Under the alley bombs

As part of the "Rendez-vous Valérien" series, in partnership with the Maison Suger, the Office national des combattants et des victimes de guerre (ONaCVG) and the Mémorial du Mont Valérien are organizing a meeting on the memory and consequences of the Allied bombing raids in France, with two specialists in the Second World War. Pierre Benetti will present his meticulous investigation of the effects of an Allied bombing raid on the town of Dugny in 1943, and discuss with Andrew Knapp the consequences of this period and the memory of such events.

Pierre Benetti is an anthropologist and historian, editor of the “En attendant Nadeau” website. He carried out a major study as part of his PhD, defended at EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) in November 2023 on “Le Bourget, August 16, 1943. Experience and memory of an aerial bombardment in the Paris suburbs”.

Andrew Knapp is a historian and Professor Emeritus at the University of Reading, specializing in the conflict and its effects in France. He is the author of Le Gaullisme après de Gaulle and Les Français sous les bombes alliées, Éditions Tallandier.