The Long Long Holiday

In September 1939, Ernest and Colette, aged 10 and 6, left Paris for the weekend to accompany their parents to Papilou and Mamili, their maternal grandparents in Grangeville, Normandy.

October 1939. It's the start of the school year. Colette immediately sympathizes with Rosalie and Ernest with Jean. He finds the Morteaus, true to themselves, snarky. There is another new one in the class: Fernand.

War arrives in June 1940 as Germans bypass the Maginot Line and invade Belgium. Evacuation becomes necessary. Ernest tries to persuade Muguette to join them, but she refuses.

The village is occupied, with German soldiers invading houses. Ernest and Colette must live alongside them at the farm. Fortunately, they quickly reunite with their grandparents, from whom they had been separated.

In March 1941, after the first winter under occupation, the populations suffered from shortages. A letter from Robert arrives at the grandparents' house. In his missive, he explains that he is a prisoner in Germany.