The exhibition “1943-1944: the maquis in South Aveyron” is set up on the gates of the sub-prefecture

The exhibition is now pinned to the gates of the sub-prefecture in Millau. AD

The new prefect of Aveyron, Claire Chauffour-Rouillard, came to Millau this Friday, December 20 to inaugurate this exhibition.

For one of her first trips outside the Aveyron prefecture, the one who now succeeds Charles Giusty, took advantage of her stopover in Millau to inaugurate the exhibition “1943-1944: the maquis in South Aveyron”. “A beautiful project with quite strong symbolism”, Claire Chauffour-Rouillard said happily. That of finding“this sequence of history on the gates of the State House in the department.”

A new emanation of the memorial cycle dedicated to the anniversary of the Liberation, “this exhibition recalls the history of those, sometimes very young, who committed themselves to their country while knowing the risks.”

“The most unifying event”

“A work of transmitting memory”, unanimously acclaimed, the fruit of a co-construction to which the historian Henri Moizet largely contributed. Why the maquis ? Why only aim for “the culmination of what the resistance was” ?

“Because it is the most unifying event in the Millau district. This work could not have been done in Rodez, whereas for us, Millavois: who is at the origin of the resistance ? People from the city. Alfred Merle, Léon Freychet, Charles Duteuil. People from Millau, Saint-Affricains, Sévéragais who through their notoriety, their aura, will become the driving forces behind this resistance in South Aveyron.”

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“Maquis refuge”, “maquis recueil”, “maquis de “combat”, the exhibition to be discovered on the gates of the sub-prefecture before taking – why not – the paths of roaming in different schools in the City, returns to those whose name still resonates today.

Prefect Claire Chauffour-Rouillard alongside sub-prefect Véronique Martin Saint-Léon and city councillor Michel Durand, in charge of veterans. AD

“It is important to share these acts, to keep them alive”

“We talked about the Alfred Merle maquis” named after the first leader of the secret army (AS) of Aveyron, “who died under torture in the Guestapo jails in Rodez on February 11, 1944.” “We also talked about the Paul Clais maquis, its Saint-Affricain counterpart, but also the Séverac maquis, another AS maquis in South Aveyron”, summarizes Henri Moizet.

“A work of transmitting memory”, saluting the bravery of those who will have, for some, “sacrificed their lives for their country” and “allowed them to contribute indirectly to the restoration of the Republic”. “It is important to share these acts, to make them live among the population, of all generations” recalled the prefect Claire Chauffour-Rouillard by way of conclusion.