HEALTH AND SPIRITS EXCELLENT - Prisoner of War 1939-1945
The journey of Sergeant Jean Voleau, between combat and captivity, traced through his correspondence
On 2 September 1939, France is on the eve of declaring war on Germany in response to its invasion of Poland. But already a train is heading towards the Meuse and the German border, carrying a battalion of the 14th Algerian Rifles regiment. Seated on a trunk, Sergeant Jean Voleau, aged 23, writes to his family. The beginning of a long and unbroken correspondence, a fragile thread with his loved ones through the months of the "drôle de guerre", the fighting of spring 1940, and nearly five years of captivity.
In the late 2000s, Sergeant Voleau's son found the bundle of letters in the attic of the family home. A remarkable testimony he rescued from oblivion and decided to give a wider audience. Interspersed with the father's letters, the son's explanations and commentary, rigorously documented and illustrated, draw connections with the historical and family context to weave a two-voice text across generations.
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