Jean Ferrat z"l (1930-2010)

In 1963, Jean Ferrat, who is known in Holland mainly because of this beautiful Dutch adaptation of his La Montagne, wrote and sang Nuit et Brouillard ( Night and Fog ), about all those thousands of men, women, and children ( so many of them Jewish ), who were deported from France to their deaths in Poland and Germany. In those days, the Holocaust was not yet a generally accepted part of the public discourse and awareness, and it was far from obvious and took quite some courage ( not only in France ) to sing lines like "On me dit à présent que ces mots n'ont plus cours / Qu'il vaut mieux ne chanter que des chansons d'amour / Que le sang sèche vite en entrant dans l'histoire / Et qu'il ne sert à rien de prendre une guitare /Mais qui donc est de taille à pouvoir m'arrêter?". May his memory be a blessing.