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A Conspiracy of Goodness: The Story of the Villagers of Le Chambon

The Nashville area program will take place on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (CST) at the Student Life Center on Vanderbilt Campus located at 310 25th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37240.

This year’s program, “A Conspiracy of Goodness:  The Story of the Villagers of Le Chambon” examines the responses of the villagers of Le Chambon.  As generations before us have asked, “Who are our neighbors?”  That we find ourselves asking that question is itself a problem. The answer, as the history of genocides and our responses to them have shown, is complicated. Not every knock on the door by those seeking safety was ignored; not every prospective victim was left on the side of the road. Pierre Sauvage, alive, thanks to the villagers of Le Chambon who opened their homes and invited his parents and thousands of other Jews in, will screen his documentary, Weapons of the Spirit.  This film is the story of the village of Le Chambon where, during World War II, in and around one village in Nazi-occupied France, 5,000 Jews were sheltered by 5,000 Christians.  This is the story of a unique conspiracy of goodness.  Not a single Jew who came there was turned away or turned in.   It was not until decades later that the villagers spoke of what they had done—and even then, only reluctantly.  This film will help present the challenge that Holocaust rescuers make to us, asking, “What would you have done?”

This one-day conference is open to the public and specifically designed for middle and high school teachers to provide them with additional knowledge and resources about the Holocaust. Educators are encouraged to identify up to four mature students to accompany them to the all day workshop for hands-on activities and interaction with survivors and educators in the field of Holocaust studies.   Teachers intending to bring students are required to contact the THC with the name and number of students who will attend the conferences.  A student registration form is attached to the panel on the left or click here.

• Lunch: Lunch will not be provided as part of the conference.  We encourage participants to eat on the Vanderbilt Campus in Rand Hall. Lunch recommendations are available by viewing the link under general conference information.
• Parking:  Reserved parking is available on the Vanderbilt Campus for $10 per car.  To request a parking pass click on the link to the left for the request form and payment information or click here. You can also email the form to ariana.ramos@vanderbilt.edu.