Kmflett's Blog

Michael Rosen shows why remembering history is important

I’ve written about Michael Rosen’s The Missing before. It’s a book of poetry and short pieces which looks at the history of some of his family members during World War Two. He tracks down the story of his father’s uncle Martin Rozen (1890-1944)through painstaking research. Rozen lived in Vichy France and in 1944 he was with other Jews not born in France but living there, put on a train to Auschwitz and murdered by the Nazis.

On May 9Michael Rosen travelled to France to see Martin Rozen’s name added to the war memorial in the town where he had lived and wreath’s were laid, organised by the Mayor Philippe Barre.

Rosen has written about Martin Rozen in his blog

The Missing which tells a wider story of war and refugees is aimed at a young audience but has a powerful message for all ages.

It is also relevant to the current round of elections in France where a far right to fascist candidate Marine Le Pen lost the Presidential Election to the incumbent Emmanuel Macron, but did so relatively narrowly. The Guardian wrote (Editorial 22nd April) of Le Pen’s candidacy: Her proposal for a referendum on ‘citizenship, immigration and identity’, aimed at instituting a suite of nativist ‘French first’ policies would generate a constitutional crisis’.

This sounds a like an attempt to re-create Vichy France and a challenger for the Presidency Zemmour who went out in the first round spoke openly and positively about Vichy. Zemmour can fourth with 2.5 million votes and is supporting Le Pen in the second round.

The elections for the French Parliament are in June and the possibility of Le Pen winning a significant number of seats is a serious one.

Which is one reason why books like The Missing are important. As Michael Rosen writes, he cannot bring back Martin Rozen but he can make sure he is remembered, and what happened to him and why is also remembered. Yesterday in France was another point in the historical act of remembering what the Nazis did and bringing to new generations why it must never happen again.