Shaya Baldassari 7:44 a.m., July 17, 2022, amended at 10:02 a.m., July 17, 2022
On July 16 and 17, France commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Vel d'Hiv Roundup, where more than 13,000 Jews from the capital were arrested.
Colette Zeif, 6 years old at the time, escaped this Roundup, which tore her mother away from her.
She testifies today at the microphone of Europe 1.
France commemorates this weekend the 80th anniversary of the Rafle du Vel d'Hiv.
Under the orders of the Vichy regime, on July 16 and 17, 1942, more than 13,000 Jews from Paris were arrested and parked in the Vélodrome d'Hiver while waiting to be deported to concentration or extermination camps.
80 years ago, Colette Zeif, then 6 years old, escaped this roundup.
She testifies at the microphone of Europe 1.
“My mother started yelling at the police”
"I am in 1936, I was a hidden child. My mother was deported on July 16, 1942, and if I am here today, it is thanks to her and her resistance."
Colette Zeif is a survivor of the Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv'.
At the microphone of Europe 1, she recounts the horror of 80 years ago.
"My mother started screaming in front of the police who came to our house. She was shouting 'leave them, the big one will take care of the little one', because I had a sister who was eleven years older than me. "
Every year, these July 16 and 17 are very hectic for the octogenarian.
"It's extremely shocking. This July 1942, my mother was taken from me. My father was deported to Limousin in 1943. It was terrible to build yourself without parents."
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"The only thing we can do for the dead is to talk about it"
Today, Colette intervenes in schools and continues the duty of memory.
"I don't think that memory is lost and above all you shouldn't, that's why we testify. That's why we fight. There are teachers who do a huge job. J I have a lot of respect and thanks for them. Memory is when I see students who ask questions, who are interested in the subject and I thank them very strongly, very sincerely, because the future , it's them. We, that's it, it's over."
"The only thing we can do for the dead is to talk about it," concludes this survivor of the Rafle du Vel 'd'Hiv'.
Many commemorations are also planned throughout France.