The "Itinéraires Liberté Pyrénées Europe" association
A new association which for several years has taken into account the fact that Spaniards from Lérida in Catalonia have been working in a structured way on the project called "Persguits i salvats"... "Pursued and saved". Poursuivis et sauvés" (Pursued and Saved), which had given rise to numerous publications and the materialization of Spanish escape routes through the Pyrenees during the Second World War, as well as important work in the "Bielsa pocket" - Aragon Province.
In France, without necessarily meeting each other, teams had also been working. Les chemins de la liberté" associations in Ariège, Comminges and Val d'Aran; in the Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées Atlantiques, local historians documented and wrote, ONAC (veterans) and the Société des Membres de la Légion d'Honneur carried out actions and projects.
Now it was time to coordinate all these initiatives across the Pyrenees, and to link up France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Andorra, with the English "souvenir". Let's not forget that London was the target and that resistance networks were often coordinated from England.
This is the work accomplished by the new "Itinéraires Liberté Pyrénées Europe" association since 2022. The association brings together a wide range of partners in four colleges: local authorities, institutions, associations, qualified personalities...
These partners considered :
- The need to promote these routes and strengthen the close historical and memorial links between the Pyrenees, France and Europe.
- The importance of remembering this painful episode of escapees (soldiers, airmen, STO resistance fighters and Jews) crossing the Pyrenees during the Second World War. Fascist Spain and Portugal were nonetheless lands of hope, and the Resistance contributed to defeating Nazism and saving Europe.
- The advantages of these itineraries include a rare natural environment (one nature park, two nature reserves, 31 peaks over 3,000 meters), 38 ski resorts, 65 spa resorts, 41 listed sites (including three UNESCO sites), an exceptional cultural heritage and religious architecture that includes not only Roman churches, but also 8 abbeys and 36 cathedrals.
- The importance of this project in terms of local economic spinoffs and the intermingling of populations, establishing links between European countries.
The association brings together partners from France, Spain, Andorra, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the UK...
Its ambition is to promote Europe and its universal values, which alone guarantee democracy and peace.