In Bidart, a stone's throw from the Sainte Madeleine chapel and facing the ocean, there is a place where you can take a slap, where you feel alive. It's not so much because of the beauty of the place, which is nevertheless breathtaking, but above all because of the beauty of the message and the harsh reality it conveys.
Erected facing the ocean, the stelae of the Memorial to the Second World War and for Peace bear witness to the fighting and atrocities that raged in the department.

Remember

This monument aims to bring together all the memories of the Second World War and to call for reflection and the refusal to forget.

Each stone or stele represents great moments of the war: the collapse and rise of Nazism; persecutions, deportations, fights and values ​​for democracy.

The memorial was created on the initiative of the Association Ensemble pour la Paix, by the company Pierres des Pyrénées d'Ascain. Its funding was provided by a national subscription and by many partners, including the Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and received the support of the National Office for Veterans and War Victims.

“If the echo of their voices fails, we will perish”

Pau Eluard

Tell and transmit

In Bidart, on the day of the inauguration of the memorial, there were still many of these veterans to hoist the tricolor flag. It was pouring rain, the weather had decided to hide the emotion of some, we were all very moved to be part of those present. We were all the more so when we met the deep gaze of André Izaguirre, this man who recounted his years in hell, continued to transmit peace and always stayed the course.


Dédé, for those who knew him well, chose to fight alongside the Free French forces before being denounced and then deported. Released in extremis during the death march, he was able to return to the country, see the cliffs of Parlementia, resume his outings at sea aboard Bakea*, fish.
André recounted his memoirs in a book entitled "my years in hell", he transmitted various messages to his children and grandchildren, he recounted his memories in schools: so that we would not forget.

Today André's memory and his messages are transmitted by his grandchildren who keep the treasure of having learned by his side. One of them, Jérémy, continues to tell the story of Dédé, his deportation but also his return home, his passion for the ocean and his knowledge of navigation. Like a memory smuggler, Jérémy generously shared with us some letters from his grandfather, who are witnesses to the truth of another era.
The one where we did send messages in Basque by changing the name of the house in the address of the couriers to tell the horror of war, the one where when we found freedom and went back to work at sea, we boarded a boat called Bakea* (*means peace)…

We invite you to learn a little more below 👇 and by listening to the episode of Jeremy's podcast.