Tag: Vélodrome d’Hiver

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My Father’s Paris

I’m excited to have author Jane S. Gabin as our guest blogger today! Jane recently wrote and published her newest book, The Paris Photo, after finding unexplained pictures among her late father’s papers. A native of New York City, Jane earned her Master’s and PhD in English from the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill. She is an accomplished teacher, educational counselor, lecturer, and most recently, conducting classes on World War II at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke University. Jane is a member of the Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling, the Victorian Society of New York, and several branches of Alliance Français. But the most important fact about Jane is that she shares one of our favorite Paris pastimes: sitting in the bistro with a glass of wine or beer and people watching.

S/Sgt. Alfred L. Gabin’s Paris As Told By His Daughter

In Paris, World War II seems like an almost recent event. There are reminders everywhere. You cannot walk a block without seeing a plaque or statue memorializing a person or event. Stops on the Métro remind you as well – Jacques Bonsergent, Colonel Fabien, Guy Môquet.

On this trip to Paris, though, I decide to concentrate on the part of the city my father – who was stationed there in 1944-45 – knew best: the area around Gare Montparnasse. His unit arrived shortly after the Liberation and set up a military postal office in the space under the road leading up to the Gare.

(Rue de l’Arrivee, Gare Montparnasse US Army postal station, 1944; photo by S/Sgt Alfred L. Gabin)

There, between the Rue de l’Arrivee and the Rue du Depart, they prepared incoming letters and parcels for the troops and censored the post. I know the men had free time because I saw from my dad’s photos that they explored the city, had drinks at the many cafes along the Boulevard Montparnasse, and went to horse races at the track in the Bois de Boulogne.

The Gare Montparnasse has been replaced by a new station, and where my father and many others worked is now an unadorned, monolithic 59-story office block offering an unparalleled view of the city. This compensates for its existence. Completed in 1973, the Tour Montparnasse rapidly inspired the passing of legislation limiting the height of any new building in Paris. But it does provide a good vantage point from which to view the area.

The combination of broad Haussmanian boulevards and short neighborhood streets meant that my father was surrounded by an area inviting him to explore. The wide Boulevard du Montparnasse stretched directly in front of where he worked, an important boundary; on the other side was the 6thArrondissement, with the Rue de Rennes running straight ahead down to the church of Saint-Germaine-des-Pres. The basic view has not changed in the intervening 75 years. Read More My Father’s Paris

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The French Anne Frank

As a young boy growing up in Holland during the mid-1960s, I was introduced to Anne Frank and her tragic story. We were required to read her diary as well as attending the all-day field trip to the “Anne Frank House” in Amsterdam where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis until they were betrayed and deported ⏤ only her father survived.

There is a similar story in France, but it did not become known until 2008 when another diary was published, and the world got a first-hand glimpse into Nazi atrocities. The author, Hélène Berr, has since become known as the “French Anne Frank.”

Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).
Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).

Did You Know?

Do you know how the term “Nazi” came about? Hitler’s political party was officially called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei:

NAtionalsoZIalistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.

The German word “Reich” means “empire.” The first German Reich lasted 844 years and was commonly known as the Holy Roman Empire until it was dismantled by Napoléon in 1806. The second Reich lasted approximately 48 years between 1871 and the end of World War I. Hitler’s Third Reich lasted twelve years with horrifying consequences which unfortunately, some aspects have endured to this day.

Hélène Berr (1921-1945) was born into an upper middle-class French family. In addition to Hélène, Raymond and Antoinette Berr’s family consisted of Jacqueline (1915-1921), Yvonne (1917-2001), Denise (1919-2011) and Jacques (1922-1998). The family lived in Paris at 5, avenue Elisée-Reclus until the French police knocked on their door in March 1944.

Hélène began her diary on 7 April 1942. She ceased writing seven months later on 28 November 1942 but resumed once again on 25 August 1943. There are many entries which document the actions and events perpetrated by Vichy and the Nazis in Paris and France. Reading her diary, you will confront Hélène’s emotions towards the policies of Vichy and the Nazis as well as personal issues. Unlike Anne Frank, we won’t hear from Hélène until 2008 when her diary is published. Read More The French Anne Frank