80 years of the liberation of Montpellier: “I knew what death was”, a stele so as not to forget the bombings

Eliett Arnaud, survivante des bombardements, et le maire de Montpellier Michaël Delafosse lors de l’inauguration vendredi 5 juillet. DORIAN CAYUELA

In memory of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Montpellier, Mayor Michaël Delafosse unveiled this Friday, July 5, a commemorative plaque at René Dumont Park, alongside a survivor.

"I knew what death was. I was shaking like a leaf". Eliett Arnaud experienced very closely the bombings that shook Montpellier 80 years ago. At the time, she was just a 3-year-old girl who lived at 34 boulevard de la Perruque, a few steps from the train stations. nbsp;where several Allied bombs fell on July 5, 1944.

Eliett shares his delicate memories during the inauguration of a stele in memory of the civilian victims of the bombings at René Dumont Park, this Friday, July 5. She remembers the trench that she dug in the garden with her father to shelter themselves from the weapons that came from the sky. Thanks to this, they got out, but "that was not the case for some of our neighbors", she confides with emotion. Indeed, she clearly recognizes a few names on the marble of the stele.

"War is trauma"

"This is the first time we have shown the names of civilian victims of the bombing", a affirmed the mayor of Montpellier Michaël Delafosse. "We must not forget that war is a trauma", he added. He also underlined& nbsp;the importance of the duty to remember and to organize visits for teachers and children to these places of collection.

In this same sense, he announced that "260 000 € will be intended to renovate the old Lauwe barracks, today Françoise Combes school campus, in the Beaux-Arts district.