I have just finished a book entitled "Paris" by Anthony Beevor and his wife, Artemis Cooper. It covers the years between 1944 and 1949. I found a lot of names that I recognized but knew very little about, so I thought of "J". I should say now that she and her husband have both had a share of health problems, and I found her thin and frail but still mentally sharp. Since the last visit with her, we have had an opportunity to visit her old Parisian home in a Paris suburb and could relate to her stories of Jewish neighbors who simply disappeared, the bomb shelter that was in their basement (and remains there today), and the small enclave that was her street. "J" still retains that house, but it will likely pass on for sale after she dies.
It was enlightening and fun to spend an hour or so with her. I started by asking her about Charles de Gaulle and her thoughts about him. From Beevor's book, I had gotten the idea that like him or not, most French people thought of him as a savior and the future of post-war France. Indeed, "J" was a Gaullist of the first order and agreed with me that had it not been for him, France might well have become a communist country. I was surprised to find that "J"'s father, an industrialist, used his factory as a haven for Jews, as well as others, who would have been deported to Nazi camps. By keeping them on as required workers, they were spared scrutiny by the Germans. She said that at first, the tales of concentration camps were not believed, but later it became evident that the stories were true. When the Germans left Paris, there were still a lot of French places, such as Alsace, where military actions took place with the Free French and the Allies fighting together against the Germans.
About this time, after her recovery from her back injury in the OSS "J"'s father wanted her to go to England, where he had business connections, so she spent almost four years in post-war London. In spite of the desolation of blitized city, the young people there had many social events and parties. She had spent some time in England before the fall of France, so she had English as a language already. Apparently, she took one of the last ships back to France before the Germans took the country. She lived in a boarding house in London until another lady invited her to share her apartment. She endured rationing as everyone did, but despite this she had a good experience. Her next journey was, of all places, to Argentina. Her Godmother had properties in that country, so they traveled to South America on a freighter, making many stops on the way. In Argentina, the Godmother's property had been illegally sold to other people, courtesy of a crooked lawyer. This occasioned "J"'s return to Europe.
After all this, she wound up going to Engelberg to get away from the destruction all over Europe. There, she stayed in a hotel owned by her future husband's family, met him, and they have been married over sixty years. They still have an apartment in the village there. She tells me that there are many old photos that she can share with me. I hope to be able to see and scan these for a future blog. To say that "J" has had a historical life is an understatement.
