It was raining on Saturday 20th May 1944. Young Frenchman Roland Chopard decided to put off his journey to fetch supplies until the following day.
On that Sunday, 21st May, Roland said goodbye to his wife Irène and baby son Alex, and set off on his bike towards his aunt’s house in Monflanquin. The day was pleasant, the rolling hills and valleys of the southwestern French countryside were full of the colours and sounds of spring. He was enjoying himself. Roland was a fit 27-year-old. Peddling up the steep slopes presented a desirable challenge.
Meanwhile in Lacapelle-Biron, a small village on the way to Monflanquin, soldiers from the SS Das Reich Division were rounding up all the men and boys. It was into this raid that Roland unwittingly cycled. His capture signalled the start of almost a year of forced labour and extreme deprivation.
But he survived.
Roland weighed 45kg upon his return from Buchenwald. Before his capture and deportation, he was extremely fit and loved sports
Irène and Alex. Life was not easy for Irène during Roland’s absence. For almost a year, she had no idea how he was living, nor how he was coping, nor even whether he was still alive
Roland with Irène and their small son Alex after his return from Buchenwald in April 1945
Many of the other men taken in the raid on Lacapelle-Biron did not return. Every year, the village commemorates their deaths. The children are included in the ceremonies.
This year, 2023, Mayor Nadine Lafon spoke powerfully of the necessity of constant vigilance against far-right ideologies, the forces of fascism. Her message was directed at the future, at the children, while honouring those from this tiny corner of France whose lives were broken on that beautiful May day in 1944.
The annual ceremony of commemoration in Lacapelle-Biron, Lot-et-Garonne, May 21st 2023
The author is standing with Roland’s daughter Annie as they watch the ceremony. Together they have rescued Roland’s remarkable memoir from a dusty garage in rural France and offered it to readers – it is a personal story, set in a particular time, nothing more but nothing less.
Available now, at the following locations:
Paula Read 