Treschenu-Creyers

When the armistice took effect on June 25, 1940, nearly 100,000 young draftees barely through basic training were demobilized and left to their own devices. On July 31, 1940, a decree from Vichy created the Youth Worksites: "Article 1: The young men who entered regular army service on 8 and 9 June 1940 are mustered out as of the date of the present decree. Article 2: As of the same date, they are assigned for six months to the Youth Groups established under the authority of the Ministry of Youth and Family."

In Drôme, youth worksites people by young men from Ardèche brought new life to abandoned villages. Group 14 was headquartered at Die. In 1941, a camp was set up at Creyers, a village that had been abandoned after World War I, and that would thus be given a new start. The young men rebuilt houses, repaired roofs, cleared brush, painted frescoes inside buildings, etc. The invasion of the unoccupied zone in November 1942 brought upheaval to the worksites: there were round-ups for departures to Germany. When the worksites became reservoirs of labor for the Germans, who quickly looked in that direction to build up the workforce for theSTO (Compulsory Work Service), many young men joined the ranks of the Resistance. Starting in 1943, a maquis was set up at Creyers.

Though it is ruins, it is possible to guess at that past in lanes and behind walls today.

Source: VIVIANI Axelle , « Creyers autrefois. Le passé d’un village abandonné du Haut-Diois », Terres Voconces, n° 4 - 2002

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