Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris (55 page)

  1
“The cause of France”
Charles de Gaulle,
The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle
, translated by Jonathan Griffin and Richard Howard (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc., 1998), 83–84.

  2
“Whatever happens”
Ibid.

  3
Most of de Gaulle’s
The figure for the entire movement is in Robert O. Paxton,
Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order 1940–1944
(New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 44; the role of Bretons in Thomas R. Christofferson with Michael S. Christofferson,
France During World War II: From Defeat to Liberation
(New York: Fordham University Press, 2006), 136–137.

  4
seven thousand patriots
Robert O. Paxton,
Vichy France
, 44.

  5
“capable of using”
Although exaggerated, Tillion makes a point. See Christopher Lloyd’s analysis,
Collaboration and Resistance in Occupied France: Representing Treason and Sacrifice
(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 34.

  6
Liliane Schroeder reported
Liliane Schroeder,
Journal d’occupation, Paris 1940–1944: Chronique au jour le jour d’une époque oubliée
(Paris: François-Xavier de Guibert, 2000), February 13, 1941, 68.

  7
On the morning of August 21
Albert Ouzoulias (Colonel André),
Les Batillons de la jeunesse: le colonel Fabien et d’autres jeunes dans la résistance, dans les maquis et l’insurrection parisienne
(Paris: éditions sociales, 1967), 130–131.

  8
“corresponding to the gravity of the case”
Oscar Reile,
L’Abwehr: Le contre-espionnage allemand en France
, preface by Colonel Rémy (Paris: Éditions France-Empire, 1970), 163.

  9
“All close male relatives”
Ibid., 174–175.

10
“a good occupation”
Point number 33 in Jean Texcier’s “Advice to the Occupied” for Bastille Day 1940, Milton Dank,
The French Against the
French: Collaboration and Resistance
(Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1974), 66.

11
“Total war has been” Combat
, Underground No. 55, March 1944, printed in
Camus at Combat: Writing 1944–1947
, edited and annotated by Jacqueline Lévi-Valensi, translated by Arthur Goldhammer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), 3.

12
He missed his favorite
Olivier Todd,
Albert Camus: A Life
, translated by Benjamin Ivry (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 36.

13
For a time
Ibid., 161–162; previous experience, Herbert R. Lottmann,
Albert Camus: A Biography
(Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1979), 235.

14
The German-controlled press
John Gerassi,
Talking with Sartre: Conversations and Debates
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 108–109.

15
“total dependence”
John Gerassi,
Jean-Paul Sartre: Hated Conscience of His Century Vol I: Protestant or Protester?
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989), 184.

16
“spiritual leader”
Annie Cohen-Solal,
Sartre: A Life
, translated by Anna Cancogni (New York, Pantheon Books, 1987), 268.

17
“golden age”
Ibid., 214.

18
handsome young SS men
Fabienne Jamet, with René Havard and Albert Kantof
One Two Two: [122 rue de Provence]
(Paris: O. Orban, 1975), translated by Derek Coltman as
Palace of Sweet Sin
(London: W.H. Allen, 1977), 92.

19
“horrible creatures” … “threw their money”
Ibid., 117–119.

  1
“the most passionate”
Georges Massu,
L’enquête Petiot: La plus grande affaire criminelle du siècle
(Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1959), 232–234.

  2
“Adrien the Basque”
Philippe Aziz,
Tu Trahiras sans vergogne: Histoire de deux ‘collabos’ Bonny et Lafont
(Paris: Fayard, 1970), 44; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I; AN, 334, AP 65, 4317–4318.

  3
A forty-five-year-old
Grégory Auda,
Les belles années de “milieu,” 1940–1944
(Paris: Editions Michalon, 2002), 63, and AN, 334 AP 65, 4317–4318.

  4
Devisenschützkommando
Jacques Delarue,
Trafics et crimes sous l’occupation
(Paris: Fayard, 1968), 40.

  5
some thirty-eight thousand apartments
Jean-Marc Dreyfus, “Almost-Camps” in Paris: The Difficult Description of Three Annexes of Drancy—Austerlitz, Lévitan, and Bassano, July 1943 to August 1944,” in Jonathan Petropoulos and John K. Roth, eds.,
Gray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise in the Holocaust and Its Aftermath
(New York: Berghahn Books, 2005), 225.

  6
Approximately one thousand cases
Detailed description from a victim of one such case in October 1943 is in BDIC, Fonds Delarue F Delta RES 787 6.

  7
with a scar two inches long
Report, March 27, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

  8
“Gine Volna”
Report, April 15, 1944; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

  9
“La Chinoise”
Marseille Police, March 28, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

10
100-franc note
Fourrier acknowledged that this was a sign.
Nouvelle Audition
, March 19, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III, and discovery at rue Caumartin,
Perquisition
, March 15, 1944, also in n° III. See also Report, May 6, 1944, in same carton and later media attention, such as
Le Petit Parisien
, March 23, 1944.

11
An inspector observing … “to simmer”
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 179–180.

12
“1000 to 2000 bottles of cognac”
René Nézondet,
Audition
, March 17, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

13
“white as a sheet” … distance-operated syringe
René Nézondet,
Audition
, March 22, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III; this also appears in René Nézondet,
Petiot “le Possédé”
(Paris: Express, 1950), 70–75.

14
“Why did you not inform” … “horrible truth”
Ibid.

15
Commissaire Massu asked
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 185.

16
“fainted, or almost fainted”
Nézondet,
Petiot “le Possédé,”
80. Aimée Lesage did not believe the faints were genuine interrogation, March 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

17
an old truck
Augusta Debarre,
Audition
, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

18
the vehicle was gray
Andrée Marçais,
Audition
, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

19
“With my daughter”
Yvonne Staeffen,
Audition
, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

20
TRANSPORTS AVENUE DAUMESNIL
Angèle Lalanne,
Audition
, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

21
One of them
Report, undated, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

22
Lion verified
Maurice Lion,
Audition
, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

23
A quick visit
Brigade Criminelle Report, September 10, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI.

24
His wife, Simone-Andrée
Report, April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° II.

25
Half of the village
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 214–215.

26
“the most tragic cargo”
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 219.

27
Rain splashed
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 219–220.

28
a luggage room
Ibid.

29
The contents
Report, April 6, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

30
311 handkerchiefs
Another tally found 366.

31
Massu hoped
Massu,
L’enquête Petiot
, 221–222.

  1
“I do not read the newspapers”
Albert Neuhausen,
Audition
, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

  2
In the bedroom
Their son Christian Neuhausen admitted to the gifts. April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

  3
He had also used
Two suitcases, however, were found at Hôtel Alicot. April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

  4
“Now that Dr. Petiot”
Albert Neuhausen,
Nouvelle Audition
, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

  5
Neuhausen had other information
Ibid.

  6
a white shell necklace … Detectives also found
Search of rue Le Sueur, April 4, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

  7
“During my time with Dr. Petiot”
Geneviève Cuny, Procès-Verbal, March 23, 1944; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° II.

  8
“Yes,” she said, “Dr. Petiot often”
Ibid.

  9
One friend predicted Le Matin
, March 16, 1944.

10
suicide Le Petit Parisien
, March 16, 1944

11
After living his first five years
Gerhardt Petiot,
Audition
, March 30, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

12
“I went there three different times”
Ibid.

13
thirty-three thousand Jews alone
Serge Klarsfeld,
Vichy-Auschwitz: le rôle de Vichy dans la solution finale de la question juive en France—1942
(Paris: Fayard, 1983), 8.

14
“You would phone”
Jean-Paul Sartre, “Paris Under the Occupation,” originally published in
La France libre
(1945) and reprinted in
The Aftermath of War (Situations III)
translated by Chris Turner (London: Seagull Books, 2008), 15.

15
The case of
APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folders 46 and 50.

16
The former husband
Charles Bartholomeus,
Audition
, March 21, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.

17
Mayor Hotin would deny
Henry Hotin,
Audition
, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

18
“on her own initiative”
Pauline Hotin,
Audition
, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

19
Wearing a yellow orange dress
Jean Hotin,
Audition
, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

20
an enigmatic letter
Report, April 20, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

21
“miscarriage” … “I am very sad”
Thomas Maeder,
The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), 95–96.

22
Jean said that he had first
Gendarmerie Nationale Report, May 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

23
Denise’s family
Report, March 24, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

24
“It was half past”
Jean-Marc Varaut,
L’abominable Dr. Petiot
(Paris: Balland 1974), 242.

  1
Confirmation came from
Henri Chamberlin,
Audition
, November 22, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VII.

  2
Max Stocklin
Henri Chamberlin,
Audition
, September 8, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, 4.

  3
“Otto agency”
Jacques Delarue,
Trafics et crimes sous l’occupation
(Paris: Fayard, 1968), 29–31; Grégory Auda,
Les belles années du “milieu” 1940–1944: Le grand banditisme dans la machine répressive allemande en France
(Paris: Éditions Michalon, 2002), 42–48.

  4
rue Tiquetonne
He answered to the “bureau Otto,” which had expanded from three buildings, 18, 23, and 24 square du Bois de Boulogne. Henri Amouroux,
Les beaux jours des collabos: Juin 1941–Juin 1942
(Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1978), 514.

  5
“you will talk”
Philippe Aziz,
Tu Trahiras sans vergogne: Histoire de deux “collabos” Bonny et Lafont
(Paris: Fayard, 1970), 45.

  6
The leader of the Abwehr
Oscar Reile,
L’Abwehr: Le contre-espionnage allemand en France
, preface by colonel Rémy (Paris: Éditions France-Empire, 1970), 76.

  7
The Abwehr had found
Grégory Auda,
Les belles années du “milieu” 1940–1944
(Paris: Éditions Michalon, 2002), 18–23, 48, 53–64.

  8
Adrien the Basque
Adrien Estébéteguy was one of the first selected. Report by Section Spéciale, August 30, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, I.

  9
naturalized German citizen
Henri Chamberlin,
Audition
, September 8, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, 4, and Paul Clavié,
Audition
, September 19, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, VI.

10
anonymous letter
APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.

11
There was nothing
Georges Massu,
L’enquête Petiot: La plus grande affaire criminelle du siècle
(Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1959), 196.

12
the commissaire released Le Petit Parisien
, March 25, 1944.

13
“Madame W”
APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.

14
Seventy-eight percent
110,000 of 140,000 in the Netherlands, compared with 25 percent in France. Christopher Lloyd,
Collaboration and Resistance in Occupied France: Representing Treason and Sacrifice
(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 25.

15
When the Wolff family
APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.

16
Hôtel du Danube
Research on hotels in folder 18, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

17
“a spy on the Orient Express”
Marcel Jullian,
Le Mystère Petiot
(Paris: Edition No. 1, 1980), 134.

18
“We always need”
Eryane Kahan,
Audition
, September 8, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI.

19
“a man of vast culture”
Thomas Maeder,
The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), 89.

20
Maurice Wolff concealed
AN, 334, AP 65, 3394.

21
“twelve bullets in my carcass”
John V. Grombach,
The Great Liquidator
(New York: Zebra Books, 1980), 188.

22
Gilbert Basch
Charles Nodier,
Audition
, April 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

23
Chaïm Schonker
Hoofdbureau van politie te Amsterdam, June 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.

24
She had declined
Ilse Gang,
Audition
, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.