The French ‘Peace Song’ was sung in the 60s by a Jewish woman named Barbara, who called for forgiveness and empathy between two of the greatest and most bitter enemies of recent centuries: Germany and France. The hatred and enmity between the two peoples was deep and festering, and in the XNUMXs France was still licking the wounds of World War II. The French once again found themselves under German occupation, and across the country women who had been raped by German soldiers – or who had chosen to marry Germans – found themselves singled out and branded as ‘traitors’.
And it was then – and it was she – who chose to sing about Göttingen. Barbara was definitely not the ‘natural’ candidate to sing a song of reconciliation with the Germans. Barbara was born as the moniker Andrea Cerf in 1930 in Paris to a Jewish family. When she was 10 years old, and the Germans occupied France, she fled to the south of France with her family. Her father sexually abused her as a child and then abandoned the family. These years would become a constant motif in the poems she would write as she grew up.
She was also a gifted pianist, and after the war she began studying at a music school in Paris, but was forced to drop out for financial reasons. She began performing with the songs of the great French singers in cafes in Paris and Brussels, but barely managed to survive financially.
In the early 60s, her situation changed dramatically, when her albums first achieved meteoric success. From an unknown singer, she suddenly became one of the most well-known singers in France. During those years, she released several songs that are still considered classics in French music.
Barbara turns Göttingen into a bridge for peace between Germany and France
Then she went to visit Germany and visited a small university town in central Germany, Göttingen. And there she fell in love – with the city, with the people. Göttingen, it’s not Berlin – it’s not a vibrant city, but a university town, small and sleepy. And yet, Barbara fell in love.
Then the Jewess, who spent her youth hiding from the Germans, wrote a poem about the little children of Göttingen. It was the first poem that called for reconciliation between nations, that spoke of empathy for the little German children.
Like a good Frenchwoman, she opened the song with the line, “Of course, it’s not the Seine… but it’s beautiful all the same… God, the roses [in Göttingen] are so beautiful.” She goes on to sing, “May people forgive me, but the children are the same children – both in Paris and in Göttingen.” In the course of the song, she confesses that “if we take up arms again – my heart will shed a tear for Göttingen.”
As expected, the song caused a huge uproar in France. How can you compare German and French children? To shed a tear for the Germans in the war?
True to her call for peace between nations, she translated the song into German and went on tour to neighboring Göttingen. At one of the performances in the city, a young doctoral student named Gerhard Schröder, who would grow up to become Chancellor of Germany, was in the audience. Years later, when he spoke at a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the treaty that established official peace relations between the countries, he would quote the song in his speech and talk about the performance. A 2013 BBC article on relations between Germany and France argued that this song contributed more to the thawing of relations between the nations than any speech by any leader—including de Gaulle’s speeches.
Over the years, this song, and the sensation it caused, have been somewhat forgotten. She is still known as one of France's greatest singers, but her other songs are better known, and this song remains somewhat of an open secret to those in the know. She divorced her partner in the 50s and never remarried or had children. Still, she did not die alone. When she died in 1997, a quarter of a million French people came to accompany her on her final journey.
And for those interested, the singer Talya Eliav Talia Eliav is currently performing with Hebrew translations of her songs, including "Gettnigan."
A few words about the author
Gaia Folat, writes about everything related to women, especially interesting women in history. She lives in Ramat Gan and works in marketing.
Want to read more about Barbara?
Don't miss the Avital Inbar's wonderful article Which tells the story of the chanson singer and brings all of her most beautiful songs.