Figure 1.--This is a drawing that one of the POWs gave one of the choristers after the concert at Stalag IIID 425. The boys are shown in their white albs. Click on the image for a copy of the concert sdchedule
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Figure 1.--This is a drawing that one of the POWs gave one of the choristers after the concert at Stalag IIID 425. The boys are shown in their white albs. Click on the image for a copy of the concert sdchedule |
The PCCB in 1943 during the German occupation toured Germany. The Allied bombing had begun, but it was still relatively safe to travel in Germany. The purpose was to give concerts to the French POWs and workers that had trasported to Germany for war work. The PCCB was the only French boychoir allowed to visit the POW camps. These events were very emotional experiences for the POWs and workers. The PCCB was the only French boychoir allowed to visit the POW camps. They were escorted by NAZI minders. There was no concerts for German audiences.
The Allies in 1943 began the Around-the-Clock bombing campaign. It was becoming dangerous to travel to Germany, although the bombing was just beginning and train travel was still relatively safe. A French reader tells us, " My friend Robert who was a chorister at the time told me that in north Germany, during a performance the PCCB had to suddently go into a cellar because of a bombing raid."
The Choir gave performances for French internees in Germany. The Germans after the French surrender (June 1940), interned the French Army in POW camps in the Reich. Conditions at German POW ca,ps varied widely. Conditions for Poles and Soviet POWs were death camps and survival rates were very low. Conditions for the Western Allies were very different. Conditions were spartan, but survivable. The French were the largest group of POWs and from the Western Allies and confined the longest period. The PCCB only performed at French POWs camps and also several French work camps ( STO ). The Germans tried to recruit French workers for German war industries. There were some volunteers, but not nearly enough to meet German needs. The German thus began conscripting French workers. Many young people ran away, but this meant living on the run without papers or ration cupons. This was when the Resistance movement in France really began to grow. The Choir gave 11 performances at POW camps and 14 performances at the camps for conscripted (forced labor) workers. L'abbé Maillet refused all appearances to perform foClick on the image here for a copy of the concert schedule. German civilian or French voluntary work organisation ( STV ). There were no exchanges with the German younth organisations. Contact with German civil ians was forbidden. During the trip, a NAZI civilian official escorted them.
I'm not entirely sure how the concerts were conducted. The POW camps certainly did not have theaters for such events. Some photograps and drawings show the boys making emprotu appearances and even singing in the baracks where the men were billited. The PCCB performed only French traditional songs and some holly chants. I believe they didn't put on their albs, but I am not sure. Yhe POWs were aware of the visits in advance. It was a big event for them. Despite the fact the food was bad quality, the POWs found chocolate for the boys' milk. The POWs made considerable effort to get that. The camp guards were rather surprised of that. The NAZI escort didn't like these French boys but respected them. The visits to the camps were very emotional. The boys were very young and did not fully anticipate the imact they would have on the POWS. The POWs saw in these innocent children a part of their country and sometime their own child. Many of the men were deeply affected by the performances, often reduced to tears. At the end of the concerts, many of the POWS wanted to embrace and kiss the boys. The NAZIs prohibited this. One time a POW came on stage and said, " Au nom de tous je fais un baissé à cet enfant qui à l'âge de mon fils. " The next day this man got into trouble with the camp authorities. That was a sort of scandal. The Germans didn't understand that a man would kiss a boy.
The trip was observed with hostility by the NAZIs who kept an eye on the group . The food was very bad quality. The NAZIs obliged these children to get up very early in morning, several hours before their departure for the next camp visit. It must be said that the NAZI authorities had a regard for these children and never threatened or mistreated them.
The boys were of course aware of the NAZI escort and were sometimes mischevious. The boys traveled by train. The boys were told to behave prudently round the NAZIs. To make it difficult for the NAZI escort to understand them they spoke with Parisian expressions and accents.
A French reader has provided this information. He tells us, "My friend Robert did this trip and also the trip in America during 1940-43. He was 13 years old in 1943. He cam from a poor family. His brother was also PCCB good solist"
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