Day: First five Wednesdays
Field trip to S. B. Historical Museum
Transportation will be provided.
Time: 10:00-11:50 a.m.
Location: Girvetz 1108
Enrollment Code: 56119
Description:
August 25, 1944, was an important day in World War II France: the day that Paris was
liberated by the Allies. While Paris was rejoicing, 260 kilometers away, the rural village
of Maille, whose population numbered about 240, was undergoing the most brutal of
atrocities imaginable yet, of the type we continue to see today. On that morning, Nazi
soldiers entered the village, killing 124 inhabitants, mostly women, children, and the
elderly, and setting fire to the village, in retaliation for the “terrorism” inflicted on a band
of Nazis by some nearby partisans of the French Resistance (maquis). Santa Barbara
resident Kathleen Burke (Peabody) Hale had just returned from France when the War
broke out. Said to be the most decorated woman of World War I for her heroic service
on the battlefront with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and for her success as a relief
fundraiser, Mrs. Hale was touched by the story of Maille. She convinced her wealthy
husband to join her in becoming the “godparents” of the village. Their generous
help in reconstructing the village continued up until their deaths in 1954. We will
examine this largely untold story, considering primary source materials from France
as well as from the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. We will endeavor to answer
questions such as: How can such an atrocity happen? What is a “terrorist”? What
motivated the Hales? What was the impact of their philanthropy: on Maille, on the
post-war recovery of Europe in general, and on Santa Barbara? Why did it take 60
years for Maille to come to terms with its past? The instructor will report on the opening
of the Hale exhibition at the Maison du Souvenir in Maille (November 3, 2008),
which he attended, along with Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum and Prince Albert II
of Monaco. Some knowledge of French is helpful, but not required.
Professor William Ashby, French & Italian, field of research is French linguistics. He has friends who survived the Maille massacre, and has translated various documents for the Maison du Souvenir, the newly opened memorial in the village of Maille.
Email: ashby@french-ital.ucsb.edu
