Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
September 2022
Poster, 1971
Historical Context
The photographer, journalist, historian, and curator Jean-Claude Gautrand lived for more than 85 years in Paris. One of his most renowned works is the series ‘L’Assassinat de Baltard’, which documents the destruction of the Parisian halls. The ‘Belly of Paris’ was dismantled during one of the city’s largest relocations in 1969 and was finally torn down in the early 1970s. The donor, Frédéric Zucco, has a personal connection to one of these images.
Short Biography
Frédéric Zucco was born in Paris in 1958. His parents, who grew up in difficult economic conditions, independently migrated from Northern Italy to France shortly after World War II. The dream of a better life and the Italian community in Paris brought them together. Frédéric grew up in a migrant neighborhood, but his parents gave him and his siblings – perhaps precisely for this reason – complicated French first names. Their wish: the absolute and uncompromising integration into France and the family’s social mobility.
Frédéric Zucco completes his high school education in Paris and begins to study computer science. While on vacation in Greece, he meets a woman from Augsburg. After a year and a half of a long-distance relationship between France and Germany, he decides to immigrate in 1987. He wants to continue his involvement in the works council and the union in Bavaria as well. Thus, his commitment today includes work in various working groups dedicated to migration and refugee issues, in cultural associations, in political German and French parties, and as a mediator.
Significance of the Object
The ‘Les Halles’, as the Parisians called them, were the largest market halls in the center of Paris until the 1960s. They are also known as ‘Pavillons de Baltard’. Ten large buildings by this famous 19th-century architect housed the halls where meat, fish, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and fruit were sold for both retail and wholesale. The total area exceeded 30,000 m².
My parents, Italian migrants, were very poor. We lived as five people in an apartment of 40 m². But we wouldn’t go hungry. Therefore, my mother regularly went to ‘Les Halles’, as the products were cheaper than in the local shops (there were no supermarkets yet). I must also admit that we often went late to get any discounted leftovers. The atmosphere is unimaginable by today’s standards: thousands of sellers (with their rough language), tens of thousands of customers, and those countless smells… indescribable. In 1960, the government decided to relocate ‘Les Halles’ to Rungis (10 km from Paris).
From today’s perspective, this makes sense: this huge market in the middle of Paris was no longer suitable, as many smaller ones emerged all over the capital, and hygienic conditions became more of a problem, partly due to rats. But for the ordinary people who cherished and were accustomed to this market, it was a catastrophe; at least that’s what they thought.
The relocation of the market took place in 1969 within 2 days, affecting 1000 businesses and involving 20,000 people. Many years passed between the decision and the relocation, and many hoped it would never happen. However, February 27, 1969, marked the definitive end of the market in Paris. The Baltard buildings remained and became a symbol in their own right. They were used for cultural events. They were beautiful in themselves. When they were demolished from 1971 to 1973, the outrage, particularly politically and culturally, was very great. And it was my first participation in a political protest.
As a child, I couldn’t articulate the loss of the market; the destruction of the buildings was the opportunity for me to express my anger in a concrete and communal way. A few years later, I saw this poster, and the beginning of my political career came back to mind, prompting me to buy it. When I migrated to Germany, it was important for me to take this memento with me and hang it in my room.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de