Maison d'Izieu--Mémorial des enfants juifs exterminés, Holocaust memorial museum in Izieu, France
Maison d'Izieu is a two-storey house with a pale cream facade, light blue shutters and a steep brown-tiled hipped roof with a central dormer window; stone steps lead to a glazed double door. Inside, a preserved schoolroom has rows of dark wooden desks facing a blackboard above a wooden fireplace mantel, lit by a tall window. The site also holds a documentation centre and exhibition spaces.
The house was founded in 1943 by Sabine Zlatin as a shelter for Jewish children, offering them temporary safety from persecution. On April 6, 1944, German troops discovered the location and the children sheltered there were deported.
The house is not named after Sabine Zlatin; the building inaugurated in 2015 bears her name and that of Miron Zlatin. Children kept a vegetable garden under Miron Zlatin's supervision and staged theatre, song and dance performances. A classroom was set up on the first floor for teacher Gabrielle Perrier, and the children received toys at Christmas and exchanged letters with their families when possible.
The site is split into four separate spaces: the working farm, the preserved dining rooms and classroom, group accommodation with the documentation centre, and the exhibition building with a welcome area and two permanent floors. The classroom and dining rooms are kept as they were, with original pupils' documents. Guided tours and workshops for younger visitors are offered; school groups make up a large share of visitors.
The Documentation Center holds original drawings and writings from the children who lived there, offering direct glimpses into their daily lives. These personal creations give the visit a human dimension and show how the children perceived their world.
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