories of that time.
– Nathalie Col
An exhibition “to show that suffering has no identity card” -Annie Martin
This mission is complicated, because for some it remains painful to look back on this past. “There is a lot of emotion, because many have returned and remained silent. Their wounds, they have kept them deep inside themselves. It is extremely difficult to talk about it.” Annie Martin however insists on the fact that the idea of this exhibition is not to reopen wounds or conflicts. On the contrary, it is a question of approaching the events in a peaceful way and giving everyone a voice “to show that suffering has no identity card”. The Limoges Resistance Museum is giving itself a few more months to collect objects for this exhibition which is due to begin on October 22.