Survival in WWII, 1933–1944 · Alfred Moritz (alias Mauricet)

Running barefoot to school through the woods holding our wooden clogs.

he Mauricet brothers attended the Vernoux Elementary School three or four miles distant, as the crow flies, from the Aubert homestead, La Blachette, in the hills. Barefoot in our straw-filled wooden clogs, we ran through the woods to attend school in the mornings and most days returned to tend to the farm animals in the afternoon.

Our teacher, Mr. Gounod, was unhappy with this part-time attendance and threatened to denounce us if we did not improve our school attendance. He did not make clear to whom and for what he would denounce us, although we immediately understood his meaning.

With Alfred's wooden clogs falling to pieces, Mr. Gounod bade each student to bring supplies to a Saturday "Manual Labor" class so that Alfred's clogs could be rubber-soled before the onset of winter.