Polish high School

Villard-de-Lans and Poland

The friendship between France and Poland – a centuries old reality – was highlighted in a very particular way when the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School arrived in Villard-de-Lans. The extraordinary experience of a six-year shared existence created unshakeable ties between the Poles and the inhabitants of the plateau.

Villard-de-Lans and Poland

And yet in 1946, when the school left Villard following the funerals of those who died in the Vercors and the work on the 7th Station of the Valchevrière Way of the Cross, it became more difficult to maintain relations. The former pupils and teachers scattered to the four corners of the earth. In Poland, as in France, life was hard, rationing was still in force and the country needed to be rebuilt.

In the seventies, memories were revived with the creation of the Old Pupils’ Association, plus which the current Mayor of Villard, André Ravix, was very familiar with this period of the village’s history, as he had played in football and ice hockey matches against the Polish teams. What’s more, Marcel and Denise Malbos, two former teachers at the school who still lived in Villard, had kept in touch with a number of people.
The friendship between France and Poland began to grow again…

1976…
The thirtieth anniversary of the Polish High School’s departure from Villard provided the opportunity for an exceptional event. Villard-de-Lans honoured Poland by placing a commemorative plaque on the walls of the Hôtel du Parc and renaming the Avenue Carnot “Rue du Lycée Polonais”.

1979…
Wenceslas Godlewski, Philippe Blanc, Marcel Malbos and André Ravix were awarded Poland’s Gold Cross of Merit.

1981…
Villard rallied round to send medicines to the Child Healthcare Centre in Warsaw. A substantial sum of money was donated to Médecins Sans Frontières for this purpose.

1982…
Médecins Sans Frontière interceded again, and sent a 70-cubic-metre truck to Krakow.
A further six-tonne truck was chartered by Villard town council and escorted by a number of Villardiens.

1984…
Pupils from the Starogard High School in Gdansk stayed in Villard as part of a school exchange trip.

1986…
40th anniversary of the year the school left Villard. The Vercors Pioneers took part in the ceremonies.
The local council awarded the Chairman of the Old Pupils’ Association, Professor Godlewski and the Polish Consul, the town of Villard-de-Lans’ honourable service medal.
A commemorative medal was minted, which the old pupils presented to the French VIPs.

1987…
Ewa Cendrowska presented a forty-minute documentary entitled, “Back to the Vercors”, which looks back at the fortieth anniversary celebrated in 1986. The French newspaper, Le Dauphiné Libéré, wrote, “The ordinariness of the documentary and the artless view of this return journey combine to form a date with History, with a capital ‘H’.”
Valérie Terrel presented her thesis on the Polish High School to Grenoble’s Institute of Political Studies.

1988…
Trip to Poland by ten or so Villardiens.
Tadeusz Lepkowski, former pupil and historian, spent time in Villard and gave a conference at the University of Grenoble.

1990…
50th anniversary of the year the school arrived in Villard. Professor Godlewski attended the celebrations, surrounded by ministers, ambassadors, senators, MPs and mayors.
Presentation of Tadeusz Lepkowski’s book, a “bible” dedicated to the school.
Villard-de-Lans became the only town in France to be awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Polish Order of Merit.

1991…
Celebration of the bicentenary of the Polish Constitution; an exhibition on Cyprian Norwid was organised.
Visit to Villard by the Polish grandchildren of some former pupils.

1996…
Exhibition at the Polish Institute in Paris on the theme of, “An outstanding example of the friendship between France and Poland; the Cyprian Norwid Polish High School in Villard-de-Lans, an exception in occupied Europe”.

1998…
Inauguration in Warsaw of “ul. Villardczykow 1”, or ‘Villardiens Street’.

2001…
Inauguration of a plaque honouring the memory of the dead and deported from the Polish High School, at the Paris Polish High School, Rue Lamandé.

2002…
Twinning with the town of Mikolajki.
Since then, regular annual exchange trips for children and adults have been organised between Villard-de-Lans and Mikolajki, a Polish resort popular with tourists

Inauguration

Inaugurations

Medals

Medals

Aid

Aid

Visits

Visits

Exhibitions

Exhibitions

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