contributing to a sustainable world © ARR Mediatheque <strong>Lafarge</strong> 36 Mécénat, le camp des 1000 I 38 La rénovation d’un village en roumanie I 40 La formation en Afrique du Sud I 42 Visite d’un chantier Chronolia I 44 sur les routes de la réunion I P A G E 3 4 | L A FA R G E | O C T O B R E 2 0 0 7 | C R E S C E N D O C R E S C E N D O | L A FA R G E | J U I L L E T 2 0 0 7 | P A G E 0 3 5
CONTRIBUTING TO A SUSTAINABLE WORLD <strong>The</strong> former tile factory that was turned into an internment camp during the war will house a memorial. P A G E 3 6 | L A FA R G E | O C T O B R E 2 0 0 7 | C R E S C E N D O © Geoffroy Mathieu Long after production ceased in this clay tile factory, each square inch is still covered in a thick layer of red dust. <strong>The</strong> artists’ camp It is hard to imagine that between September 1939 and March 1943, 10,000 people were crammed into these vaulted furnaces, these enormous halls that afforded no privacy. Among them were many artists and intellectuals including painters, one of whom was Max Ernst, musicians, men of letters and Nobel Prize winners, who tried to brighten up their gloomy days by creating an active cultural life. <strong>The</strong> walls still bear the traces here and there. <strong>The</strong> tile factory strikes an imposing figure in this inner suburb of Aix-en-Provence and is the only camp out of the two hundred that existed in France to remain almost intact. As unbelievable as it may seem, the existence of this heritage site was kept under wraps until 1983 when the imminent demolition of one of the camp's buildings was announced, spurring people into action. A wagon memorial (in 1992) and the wall paintings in the former canteen (in 1997) were opened up to the public. Today, a group of associations 1 , backed by a coalition of public and private partners 2 , is getting ready to set up a space dedicated to memories, culture and citizen education on the site’s 6 hectares. Part of it will be opened at the end of 2008 with the rest opening in late 2009. FR ANCE <strong>The</strong> Camp des Milles, a huge tile factory which was transformed into an internment, transit and deportation camp from 1939 to 1943, is a unique heritage site in France. With the support of the <strong>Lafarge</strong> Group, which has owned the site since 1998, it is about to be dedicated to citizen education. Memory will not weaken at the Camp des Milles <strong>The</strong> only memorial of its kind in the world Political pundit and sociologist Alain Chouraqui, research director at CNRS, started up the “Memory of the Camp des Milles” project and has chaired the steering committee since its creation in 2002. <strong>The</strong> Camp des Milles memorial will include a tour of the main building, which has remained 85% intact since 1943. <strong>The</strong> purpose of the restoration is to preserve its emotive power by creating a discrete museography. “This special place is rich in universal lessons,” explains Alain Chouraqui. “It is an analysis of how everyday stereotypes could result in the unthinkable horrors of Auschwitz. It aims to raise the awareness and level of responsibility, particularly of young people, when confronted with the threat of racism, fanaticism and totalitarianism.” A tour of the outside of the camp reveals the canteen and its frescos, the wagon memorial and Serge Klarsfeld’s exhibition “<strong>The</strong> 11,000 Jewish children deported from France”. With the aid of various educational means (films, interactive displays, etc.) and based on historical illustrations (Shoah, Armenian and Rwandan genocides), the project invites the visitor to reflect and make a critical judgment. It is quite different from focusing solely on the past. We are reminded of the words of the poet Paul Eluard: “If the echo of their voices weakens, we shall perish.” ■ THE CAMP DES MILLES served three functions during World War II. Until June 1940, ‘enemy subjects’, mainly German anti- Nazi refugees, were held there then for the next two years it was a transit camp for foreigners awaiting exile. In August 1942, even before the occupation of unoccupied France, 10,000 Jews were detained there. 2,500 of them, including a hundred children, were deported from the Camp des Milles to Auschwitz via Drancy or Rivesaltes. 1 Foundation for the memory of Shoah, Representative committee of Jewish institutions in France, Association du wagon souvenir et du site mémorial des Milles (wagon and Milles memorial association), Shoah memorial. 2 Ministries of National Education, Culture and Defence, PACA Region, Bouches du Rhône Council, Aix-en-Provence Council, Pays d’Aix urban community and several private sponsors, including the <strong>Lafarge</strong> Group and its former subsidiary <strong>Lafarge</strong> Couverture, joined by the Caisse d’Épargne, France Télécom and the city of Marseille. C R E S C E N D O | L A FA R G E | N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | P A G E 3 7
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