| The Battle of Jebsheim, France - from a French point-of-view. Page 18 |
| AFTER THE TURMOIL After the turmoil of war, a great silence fell over the village. We had to find lodgings, rebuild, and find hope again for the future. As was the case everywhere in Alsace, there were purges and scores to be settled. Jebsheim was no exception to the rule that wanted to see those punished who had collaborated with the Nazi occupiers. Moreover, the first anniversary celebrations of the Liberation were not feasts of joy and rediscovery. First of all, what day should be chosen? 27 January for those on Ostheim Street? 29 January for the south of the village since that was when the fighting stopped for them? Or the day when the last soldier left Jebsheim and the inhabitants moved back into what remained of the buildings? Every year the newspapers relate the wonderful celebrations of the Liberation of Colmar on 2 February, but Jebsheim did not have the heart to celebrate. Our people lowered they heads, collected themselves in silence--rather than laughing and dancing they felt like crying and taking a walk to the cemetery. A Liberation where the shutters and windows open to display the flag upon the passage of Allied troops was unknown to us. Girls rushing out to climb up on the tanks and kiss the rugged liberators was not what we had known. Here in Jebsheim,, to risk opening a window or cracking open a shutter meant receiving a machine gun blast. And to go out in the street, you had to first climb up out of the cellar or makeshift shelter and clear the bodies that blocked the courtyards and stairs. A lot of the former combatants of the battle of Jebsheim who returned here in the years following the war, found a population that was traumatized, silent, sad, almost defiant, and not very inclined to share memories. But the years pass, the wounds heal, the miseries are forgotten- the memories remain, but become clearer, freed as they are from passion and resentment. 20 YEARS--30 YEARS LATER We had to wait years before we finally had liberation celebrations that were worthy of the event and contacts between the citizens of Jebsheim and the men who fought to free them. Under the guidance of a dynamic mayor of the time, Mr. Albert Hild, contacts that were more and more frequent and friendly, became established between us and the veterans of the Shock Battalion, the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers, the legionnaires and the African Riflemen. And what a moving ceremony, after 10 years at the cemetery before the monument to the dead, when a choir, the Choral Society of Hope, touched us with its singing. The voices of two school children rose in the nascent twilight to give this message to the assembled throng: "Those who have piously given their life for the Country, merit that at their tomb the people come and pray.. and Glory to our eternal France. Glory to those who died for her." Even the commander of the Shock Battalion, General Gambiez, could not hide his emotion. On the 25th anniversary, the names of the soldiers killed in the Shock Battalion and the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers were engraved on the Monument to the Dead. Planning for the 30th anniversary, Mr. Hild, with the assent of the entire population, had the Monument to the Dead moved to the center of the village. Then the day of the 30th anniversary came--it was celebrated 8 June 1975, with all the pomp appropriate to such an occasion. Those present included the Secretary of the Veterans' Administration, our much esteemed Prefect, Mr. Burgalat, delegations from the Paratroopers of Pau with their colonel, veterans of the African Riflemen, Legionnaires, men of the Shock Battalion, veterans of the Paratroopers with General Faure, a delegation of American soldiers stationed in Germany, in short representatives of all the troops who formed the prestigious 5th Armored Division of January 1945. Wreathes were laid, the eternal flame brought expressly from Paris was rekindled, and street named in honor of our liberators were inaugurated. All of this was followed by a very successfully executed parachute drop at the Sports Arena by men who are champions of precision jumping and an entire company of paratroopers jumped above the neighboring fields. And at last the wonderful voyage to Pau, at the end of January 1976, when Mr Hild and 60 inhabitants of Jebsheim, with General Faure and some veterans of the Paratroopers, were invited by the 1st Regiment of Paratroopers to come visit their quarters near Pau. They came to participate in the inauguration of Jebsheim Square and take part in an impressive parachute jump. The celebration was to end with a select ball at the Casino of Pau. No question but the Paratroopers won the hearts of the inhabitants of Jebsheim. This round trip in a military airplane will remain for all, an unforgettable memory. STREETS NAMED IN HONOR OF OUR LIBERATORS. 5th Armored Division Street (Rue de la 5e D.B.) 3rd U. S. Infantry Division Street (Rue de la 3e D.I.U.S.) 1st Regiment of Paratroopers Street (Rue de 1er Bataillon de Choc0 Lieutenant Durrmeyer Street (Rue du Lieutenant Durrmeyer) EPILOGUE The reader who has read to the end of this account will understand that there is nothing more to say. It was our goal to make him understand what the name JEBSHEIM meant to all in the Victory of the Pocket of Colmar and to leave for future generations, a trace of what this tragedy meant to the inhabitants of Jebsheim. We wanted also to urge on those who are preparing to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our Liberation a moment of reflection or quiet meditation. |
