Monument to the dead of the Second World War 1939-1945

History :
1945 : municipal elections
Michel Champleboux becomes mayor, with P. Bertrand and J. Castanié.

1946 : the municipal council decides to erect a monument to the dead of the Second World War.
Louis Noir, architect D.P.L.G. in Clermont-Ferrand, and Volvic sculptor Fernand Auteroche were approached to design the monument.
The(…)

History :
1945 : municipal elections
Michel Champleboux becomes mayor, with P. Bertrand and J. Castanié.

1946 : the municipal council decides to erect a monument to the dead of the Second World War.
Louis Noir, architect D.P.L.G. in Clermont-Ferrand, and Volvic sculptor Fernand Auteroche were approached to design the monument.
The project for a Borne Colonne with bas-reliefs evoking the different phases of the hostilities was selected by the Municipal Council. The base will be composed of eight slabs, forming a war cross, four of which will bear the engraved names of the victims.

1947-1948 : The first and second panels were carved directly by the sculptor, with the help of drawings. The other four panels were copied by local sculptors, using a process known as mise aux points, from plaster models by Ferdinand Auteroche (these models are kept at the Musée de la Résistance du Mont Mouchet in the Cantal region of France).
The central motif, featuring the Lorraine Cross, oak and laurel leaves, was created by Alfred Veychard and two students from the École Départementale d’Architecture de Volvic (EDAV), René Fontanel and Antoine Brunel.
The blocks were cut by Entreprise Castanié and its workers, Alfred and Baptiste Bascoulergue, and craftsmen Marcel Mainferme and Charles Bataille.
Installation was carried out by masons Narcisse Marazatto and Angelo Menuzzo.
The inauguration took place on August 22, 1948, in the presence of numerous VIPs.

The panels, read from bottom to top and from left to right
Panel 1 : MOBILIZATION
The attack on the Maginot Line. The lookout recalls the winter of 39-40. The armies observe each other. It’s the “phoney war”. Sculptor Fernand Auteroche

Panel 2 : CRUSHING BY GERMAN AVIATION
The Stukas. The exodus, the ruins. Dunkirk, torpedoing of the “SIROCCO” and Alexis Domas. Killed in action Lieutenant Fabre. Sculptor Fernand Auteroche

Panel 3 : FRANCE OCCUPIED, ENCHANTED
The German eagle, wings outstretched, surmounting the swastika. Beyond the Rhine, a prison camp and a sentry. Above, STO labor deportees. Sculptor : Aimé Villedieu

Panel 4 : ARREST OF RESISTANTS BY GESTAPO AND WEHRMACHT
Fire at the Hôtel Martinon (March 1, 1944). Deportation camps (watchtower and death of a deportee). Sculptor Jean Amblard

Panel 5 : THE MAQUIS IN THE CHEIRS
Parachuting. Maquisard at the post in the mandorla. Maquis actions : destruction of bridges, power lines. Prisoner escape : General de Lattre from Riom prison. Broken window. Sculptor Jean Eydieu

Panel 6 : LIBERATION
Liberated France, victory with outstretched wings. A maquisard and a soldier flank a deportee. Sculptor A. and Henri Chauffour

Text by Fernand Auteroche