This is the story of a concentration camp, one of the most murderous of the Nazi system, and the only one to be found on this French territory annexed in 1940.

 

The Voice of Dreams

 

75 years ago, on the 25th November 1944, the Allies discovered the westernmost Nazi concentration camp in Europe. It was empty, having been evacuated by the SS at the beginning of September, mainly to Dachau.

 

This documentary is dedicated to the last testimonies of the deported NN resistance, survivors of the Natzweiler concentration camp known as “Le Struthof”. It is the story of the arrest of these young resistant fighters and of what they suffered during their deportation. They were a danger to the 3rd Reich, and categorised as “NN”, “Nacht und Nebel” meaning “Night and Fog”, doomed to disappear under the greatest secrecy. The special treatment of these deportees was to eliminate all evidence of their existence and of their deaths.

 

The “Struthof” Natzweiler Concentration Camp

 

It is also the story of this camp, one of the most murderous of the Nazi system, the only concentration camp set up by the SS in the territory of Alsace, annexed by the 3rd Reich in 1940. Besides the abuse suffered by the prisoners of all nationalities within the compound, the Nazi doctors carried out numerous experiments of all kinds on the deportees, especially on people of Jewish religion, and on gypsies. This camp saw mass executions, whether by hanging or by firearms/weapon. Bodies of the dead were disposed of in crematory furnaces.

 

The Voice of Dreams

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“The Voice of Dreams” is the title of this documentary. It was also the title of the song of the “NN” deportees in the Natweiler concentration camp. The detainees sang it softly, secretly, giving themselves hope and the feeling of being able to escape through their dreams. The song was composed on 19th January 1944 in Block 10 of the Natzweiler camp by a blind resistance deportee, Arthur Poitevin, a music teacher.

 

Jean VILLERET is the main figure in this documentary. René Baumann, André Maratrat, Henri Mosson, Pierre Rolinet, René Thalmann, deported NN resistance fighters, and André Marchiset, resistance fighter, all of whom were deported to the Natweiler concentration camp, have all shared their precious experiences with us.

With the special contribution of Julian Lauprêtre, a Parisian resistance fighter.

 

These testimonies are punctuated and highlighted by the contribution of historians, specialists in the history of the Natweiler-Struthof concentration camp and the repressive politics and deportations from France:

- Frédérique Neau-Dufour, historian, Director of the European Centre on Resistance and Deportation.

- Cécile Vast, historian, Besançon Museum of the Resistance and Deportation.

- Robert Steegmann, historian, member of the Scientific Council of the European Centre of the Deported Resistance Fighter.