Remembering the Occupation and Liberation of France

Free for University Club members, Limited seating
Reservations required

$15 per guest | Tickets must be purchased online here: https://www.afmsp.org/shopping-cart/#/

Join us for an unforgettable evening as we commemorate the Liberation of France through a powerful blend of personal family stories and historical insight. This event will bring history to life by weaving together the intimate memories of those who lived it alongside the broader context of one of World War II’s most pivotal moments. Discover how the bravery of Allied forces and the resilience of everyday citizens shaped not only a nation’s freedom but the legacy carried within families to this day. This event invites you to step into the past, reflect on its impact, and honor the voices that lived through history. 

Speakers: 

Jacqueline Foley O’Brien is the daughter of Parisian born Jacqueline Blanc O’Brien and Thomas Foley O’Brien, WWII pilot  from St. Paul. Her parents met during the war. Jacqueline is a retired Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. She has many passions, the greatest of which are continuing to learn about her Franco-American history and swimming in Lake Superior. She has spent her summers on Madeline Island since birth.

Nelly Trocmé Hewett grew up in the French Plateau Vivarais-Lignon and the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a place of safety and shelter for Jewish refugees during WWII. Hewett's parents, Pastor André Trocmé and his wife Magda, were among the leaders of the rescue operations.  The remarkable efforts of ordinary people from this area are described in the book A Good Place to Hide: How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives During World War II by Peter Grose.

Professor Sharon Marquart, Professor of French and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is the author of On the Defensive: Reading the Ethical in Nazi Camp Testimonies (University of Toronto Press, 2015), co-editor of a volume of essays on Auschwitz survivor Charlotte Delbo, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma, French Forum, H-France Forum, The Romanic Review, Ethnologies, and various essay collections on World War II and the Holocaust.

Professor Bruno Chaouat, is a professor at the University of Minnesota in the department of French and Italian. His research focuses on testimony and Holocaust studies. His newest book, Out of This World: Gnostic Encounters in French Literature and Thought (Liverpool University Press, 2024), explores the uncanny echoes of ancient gnostic themes in French modernity. He is currently working on the Russian emigres in interwar Paris and their impact on the renewal of French thought. 

Call or email the front desk to make your reservations today, online reservations available via your member portal.

(651) 222-1751 ext.0
frontdesk@ucstp.com