Researching Resistance: A Summer in Paris

The Department of French and Italian is proud to highlight the work of Nico David-Fox, recipient of the FIT Undergraduate Internship Funding, who spent his summer as a historical research intern at the Museum of the Liberation of Paris. Situated in Montparnasse above the entrance to the city’s catacombs, the museum is dedicated to preserving the memory of the French Resistance, the Liberation of Paris in 1944, and the persecution and deportation of Jews during the Second World War. It is both an archival repository and a site of public education, drawing visitors into one of the most turbulent periods of modern French history.

“Much of my work was focused on various projects for the museum, such as archival research on certain tracts of the French Resistance during WWII, primarily those active in the northern occupied zone,” Nico explained.

His research centered on the 1942 Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup, when more than 13,000 Jews, including thousands of children, were arrested in Paris and deported to extermination camps. For historians and survivors alike, the Vel’ d’Hiv has come to symbolize the collaborationist regime’s role in the Holocaust. Nico examined how clandestine tracts and underground newspapers, produced under conditions of constant risk, reported on the deportation and sought to give meaning to its enormity. By focusing on these fragile sources, his work shed light on how the Resistance struggled not only to act but also to narrate atrocity as it unfolded.

The internship offered more than archival discovery. “More generally, I became familiar with museography and the curation of temporary exhibits, consistently participating in meetings to understand how museums function behind the scenes.” Working alongside curators gave Nico insight into how scholarship and exhibition design come together to communicate history to the public, corroborating memory and representation.

The opportunity itself emerged from the course FRE 354: French Culture Against Fascism, 1930-1945, taught by Professor Effie Rentzou. The interdisciplinary seminar examined how French writers, artists, and intellectuals mobilised against fascism through literature, cinema, photography, and clandestine wartime journals. As part of the class, students traveled to Paris over spring break to visit sites such as the Mémorial de la Shoah, the Musée de l’Armée, and the Musée de la Libération, where they met director Sylvie Zaidman for a tour and discussion.

“The conversation was so lively and the students so engaged, that the director proposed to me the internship,” explained Professor Rentzou. Back on campus, Professor Rentzou worked closely with Rebecca Graves-Bayazitoglu (Senior Associate Dean of the College Office of International Programs) to put the internship in place for the past summer. “Our hope is to make it into a regular internship for our students,” she added.

Reflecting on his time in Paris, Nico emphasized both its intellectual and personal impact. “Overall, the internship was an invaluable experience, and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to live in Paris and get to know the city in a different way than I had before.”