Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Afternoon play -- Square du Temple



Mary, Marie, Virginia and I wandered through the Marais en juin and found ourselves in Square du Temple. The scenes in the photos show carefree children at play with parents, grandparents, nannies but there is a plaque which was erected in 2007 showing the names and ages of 85 children from the area who were deported to Auschwitz between 1942 and 1944. Similar to these children at play, they were between the ages of 2 months and 6 years.



16 comments:

Pat said...

Touching post, Genie....

cocoa and coconut said...

This post is rather sobering, but beautiful in its poignancy. Thank you for sharing Genie. On a brighter note, those children are so lucky to be native French speakers.

M said...

Seeing that plaque in such a happy location was very touching -- what is even more heart-rending is finding similar plaques throughout the city. Love the way you captured the moment.

Virginia said...

That plaque passed me by. How did that happen??? Is this the event/events from Sarah's Key? Sobering yes. Such a tragic part of the their history. I think that it's placed in this pretty little park is so fitting.

PS. I have the boy filling his bucket too. You beat me to it! Love his little glasses! HA
V

Shell Sherree said...

Very touching. I'm counting my blessings again.

Alexa said...

I'm doing the same as Shell. And also for having been able to be home with my kids when they were little (looks to me like the moms are engaged with their kids while the nannies are staring into space).
Love the little boy w/the glasses!

Unknown said...

So tragic, those innocent children. On a happier note, it appears that playgrounds are universal! Yay! XX!

cocoa and coconut said...

By the way Genie, I've given a little mention to your blog on my blog as part of the "One Lovely Blog Award." You can read more about it and your blog on my latest post.

Paris Paul said...

Temple is such a great area...so rich with history.

Loree said...

Ah, so sad about those children of long ago. Such a black moment in the history of the world.

Rob-bear said...

Wouldn't it be lovely if we had the care-free pleasure of playing like a child, in such a beautiful setting. And not having to worry about going to Auschwitz, or some equally hideous contemporary horror.

Randy said...

Watching kids play does bring back memories.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Bibi -- Merci.

Brittany -- The French children are adorable and I love the sounds of their little voices speaking that beautiful language.

M -- That was a lovely park and probably no tourists except the four crazy women.

Virginia -- There was so much to see in that park. Having read so many of the books of that time, I had my eyes out for that and the other plaques around the city. My favorite of that park was the one you got of the gentlemen on the bench just watching life go by -- wonderful, V.

Shell -- Moi aussi, mon amie.

Alexa -- Regarding the blue-sweatered little boy, he and his friends were working in a corner of the sandbox to build a moat. We saw both moms and dads as well as the nannies.

Shari -- This was an active playground and the fence within the park fence, allowed for safe play for even the youngest children.

Brittany -- Mille mercis! I love your delicious blog.

Paul -- It is and so great to see a neighborhood.

Loree -- It was a sad time, and it is particularly poignant to hear the stories of children.

Rob -- That is so true.

To all who read these comments and my blog post today -- Each country has history that may cause shame in contemporary times and my country is no different. In mentioning the plaque, I only want to point out how fortunate we who read the plaque are to live in a different time. It is not for me to criticize the actions of governments with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, but to aid our understanding and to learn from the past.

Children are our future, innocent of any evil doings, and it is up to us to protect them. C'est tout.

Rob-bear said...

Very insightful, Genie. Important note on your part. Thanks.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Merci, Rob. I love Paris and living in the "glass house" of the USA do not feel that I should throw any stones. Thanks for the support.

Alexa said...

Re your reasons for this post: Well said, Genie!