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STUDENT NUMBER: 230737286

MODULE CODE: International Politics

COURSEWORK NUMBER/TITLE: Doing International Politics

WORD COUNT: 1424

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 ASSESSED COURSEWORK FEEDBACK SHEET
FOR ESSAYS AND COMMENTARIES

STUDENT NUMBER: 230737286

MODULE CODE: International Politics

COURSEWORK NUMBER/TITLE: Doing International Politics

MARKER: 1424

To be read in conjunction with comments/annotations on the coursework itself

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indicates strengths and weaknesses, awareness of which should help you in subsequent assignments.

Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Poor

(1st) (2.1) (2.2) (3rd) (Fail)
1. Follows assignment brief X
2. Knowledge / understanding X
3. Argument / analysis X
4. Structure and organisation X
5. Written expression X
6. Evidence of research X
7. Referencing X
8. Presentation X

A/ What was done well

This is a very interesting Field Report. You do a very good job of engaging with the site
and analysing its signifance. You contextualise it and do a good job of linking to French
and international politics. Very good work.

B/ What could be better

Sometimes you use phrases that are rhetorical and exaggerated, one or two examples of
which I highlighted below.
At times you have the beginnings of some interesting arguments but do not develop in
enough detail to convince the reader
You make a couple of misleading claims. I highlighted at least one example where you
described France’s politics of memory with regard to holocaust as “consistent”. You would
have to do more empirical work to defend that claim, otherwise it is not very plausible.
Vel d’hiv is misspelled throughout
Some other minor typos and errors.
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C/ General suggestions for improvement

You’re clearly capable of first class work, and working on the issues I mentioned above
should help you deliver on that. Keep up the good work !

Class average for this assignment:

Provisional Grade: 69

If the recorded mark below is <50%, we recommend you make an appointment to see your Tutor.

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 Le Jardin Mémorial des Enfants du Val’ d’hiv

The memory presents itself as a "constructed representation of the past" (Fouéré, 2010:

p 2). It can be abstractly likened to a structure containing memories that shape our

understanding of the world. This memorial aspect takes on a particular dimension when

dealing with the concept of genocide, defined by the Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin as the

"destruction of a nation or ethnic group" (Raphael Lemkin cited by Anson, 2008:79). The

most recent recognized genocide is that of the Tutsis in 1994. However, the notion of

genocide and the surrounding concepts remain timeless. Terms such as the Holocaust and

Shoah no longer exclusively refer to the atrocities of the Jewish genocide from 1941 to 1945

perpetrated by Nazi Germany. They also represent the memorial legacy of this conflict, a

memory that spans centuries through testimonies, narratives, and memorial sites such as the

Memorial Garden of the Children of Val d'Hiv, erected on July 16, 2017. This garden

commemorates the children rounded up and deported on July 16 and 17, 1942, destined for

brutal extermination at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The devastating influence of the Holocaust and

German ambitions have left a profound imprint on the politics and geopolitics of that time,

contributing to shaping today's international politics. In what way can this site be considered

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an instrument of international politics? What role does the memorial play in preserving

memory? In the first part, we will describe the memorial concretely. Then, in the second

part, we will delve into the different interpretations that this site can have before moving on

to a more theoretical analysis of this commemorative place.

Analyzing a structure through images can be a fascinating experience, but nothing can

match the authentic impact of discovering it in person. A memorial visit offers an

experience that transcends descriptions and representations. First and foremost, before

exploring the details of the memorial, it is essential to understand how it fits into the

surrounding urban fabric. The Garden is located in the Grenelle district in Paris, near a

pharmacy and a restaurant. Unlike other memorials like the Memorial de la Shoah, this

space blends seamlessly into the landscape of the global city of Paris. It can be seen as a

means for Serge Klarsfeld and the Commission of the Memory of the CRIF, initiators of this

project, to make this narrative more accessible, allowing a direct connection with the

commemorated history. Moreover, given the importance of Paris on the national and

international stage, one could interpret the sobriety of this place as a desire to coexist this

extraordinary historical site with the modernity of the capital. In this way, Paris presents

itself as a city that coexists with its history, showing a willingness to acknowledge its

mistakes on the world stage.

Secondly, paradoxically, this place offers us a very immersive experience far from the

simplicity I previously mentioned. Indeed, once you enter the memorial, a sense of isolation

and disconnection from the outside world sets in. Continuing our exploration, attention turns

to the unique spatial arrangement of the garden. Despite its modest size, the layout of this

garden gives a particular dynamic to the place. The choice to make this space a green area

creates a kind of intimacy with history; one feels close to the deported children. Indeed, the

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trees create an intimate atmosphere that transports us directly to the heart of the raids of that

time. One could even add that this vegetation creates an almost fairy-tale ambiance, in

symbiosis with the victims who are the children. Moreover, the garden adopts a U-shaped

form, and its various elements are displayed on multiple levels, from the wall to the ground.

Encouraging the viewer to a methodical exploration. This particular layout encourages

attentive immersion, offering the necessary time to remember the tragic history it

commemorates with precision and emotion.

Finally, let's move on to the analysis of some important elements that make up the

memorial. Firstly, we can talk about the different identity cards attached to the trees,

recounting the story of the deportation of some of these children. We have the example of

young Brucha Gaut, deported from Paris on August 19, 1942, at the age of 10, or Paulette

Zajac, also deported in August 1942. These few images of children allow us to put faces to

these names and learn more about their history. A name can get lost among so many others,

but a face can remain more easily engraved in memory. These children serve as

spokespeople for these innocent souls murdered, thus perpetuating their memory. Secondly,

let's look at the most important element of this place: the Wall of the Deported Children.

This emotionally charged wall lists the names of the 4,115 children from Val d'Hiv who

were torn from their lives on July 16 and 17, 1942. Beyond being a simple structure, this

wall becomes a tangible memory, carrying the shattered destinies of these young lives. This

central part of the memorial garden becomes a place of contemplation, a surface loaded with

emotions, where each name inscribed becomes a painful reminder of the horror of the

Holocaust.

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The elements that make up this Garden are only a receptacle for history, giving shape to the

memory of the conflict. However, this memory does not have a fixed narrative; its

commemoration is therefore dependent on the individuals linked to it.

Considering that a memorial is associated with commemoration and the transcription of

history, it inevitably becomes a field of varied interpretations and reactions. First of all,

denialism, defined as "the denial of a systematically organized genocide" (Yves Ternon,

2004), constitutes one of the reactions that can be qualified as hostile to the memorial.

Going beyond mere opposition, denialism can be interpreted as an attempt to suppress or

contest the established national and international consensus around this genocide. A striking

example of this hostility manifested through the statements of Marine Le Pen, claiming that

"France was not responsible for the Vél’ d’Hiv" (Le Pen cited in Le Monde, 2017). In 2019,

this hostility materialized concretely when the garden's stele was vandalized with paint. It is

important to emphasize that terms were deliberately masked, such as "extermination" in

"extermination camp" or the adverb "abominably" in "put to death in abominably cruel

conditions" (Goujon cited by Carez, 2019), were strategically chosen. In order to minimize

the genocide and give it a lighter interpretation. The Garden can be the subject of political

instrumentalization to convey a specific message. This is revealed by a testimony collected

following the arrest of the perpetrator of the knife attack on the Bir Hakeim bridge last

December, which reveals that he would have considered targeting park visitors. He would

not have supported the lighting of the Eiffel Tower "in the colors of Israel" (Forneris Jean

and AFP, 2023) after the massacres committed by Hamas on October 7. This act diverted

the Memorial Garden from its primary function. It is no longer just a place of

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commemoration; it unintentionally becomes the support for a symbolic war linked to

international tensions, especially those involving Israel.

Next, from the perspective of the French authorities and the majority of the population,

the memorial has the sole purpose of paying homage to the victims. There are no tensions

between the interpretation of the memory of this genocide and the genocide itself. This site

escapes what can be called political amnesia characterized by "the choice to forget, or to

pretend, or to feign forgetfulness" (Sieffert, Tubiana, Semo, 2008: p 17). In other words,

there emanates from the current power a neglect, a desire to almost erase a part of history, as

was the case, for example, with the Armenian genocide. In the case of our site, the French

authorities, on the contrary, demonstrate unwavering support for the victims of the

Holocaust. As evidenced by Emmanuel Macron's statement on Sunday, April 30, 2019,

following his visit to the Memorial de la Shoah, the president made a speech emphasizing a

dual duty: to remember and to prevent such events from happening again. The president's

words, which encompass the "We," are to be interpreted universally, part of a tribute paid to

the "76,000 Jews deported from France" (Le Monde with AFP, 2017) and addressing the

entire international community. In his capacity as president, he represents France

internationally, thus becoming a state actor conveying a message of awareness, drawing

attention to the atrocities of these events. Notably, this narrative approach does not seem to

have evolved over time because, in the memorial, fragments of speeches delivered by

Pompidou at the time are preserved, admitting France's participation in the deportation. The

continuity between the actions taken by these two heads of state at different times highlights

the persistence of a constant memorial policy of France regarding the Holocaust. This

approach reveals not only the desire to remember past tragedies but also to assume

responsibility and prevent any repetition of such dark events. In the analysis of this

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structure, form matters as much as content. One and the other are complementary. The form

allows us to outline the contours and the content to grasp all the subtleties of the history of

this genocide.

To continue, let's consider the development and theoretical analysis of this place. Let's

start by considering the Memorial Garden of the Children of Val d'Hiv as an instrument of

awareness, a living narrative of human rights and international justice. This memorial,

beyond its commemorative function, becomes a centerpiece in educating visitors about the

devastating consequences of human rights violations. On a conceptual level, the identity

cards attached to the trees have profound significance regarding human rights. Take the

example of the tree dedicated to Sarah, an 8-year-old girl deported during World War II. We

know that as vulnerable beings, children were the most affected. We speak of "over a

million Jewish children" who experienced a tragic fate. In some cases, there were

deportations like those of the children of the raid; others were "killed immediately after birth

or in institutions," or they were used as "workers or as subjects of medical experiments"

(Multimedia Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, n.d.). These children, often very young, were

victims of inhumane treatment contrary to the articles later ratified in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and Citizenship drawn up in .

Futhermore, the international dimension of the Memorial Garden, surpassing national

borders to become a symbol of global understanding. The history of the Holocaust,

embodied by this memorial, transcends its initial context to become an essential element of

contemporary international politics. German ambitions changed the face of the world. In

examining how this site can be a reference point in the construction of global politics, it is

essential to consider the context of German ambitions during World War II. The atrocities

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committed during the Holocaust had repercussions far beyond national borders, influencing

the course of world history. The recognition of these events as crimes against humanity

established a new standard in international law and contributed to the emergence of

institutions such as international tribunals to judge those responsible for genocides and war

crimes. The first jurisdiction, the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg, founded on

the London Agreement of August 8, 1945, signed between the United States, the United

Kingdom, the USSR, and France, laid the foundations for this international justice. Today,

the memorial can be likened to a form of peaceful justice. Where the guilty can certainly no

longer atone for their crimes in person, but the memory of the victims and the recognition of

their suffering serve as a form of universal reparation. Indeed, the location of this garden

does not minimize the echo of the message it tries to convey.

Beyond its educational role. This place becomes a beacon, guiding visitors to reflect on

fundamental values such as tolerance. As a catalyst for the promotion of these values on a

global scale, the memorial fits not only into a narrative of commemoration but also onto a

path of peace. A peace that entails the reconstruction of global social cohesion; in my view,

this memorial speaks not only to Jewish victims but calls for a profound consideration of

other genocides implicitly. Like the genocide of the Tutsis, also caused by a conditioning of

ethnic superiority between the Tutsis and Hutus, which was a failure for the international

community. Thus, we understand that this memorial undertakes a broad collective

responsibility and works towards constructing a future based on understanding and peace.

In conclusion, the Children of Val d'Hiv Memorial Garden presents a unique perspective

on commemorating the Holocaust. Unlike many memorials dedicated to the deceased,

which often convey a somber and solemn tone, this garden introduces a new dynamic. It

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offers a more poetic and innocent outlook, inviting visitors to reflect not only on the tragedy

of the events but also on the resilience and innocence of the young lives lost. Moreover, the

international dimension of the memorial goes beyond the national borders, making it a

symbol of global understanding and shaping international politics.

Bibliography:

- Anson, Rabinbach ( 2008) “ Raphael Lemkin et le concept de génocide”, Revue

d’Histoire de la Shoah 189 (2): 511-554.

- Carez, Céline (2019) “Paris : qui s’est attaqué à la stèle des enfants juifs victimes de la

rafle du Vel’d’Hiv’ ?”, Le Parisien, 15 mai 2019. Available at:

https://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-qui-s-est-attaque-a-la-stele-des-enfants-juifs-

victimes-de-la-rafle-du-vel-d-hiv-15-05-2019-8072793.php, 12 Décembre 2023.

- Encyclopédie multimédia de la Shoah (n.d.) “LES ENFANTS PENDANT LA SHOAH”,

Available at: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/fr/article/children-during-the-

holocaust, 12 Décembre 2023.

- Forneris Jean et AFP ( 2017) “Des violences urbaines plus intenses en 2023 qu'en 2005”,
Franceinfo, 7 Décembre 2023. Available at: https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/paris-

ile-de-france/paris/attaque-au-couteau-pont-de-bir-hakeim-a-paris-le-jardin-memoriel-

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 des-enfants-du-vel-d-hiv-envisage-cible-par-l-assaillant-2885591.html, 9 Décembre

2023.

- Fouéré, Marie-Aude (2010) “La mémoire au prisme du politique”, Cahiers d’études

africaines 50 (197): 005-024 Publisher: La Découverte).

- Le Monde avec AFP ( 2017) “Au Mémorial de la Shoah, Emmanuel Macron fustige le «
négationnisme dans lequel certains trouvent refuge », Le Monde, 30 avril 2017. Available

at https://www.lemonde.fr/election-presidentielle-2017/article/2017/04/30/au-memorial-

de-la-shoah-emmanuel-macron-fustige-le-negationnisme-dans-lequel-certains-trouvent-

refuge_5120380_4854003.html, 12 Décembre 2023.

- Sieffert Denis, Tubiana Michel et Semo Marc (2008) Les jalons d'un colloque.
Amnésie… amnistie… impunité… justice transitionnelle, 1st edition Place: Paris

Publisher: La Découverte

- Ternon Yves ( 2004) Génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda : émergence d'un négationnisme, 2nd

edition ( Publisher: Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine).

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