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The Germans launched their long awaited Western Offensive first at the Low Lands (May 10). It was an enormous success and within days they were driving into the Ardennes and racing across northern France toward the Channel. Most of the fighting took place in Belgium and northern France. Refugees streamed south in long cloums. They were used by the Germans to impeed the movement of reinforcements to the front. There was intensive fighting in Belgium and northern France creating even more refugees. As most of the fighting occurred in the north, the refugee problem was generally limited to the north. As the Germans moved South after Dunkirk, the French Army put up only dislutory resistance. As a result the fighting and reffugee problem was more limited. We have very limited information on the French refugees duting 1940 at this time. We do not know of a good source of information describing the refugee problem in detail.
The Germans launched their long awaited Western Offensive first at the Low Lands (May 10). It was an enormous success and within days they were driving into the Ardennes and racing across northern France toward the Channel. Most of the fighting took place in Belgium and northern France.
Refugees streamed south in long cloums. They were used by the Germans to impeed the movement of reinforcements to the front. There was intensive fighting in Belgium and northern France creating even more refugees. As most of the fighting occurred in the north, the refugee problem was generally limited to the north.
As most of the fighting occurred in the north, the refugee problem was generally limited to the north. In many cases the families stayed together. As a result of the fightin, however, there were civilian caualties. Parents were killed and children and parents inevitably became separated. As the Germans moved South after Dunkirk, the French Army put up only dislutory resistance. As a result the fighting and refugee problem was more limited.
There appears to have been some effort to evacuate children from Paris after the German Western Offensive began. We notice images of French children with identification tags. We have no details, however, at this time concerning the French evacuation effort.
This famous boy's choir had played a major role of reviving the tradition of boys' choral singing in the Church. Father Maillet had evacuated 40 of the choristers from Paris. He installed them in a small hotel in Rocamador. He also acquired two busses so the boys could give concerts to refugees and in hospitals. The boys had been living at home on Paris, but were now in what amounted to a boarding school. One of the boys, 13-year old Joseph Pistorio recalls that the main salon in the hotel became their rehersal room. "Sometimes we gave four concerts a day, and I can remember many audiences--particular;y the refugeees--in tears. But I think we helped people to forget their miseries as we worshiped God with a song". [Barber, p. 103.] Father Maillet for a time considered taking the boys to Bourdeaux where they could reach North Africa. I believe, however, that after the Armistace was signed, that he brought the boys back to Paris.
Barber, Noel. The Week France Fell (Stein and Day: New York, 1976), 321p.
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