Traces. Teenagers in a reformatory during the Occupation

Editions du Sextant, Paris, 2006, 205 pages - ISBN 978-2849780114

Here, Einaudi explores a little-known aspect of the history of the Occupation: the fate of delinquent adolescents in reformatories under the Vichy regime.

Drawing on his dual expertise as a historian and educator in the Judicial Protection of Youth, the author reconstructs the daily lives of these young people locked up in establishments where discipline was military and living conditions were particularly harsh.

The book reveals how the Vichy regime instrumentalized the issue of juvenile delinquency in its policy of "national recovery."

Einaudi analyzes the authoritarian teaching methods used, the ideology that underpinned them and the consequences for the future of these adolescents.

Through testimonies and archival documents, the author paints a poignant picture of these institutions where repression, abandonment and attempts at re-education were mixed.

This work helps to shed light on a little-studied dimension of the Occupation period and continues Einaudi's reflection on confinement, troubled youth and the repressive policies of the French state throughout history.