Jean Soulas - Prisoner of war (1940-1945)
Sometimes there are only a few pages, a few scribbled sentences, to contain years of absence, fear, and silence.
Jean Soulas is one of those whose war was not recounted aloud, but was slowly deposited in the words left behind.
Taken prisoner in 1940, he spent the war far from his family, in camps and German cities where waiting, constraint, and the daily struggle to stay alive followed one another. His messages, notes, and memoirs sketch an experience of captivity marked as much by deprivation as by the careful observation of the world around him.
Collected, transcribed and commented on by his son, Dominique Soulas, this document does not simply recount a captivity. It provides access to a memory transmitted from a distance, fragmentary, patiently assembled, and now made legible for sharing.
Excerpt from the original document:
We were taken prisoner—like 2,650,000 others. The Germans immediately painted “KG” in large letters using red lead primer on the backs of our coats and uniform jackets. After being herded together, we were crammed into cattle cars and arrived two days later, at dawn, at the train station of a small town called Warendorf . We had no idea where we had been unloaded. Knowing I was a geographer, my comrades questioned me. I only knew that we had been driven north, probably toward Westphalia, nothing more. War is, above all, the brutal lesson of being tossed about: it is extremely difficult to maintain one's bearings, to preserve one's identity, and not to forget the principle of freedom—in short, to continue to exist as an individual.
Document submitted by Dominique Soulas.
Publication on the Rencontre Réconciliation website with her consent
An individual destiny at the heart of European history
Louis Lugand is one of the millions of men whom the Second World War brutally tore from their lives, their families, and their futures. His story, long shrouded in obscurity, is that of a French prisoner of war subjected to forced labor in Germany, then swept away by the senseless violence of the final days of the conflict, at the very moment when freedom was finally within reach.
Rencontre Réconciliation shares this testimony as part of a process of transmission, understanding and reflection on the legacies of war in Europe and beyond.
Why tell this story today?
Because prisoners of war have long occupied a marginal place in national narratives. Because their suffering has often been silenced, minimized, or overshadowed by other war memories. Because wounds do not end with the fighting, but are sometimes silently passed down to subsequent generations.
Telling the story of Louis Lugand means: – restoring an identity and dignity to a man who has disappeared, – understanding the mechanisms of dehumanization in times of war, – questioning family and European legacies, – opening a space for reflection on responsibility, transmission and reconciliation.
Before the war: a man and his daily life
Louis Lugand was born in 1905. Before the war, he was a farmer, deeply attached to the land and to a way of life rooted in work, family, and the passing down of traditions. His life story is representative of that of many men of his generation, whose existence would be profoundly altered by the war.
Mobilized late, he was incorporated on November 20, 1940 in Strasbourg as a pioneer in the 213th battalion. Less than two months later, on January 14, 1941, he was taken prisoner.
Captivity and forced labor
After his capture, Louis Lugand was interned in several camps before being transferred to Stalag VA in Ludwigsburg, one of the large German camps for soldiers and non-commissioned officers.
Like the vast majority of French prisoners of war, he was quickly seen as available labor. He was assigned as a forced laborer to the Daimler-Benz factory in Sindelfingen.
For this man, accustomed to agricultural work and the outdoors, the ordeal was harsh: precarious living conditions, chronic fatigue, insufficient food, overcrowding, illness, and progressive weakening. Sources describe unsanitary barracks infested with parasites, and a daily life marked by exhaustion and a loss of self.
The last few months: forced march and tragedy
As the end of the war approached, the French prisoners were moved in haste. From Ludwigsburg, Louis Lugand was transferred to Leonberg, then forced to march for several days, over approximately 70 kilometers, through the Schurwald to the Göppingen region.
On April 10, 1945, a group of 825 prisoners was distributed among the surrounding villages. Louis Lugand was taken in at a farm in the hamlet of Oberhausen, part of the municipality of Rechberghausen, where he participated in agricultural work, a familiar activity that offered a glimmer of hope for a soon return.
On April 19, 1945, as American troops approached, an exchange of fire led to the bombing of the area. A farm was burned down.
According to eyewitness accounts, Louis Lugand was trying to save animals trapped by the flames. He was seriously wounded by shrapnel and, lacking medical care, died during the night of April 19-20, 1945.
He was 40 years old.
He died on the very day of his release.
After death: burial and return to France
Louis Lugand was initially buried on land belonging to the local Catholic parish, near the site of the tragedy. At his family's request, his body was exhumed after the war and repatriated to France. He now rests in the family vault in Orgelet, where he was interred on March 6, 1949.
An exemplary work of remembrance
This story could not have been reconstructed without extensive research conducted over several years in Germany and France.
The biographical and memorial work dedicated to Louis Lugand was conducted by Mrs. Angelika Taudte, head of the project, with the assistance of numerous witnesses, archivists, historians and institutions.
Municipal and regional archives, French and German historical services, documentation centers and residents of the villages concerned have contributed to bringing this collective and cross-border memory to light.
Openings
This testimony is part of a larger collection devoted to prisoners of war and their family legacies.
It contributes to a broader reflection conducted by the association on transgenerational memory and the repercussions of the Second World War in Europe.
👉 If you wish to explore these topics further, share your experiences or support our actions, we invite you to continue exploring our " Memories" page.
👉 If you wish to pass on a family story, you can entrust a story to the association .
This testimony is published in accordance with the words spoken and with the consent of the persons concerned or their relatives.