It is a testimony that has moved more than one. Exceptionally, the Papotin Meetings have not received a personality from the artistic community. On Saturday March 9, 2024, journalists from the editorial staff of France 2 met Ginette Kolinka. Aged 99, she is one of the last survivors of the Shoah. For half an hour, she recounted the horror she experienced in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Faced with journalists captivated by her story, she details the daily freezing cold, the omnipresence of the gas chambers, or the assassination of his father and his little brother. When she left, she weighed only 26 kilos. According to her, her survival is only a miracle. “The interview was not more difficult to prepare for than any other, but the emotional charge was particular“ confided to Tele-Leisure Jérôme Lament, co-producer of the show. Indeed, the emotion was palpable.
“I’m giving up”
If the entire editorial team was very moved by Ginette Kolinka’s story, Claire seemed deeply upset. She tried to speak, but, overcome by emotion, she was unable to speak. “No… I give up. I don’t want to ask any more questions, no thank you…” did she say. “We are going through a lot of emotion” then reassures her the psychologist and intermediary between journalists, Julien Banchillon. Claire then managed to overcome her emotion and question her guest about her life. “How does it feel to have lived for a century?” A question that made Ginette Kolinka laugh. “Almost true” she said laughing, “Your question isn’t stupid. […] I should remember a lot of things, and in the end, I don’t remember much […] what I experienced in the camp I will never forget that.” Claire finds the courage to follow up with another question: “Where did you find the strength to resist?” “I don’t think it’s there, I’ll tell you again, it’s luck.” A great life lesson and a great moment of emotion for the editorial staff of Le Papotin.