During the second winter of WWII, Madame Esmée Lorseignac wrapped in shawls in her unheated house, sat at her desk and composed a letter she posted the same day.

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Monsieur le Maréchal, 

On several occasions before the war I had the honor and privilege of meeting you when I accompanied my husband, Mr. Constant Lorseignac, in his then capacity of Assessor for Upper Level Financial Planning Sessions of all branches of the French military. You and I spoke about the grandeur of France and the devotion it inspires. 

Today, there are two favors I wish to ask, and I hope that, as you read my letter, you will keep in mind the patriotism and love my family bears to our Motherland. 

The first matter concerns our oldest grandchild who will soon finish high school. Theo has received orders to report to the Service du Travail Obligatoire, the Compulsory Work Service to work in Germany. His widowed mother and I are distraught. Ordinarily, we would be eager to obey any orders you may have issued. However, in this case, we beg you to grant Theo a dispensation. Only you can do so.

Our family has sacrificed greatly. One of our sons served as doctor at the front before the Armistice. He’s missing in action. Two of his brothers became prisoners of war. Our oldest, Bernard, a scientist, died for our country. Theo is his first child. Please, spare my fatherless grandson. His fate is in your hands. I implore you, do not compel him to abandon his widowed mother and younger brother.

About the second matter: You, who told me how much you enjoy classical music, can empathize with a disaster of a personal nature. My son Louis won an appointment of Premier violiniste de l’Orchestre National de Paris just before the declaration of war. He had no option but to decline the position in view of his mobilization. In spite of the Geneva Convention Agreements, he too was taken prisoner by the Germans, but after the Armistice. Released on medical grounds, as he returned from Germany, he was attacked at the Metz train station, a transfer point for repatriated solders. Three hooligans in berets, carrying rifles, bragged of their membership in the Milice francaise, grabbed him and demanded his identification. They refused to believe he was a member of our family. They pranced about him, claiming to be family members also! The more Louis protested, the more they abused him verbally and punched him drunkenly several times.

Louis has a heart murmur. He was too weak to resist when they dragged him out of the station. After beating him in a shack near the railway lines, they had robbed him of his papers and his money, leaving him half-conscious by the rails. Before leaving him, under threat, they forced him to grab a heated pipe with his bare hands. His palms are so burned and purulent that when they heal, he will have permanent scars on his hands and his fingertips. Louis will never again play a musical instrument.

In the name of all that is sacred to us, I, as a mother and grandmother, implore you as supreme Leader of France, to bring those guilty of these atrocities to justice. I beg you to do everything in your power to prevent profound bitterness and resentment to grow among members of a family who, for generations, has proudly served France’s best government representatives with unflinching loyalty. 

Respectfully submitted, with my deeply rooted belief in your sense of justice.

Esmée Lorseignac