Oral history interview with Jacques Marsauche

Oral history interview with Frère Roger Schütz

Oral History

Frère Roger Schütz discusses the events of October 1942 and the dangerous conditions; the tip that the Gestapo was aware of the Taizé activities; fleeing the Taizé Community house which hid Jews and Christian refugees; and how those hidden had only first names, many if not all of which were not their own, and they had neither identity papers nor ration cards.

Oral history interview with Genevieve Schütz

Oral History

Oral history interview with Frère Daniel de Montmollin

Oral History

Frère Daniel de Montmollin discusses life in Taizé as part of a community under the leadership of Frère Roger, his arrival in August 1945 to an environment of scarcity, poverty, struggle, and commitment to a communal life; the return to Taizé in the winter of 1944-1945 of Frère Pierre to a house that had been looted during the war and fields devastated by inattention; the first work which was to seed the fields to produce food during winter of 1944-1945; finding food for the cows and allowing a few chickens to feed themselves; not having much experience in communal living but being led with inspiration and commitment by Father Roger; how the need to produce food led them to work closely with the villagers who also had very little; and the ideals, humanity, devotion, inspiration, and leadership of Father Roger.

Oral history interview with Frère Denis (Jean-Daniel Aubert)

Oral History

Frère Denis (Jean-Daniel Aubert) recalls his arrival in Taizé at the end of the 1950s; the Roman Catholic Church, which was largely empty on Easter; the arrival beginning in the 1960s of a German group with several young people; the Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste (or the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace) which seeks to promote acts of reconciliation in countries formerly occupied by the Nazis; the arrival of the group in Taizé, to find Frère Roger initially uninterested; his thesis for his architectural degree to build a large pilgrimage church on Taizé property; Frère Roger’s hesitancy, the German group’s enthusiasm, the decision by Frère Roger to direct Frère Denis to reconfigure his project for a considerably smaller church; Frère Roger’s instructions to site the church at the far end of the property, noting few pilgrims would visit; and the moment when the scaffolding was removed, and Frère Roger saw the inside of the church, responding with great emotion.