Fourteen students from the second, first, and final years of the Albert-Calmette High School in Nice created a beautiful presentation for the sons of Simone Weil, Jean and Pierre-François Veil. What place could be more appropriate than this high school where this great lady studied, to pay tribute to her?
In this now coeducational high school, two young girls are painting a portrait of Simone Veil while waiting for the multipurpose room to fill up. Meanwhile, the inaugural plaque at the Documentation and Information Center is unveiled. From now on, the center will bear the name of Simone Veil, who previously studied in this school.
This young Jewish girl had to be denied entry during World War II and continued to study for her baccalaureate alone, using lessons given by her teachers. Principal Dominique Campesato pays tribute to “Simone Jacob, as well as to all the young girls whom the headmistress asked to leave the school in the fall of 1943.” His thoughts go to the sixteen teenagers “who never returned from the camps.” All of them also have their portraits displayed in the courtyard. After citing some of Simone Weil’s numerous actions, he concludes: “I regret that I haven’t found in the French language, the feminine of the word ‘defender.’ Madame Simone Veil is a tremendous defender of human dignity.”
This tribute is part of the school’s project focusing on two main goals: combating all forms of discrimination and promoting the role of women in French society. Jean and Pierre-François Veil, her two sons, are present alongside Christian Estrosi. The students from the Theater Workshop at the high school have prepared a big surprise for them. It begins with the screening of a film retracing their mother’s journey. Then, a violin performance of Maurice Ravel’s Kaddish by a first-year student. This student accompanies her peers who read excerpts from Leila Slimani’s work Simone Weil, My Heroine. They all deliver their readings with a very unique voice, directly reflective of the emotions expressed. The ceremony continues with the reading of an excerpt from Simone Veil’s autobiography Une vie. Meanwhile, on stage, the painting comes to life with meticulous brush strokes. Finally, a student performs the lyrical song Zog Nit Keynmol, Never Say, accompanied by the piano. “It brought tears to my eyes,” can be heard in the room. After thanking the students and acknowledging the initiative, Simone Veil’s sons received the portrait of their mother, just completed, as a gift.
“Today, the lesson I take away from the magnificent work you’ve done on Sigmund Freud and Simone Veil is that we must remember what these women were, but also what they did.,” declared the mayor of Nice.
