“Paris of today is not a happy ground for ill and dying or for those with frayed nerves and unquiet minds. It is for the brave of heart, the courageous, and the strong in will and in health. The times, so full of danger, must be lived by the ‘sword of the Spirit,’ with love and an inner calm. It is not possible otherwise.”—Marie-Louise Dilkes, 30 August 1940
There have been many books written about life in Paris during the Occupation. What makes this book unique is that it is written from the perspective of the receptionist for the American Embassy in Paris. The receptionist is Marie-Louise Dilkes, who saw and experienced the chaos and fear of those facing an uncertain future. They walked through the door to the American Embassy looking for a sign of hope or a way out.
Marie-Louise Dilkes takes us from not only the conquest and occupation of Paris by German forces but includes the war-time journey of the American consulate in Paris from Paris to Lisbon to Lyon to Bern and back to Paris. She ends with the triumphant return of members of the American Embassy staff, after the Allies forced the German Army out of Paris, and the reestablishment of the American Embassy in Paris.
Preface
Introduction
The US Embassy in Paris
August 25, 1939–June 14, 1940—Turbulent Times
June 15–December 31, 1940—The Occupation
January 1, 1941–June 3, 1941—Relocates to Vichy
June 4, 1941–July 20, 1941—The Embassy in Paris Becomes a Consulate
July 20, 1941–December 26, 1941—American Consulate Leaves Paris
Epilogue
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index
Marie-Louise Dilkes (1886–1964) wrote about her World War II experiences in 1955—ten years after the war yet before files of her experiences were declassified. She based her writings on letters to her sisters, her nightly journal, recollections of conversations, and newspapers. For a woman who was educated at the end of the nineteenth century, she came into her own at the start of the twentieth century. She was literate and wrote about her experiences through the arts, literature, and architecture of France and quoted from writings that inspired her. Marie-Louise Dilkes was a woman of her times, for her times, and in some respects ahead of her times.
