I was just 6 months old when my brother Jean Picard was hanged during the Tulle massacre on the 9th June 1944. Jean was just 20 years old. He was a member of the resistance and took part in the temporary liberation of Tulle on the 7th and 8th of June, during which time he became injured.

On the morning of the 9th June, Jean was taken during the roundup by Das Reich soldiers and left alone in the bicycle shed of the Tulle arms factory to await his fate. Jean was hanged as part of the first group of men, being carried by two soldiers to his place of execution.

The death of Jean and the trauma of the brutal massacre of 99 young men were devastating for our family and the whole town. I grew up surrounded by silence. My father’s grief was unbearable. He could not talk about it. At school, despite being surrounded by friends who had suffered similar experiences, we never spoke about it, keeping our feelings and sadness to ourselves.

Our duty is to never forget, but to find a path to a peaceful memory. Not a memory wiped away with time or silenced by grief, but a peaceful memory from which we can learn to fight barbarism in the future. That is why I continue my work with young people so that they can learn from the mistakes of the past.

My brother always called me his little sister when he was with his comrades in the marquis. This is how I want to remember him.