Vel' d'Hiv Memorials

Since the movie "Sarah's Key" came out in 2010, people have occasionally asked me about the Vélodrome d'Hiver, which figures prominently in the movie. This short video shows the two small memorials to the Vel' d'Hiv round-up and shows how to reach them.

Background (if you've not seen the movie): On July 16 and 17, 1942, the French police, under the Vichy regime of France, on instructions from the German occupation authorities, arrested 13,152 Jews in preparation for their deportation, and crammed about 8000 of them into a multi-purpose stadium, the Vélodrome d'Hiver, located not far from the Eiffel Tower. They were held there for four days, with no food, one water faucet, no toilets, and no ventilation. The doors were locked and the windows screwed shut to prevent escape. Ultimately these Jews were deported to exterminated camps, where they were killed. Of the 13,152 Jews arrested, only about 100 survived. The incident is particularly embarrassing to France because of the number of people arrested (the largest of any French arrests during the Occupation) and the willingness and eagerness of French authorities to cooperate with the Germans, even going above and beyond their demands (the French arrested even children, even though the Germans had not asked for kids).

These two memorials are very discreet. If you aren't looking for them, you probably won't see them. One is a tiny memorial right in front of what used to be the stadium, another is a slightly larger one next to the river, hidden from the street. The stadium itself was demolished in 1959, and the space is now occupied by the Ministry of the Interior, the same government agency that carried out the arrests in 1942.

This was filmed on a very nice but unusually breezy day. Sorry about the wind noise.

Видео Vel' d'Hiv Memorials канала Mxsmanic