Le Grand Retour - 1
Le Printemps de la liberté
Jean-André Chérasse
1994 - 55 min - Betacam SP - Couleur et Noir & Blanc - France

With archive documents that have been little known or unpublished till now and a few testimonies, this film tries to evoke the wave caused by the "great return" and the many problems it raised for the Ministry of PDR (prisoners, the deported and refugees).
All the plans made for bringing the captives home fell to pieces after the brutal collapse of Hitler's Reich. Those who had been liberated flocked to the borders and the SNCF, whose network was disorganized, could only bring them back to Paris where Frenay had to improvise their reception by requisitioning stations, cinemas, schools, hotels and even swimming-pools...
"The Great Return" in 1945 was also the reuniting of those who had been away with their families and friends.