Deutsch-Französischer Salon

In the organizer's words:

Don't bring a German home to me!

Family stories of Franco-German couples in the post-war period

Reading and discussion with the authors Sylvie Méron-Minuth and Christian Minuth

The book "Don't bring a German home to me!" gives us a better understanding of how the transition from enemy to friend took place after the Second World War. The total number of French prisoners of war in Nazi Germany was between 1,300,000 and 1,800,000. In June 1944, there were around one million German prisoners of war in France, around 40,000 of whom remained in France. What became of them?

Sylvie Méron-Minuth and Christian Minuth (professors at the Heidelberg University of Education) have spent years researching, conducting interviews and collecting life stories from the post-war period. They present exciting and touching life stories of binational couples from the very beginning, of Mauricette, Heinrich (Henri), Arlette and Hubert, Géraldine and the incredible story of her parents, Alain, Annie and Sylvie, Sandrine. What connects these family stories? The harsh war and post-war period, the search for a safe place and for peace and the overcoming of prejudices.

Moderator: Catherine Gebhardt-Bernot

An event organized by the Förderverein Deutsch-Französischer Kultur e.V.

Book title: Don't bring a German home to me! By Sylvie Méron-Minuth and Christian Minuth, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden, 2024. Original French title: Comme s'il n'y avait pas assez de Français! Histoire de familles de couples franco-allemands de l'après-guerre (1945-1963), Editions MAïA, Paris,2023

Price information:

10 € box office / 7.50 € for pupils and students