This is the first letter I’ve found that was mailed from France to a French laborer in Germany. The letter was addressed to Serge Brodig, who was in a lager (a barrack) in Berlin. The postage stamps bear Petain’s profile.READ MORE
Today’s the day: the release of Marcel’s Letters as a paperback! I made a video to tell you about some of the differences in the paperback — and to share a special extra. Take a look!READ MORE
Over the years I’ve acquired four French WWII POW postcards. The cards are different from letters men like Marcel wrote in that they seem rigid, rule-wise. READ MORE
A.Grillot
Stöckenerstrasse 351, Stube 43 [351 Stöckener Street, Room 43]
Stöcken-Hannover
Hannover, July 18, 1944
To all of my very dear ones,
I’m sending these few lines to you this evening, Tuesday, to give you my news, which is still as good as possible. READ MORE
Last weekend I received an extraordinary message from a woman named Delphine.
“My mother-in-law, Suzanne Lamy,” Delphine wrote, “knew Marcel from Berchères-la-Maingot, where she lived when she was young. Marcel used to go hunting with her family… She was touched that you wrote this book that reminded her a lot from her childhood.”READ MORE
Thorn, the 4th of June, 1944 Carte
My little adored Marie,
I see, my love, that you have received good news from Jeannot (Johnny). I’m happy about that, darling. READ MORE
This letter was written and mailed by my grandfather, J. Emery Porter, to his sister, Lois Bayley. Forty or so of Emery’s WWI letters to Lois have survived (read more about these letters here). On the back of the envelope (shown above), he included a return address: “Pvt. Emery Porter, 646 Aero Squadron, American Expeditionary Forces, via New York.” I never met my grandfather, but I heard he was a life-long French speaker and unabashed Francophile, primarily due to the experiences he had while stationed in France.
“Nowhere in France”
March 24, 1918
Dear Sister,
I was the happy recipient of your letter today. It is the second I have received from home folks. I received one from Mother two weeks ago this morning but nothing since. Evidently you have written others which I may yet receive. This one was dated March 2nd or 3rd. Emily K. has written six but I have received two so far so you can judge why I don’t respond often.
Our conversation began with this astonishing claim: “My father was friends with Marcel Heuzé.”
(Cue the sound of a needle scratching across a record.)
Let me back up. Two weeks ago, I picked up my office phone to hear a 90-year-old woman with a crisp French accent state her name — Nelly Trocmé Hewett — followed by the astonishing claim her father had been friends with Marcel.READ MORE
Agnès Boucon and Nadine Dubois have rediscovered their grandfather thanks to an American graphic designerREAD MORE
12/26/44
Somewhere in France
My Dearest Wife:
Well Christmas is here an gone. It didn’t even seem like Christmas just like another day. Christmas Eve we didn’t get in till about six. After we ate I washed and shaved. Was [illegible due to paper damage] to a little party they were having over in his Co. Then we were going to go to midnight services. READ MORE
October 13, 1944
France
Darling Marie,
I’m enclosing a few lines to let you know that I’m still in the best of health & also pray to hear the same from you, my [loved] one. Today I’m going to answer a few of your letters dated Sept. 19th, 20th & 26th. Before I start, I want you to know it is really cold out here where I am & I understand it is also cold back home. Oh well, I guess there isn’t anything I could do about it.
MARCEL HEUZÉ 1949–2017
Yesterday — August 20, 2017 — brought sad news from France: Marcel Heuzé, son of Marcel and Renée Heuzé, passed away.READ MORE
In one of the letters Marcel mailed from Berlin, he mentioned having to show his papers to the German police. My guess is that he showed them his arbeitskarte (worker card) which likely included his photo and listed basic biographic information. The arbeitskarte might have also been inked with his fingerprints.READ MORE
Vienna April 4, 1944
My very dear parents,
I come for a moment to give you some news from me which are very good for now. I am still in good health. I hope it is the same for you.
READ MORE
February 15, 1945
My dear young men:
A card to you from not too gay Paree. But it is a beautiful city filled with beautiful women, beautiful buildings, beautiful stores, everything beautiful, no Frenchmen, and a lot of G.I. soldiers. I wish you both could be here to enjoy it. I wish I could enjoy it, too, but I am too busy with my work. Some other day, maybe
— Dad
I was surprised, but delighted, that my translator could read this writing. To me, it almost looks like shorthand! But, she continues to work miracles.
Typically I’m interested in handwritten letters, but this typed letter portrayed such a touching moment I had to buy it. The brothers’ reunion actually made me a little teary-eyed. I hope you enjoy reading it!READ MORE
A French Slave in Nazi Germany: A Testimony
Elie Poulard, Author
Jean V. Poulard, Translator and Editor
University of Notre Dame Press, 2016 (English)
READ MORE
