On Thursday, February 2, 2012, Mr. Eric Ciotti, President of the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, accompanied by a delegation of 9th-grade students from 9 colleges in the Alpes-Maritimes (*), visited the sites of Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland, in the presence of Ms. Martine Ouaknine, Deputy Mayor of Nice, and Mr. Charles Gottlieb (), a resistance fighter and Auschwitz deportee.
In order for the younger generations to never forget the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II.
The first Memory Trips were initiated in 2004 by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, as part of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust. Since then, the Department has trained no less than 10,800 Peace Ambassadors (including 10,000 middle school students).
Through this action, the President of the General Council aims to raise awareness among young generations about the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and enable them to approach with lucidity and courage the conditions under which the irreparable and the unspeakable were committed.
For the 2011-2012 school year, 4 trips are planned, involving 45 colleges, with a particular focus on the fight against anti-Semitism and the intergenerational connection, with the presence of representatives from LICRA and associations of former combatants, resistance fighters, and deportees.
