Hélène Arnaud-Bill: 'May 8, 1945, is a scar in our collective memory'

Before the elected officials, representatives of the constituted bodies, veterans, and citizens, the speech delivered during the ceremony by Hélène Arnaud-Bill, the mayor, strongly resonated with the tensions of the contemporary world, transforming the historical tribute into a powerful appeal to the collective conscience.

Hélène Arnaud-Bill : « Le 8 mai 1945, c’est une cicatrice dans notre mémoire collective »

Far from being a mere retrospective, the commemoration highlighted the imperious need to defend republican values in the face of the resurgence of extreme ideologies. A COLLECTIVE SCAR The ceremony recalled that May 8, 1945, is much more than a date in history books, it is 'a scar in our collective memory. A scar made of blood, tears, ruins, but also of courage, resistance, and hope'.

Hélène Arnaud-Bill, the mayor, retraced the dark hours of the military and political collapse of France in six weeks, the establishment of the collaborationist Vichy regime, and the moral failure of part of the country. In the face of this debacle, the Appeal of June 18 by Général de Gaulle from London was presented as the founding symbol of Free France and the spirit of Resistance that would drive the struggle for liberation, from Bir-Hakeim to the beaches of Normandie and Provence.

'NEVER AGAIN', THE GENESIS OF EUROPE The victory, achieved at the cost of millions of lives and nameless atrocities, gave rise to a founding conviction: 'never again'. It was on the ruins of this total conflict that the project of a united Europe was able to germinate. 'A Europe not of conquests, but of peace.

A Europe where nations, once enemies, chose dialogue over war, cooperation over destruction,' she recalled, hailing the vision of Robert Schumann as one of the most precious legacies of 1945.

Her speech warned against forgetting the ideological mechanisms that led to the catastrophe. The Second World War was not just a military clash, but 'the consequence of a profound ideological drift, the tipping of an enlightened nation into a hateful and dehumanizing worldview'. Quoting the philosopher Hannah Arendt and her concept of the 'banality of evil', Hélène Arnaud-Bill insisted: 'The worst horrors are often born of ordinary men who give up thinking and questioning'.

To illustrate her point, the chilling testimony of Pastor Martin Niemöller, a camp survivor, was read in its entirety: 'When the Nazis came to look for the communists, I said nothing, I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I said nothing, I was not a social democrat. When they came to look for the trade unionists, I said nothing, I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me, there was no one left to protest.'

AN ECHO OF PRESENT FRACTURES The message then drew a direct parallel with the current context, where 'banalization is today called normalization and de-demonization'. History proves relentless, she further insisted: 'When nations begin to hate each other, the thunder of war is never far from rumbling'. In the face of these threats, the commemoration of May 8 takes on its full meaning: that of a commitment to stand up against intolerance and violence.

TRANSMITTING TO NEVER FORGET In conclusion, the mayor emphasized the responsibility of each citizen as an heir to this history: 'To be an heir is not only to receive. It is also to transmit. La Garde is part of this approach through its commitment to the project of the routes varoises de la liberté, carried out in collaboration with patriotic associations and younger generations'.

The tribute paid to those who fell for freedom has thus become a promise for the future: that of building, with lucidity and courage, a future worthy of their struggle.