In 2022, Simone, le Voyage du Siècle (Simone Veil, a Woman of the Century) was a resounding success in French cinemas. By directing the Simone Veil biopic, Olivier Dahan also enabled many French sports stars to discover the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.
On Sunday, January 14, former athletes, French medalists and federation presidents visited Auschwitz camps I and II in Poland, to symbolically combat anti-Semitism and all forms of racism in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I got the idea for this project after seeing the film about Simone Veil,” said Richard Dacoury, a former French basketball star and the trip’s sponsor. “The film really moved me and made me want to go. With the Games being held in Paris this year, I thought it would make sense to go there with athletes.”
‘A humanist, not a political journey’
Dacoury, the 1993 European champion with Limoges, then decided to contact his friend Pierre Fraidenraich, sports committee president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, CRIF, accustomed to organizing such events every year with parliamentarians and students. Fraidenraich instantly got behind the idea.
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