Living space – Maison d’Izieu

Living space

Daily life

The house was not the most comfortable. The buildings were not in very good condition.
There was no heating, except for small stoves, and there was no running water.

Marie-Antoinette Cojean, secretary of the Belley sub-prefecture, asked the social welfare agencies to provide the home with beds, blankets, tables and kitchen utensils.

For food, sub-prefect Pierre-Marcel Wiltzer obtained around forty ration cards. However, this was not enough to feed all the children. Miron Zlatin made up the difference by regularly going around the village and the surrounding area with his bike and trailer.

The children helped prepare the meals. In summer, they peeled the vegetables in groups out on the terrace. Miron Zlatin put teenagers, Theo and Paul, in charge of growing a small garden to provide the rest of the food. They received some pocket money for their work.

In summer, the children would wash in the large fountain. In winter, they would wash in the hall, where water was heated in a cauldron.

Daily life at the home involved playing games, swimming in the Rhône, walking or, above all, drawing, before the teacher arrived in October 1943. In a letter to Sabine, Miron Zlatin said that these children are “real bookworms” and they would always ask her for notebooks and pencils.

Every celebration was a bonding opportunity: on birthdays, the children would say happy birthday and make a wish; for Christmas, they put on shows and made costumes.

The children ran the place, but the suffering and anxiety from being separated and away from their parents was still clear to see.