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Traversées, a musical and fictional sound creation by Benoit Bories.
Produced by SüdwestRundfunk Kultur (SWR Kultur, Germany), 2024.
Live binaural and 8.1 versions, stereo for broadcast and podcast, available in French and German.

With the support of the Direction des Affaires Culturelles Occitanie and the Région Occitanie.

Based on a text by Benoit Bories, with historical guidance from Camille Fauroux, lecturer at the Université Jean-Jaurès in Toulouse. Translated into German by Andreas Förster.

Featuring the voices of Mathilde Bardou and Martine Amisse, with the assistance of Ella Bellone.
First performances: 7 and 8 September 2024 at the Schöneweide Memorial (Berlin).

Photo credits: © Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit/Sammlung Berliner Geschichtswerkstatt

Summary

Three women, seemingly with nothing in common, form bonds of solidarity to care for one another as they endure forced labour in Berlin under Nazi Germany. Joséphine and Louisa leave France to escape prolonged internment. Joséphine is branded a "woman of ill repute," while Louisa bears the weight of constant suspicion due to her Spanish nationality. Thérèse, on the other hand, sees her departure to Berlin as a voluntary worker as a chance to escape the harsh conditions of life on her family farm. The three women meet during their journey to Berlin and, through their interactions, learn to cultivate an instinct for sisterhood. Small gestures and acts of care become vital for their survival. While in Germany, they encounter Hilda, a Berliner, and develop an ambiguous relationship with her—oscillating between moments of solidarity and mutual distrust.