The photo was made for history, a black-and-white image that conjures up memories of occupied Paris during the Second World War. It depicts three German soldiers standing in front of a map of the metro, at the entrance to the Richelieu-Drouot station. Two have their backs to the camera. The third, an officer, is facing the photographer, casting a surprised glance in his direction. Has he sensed his presence behind them? Is he about to chase him, to stop him before he blends in with the crowd on the Grands Boulevards? In order to answer these questions, it is important to understand how this photo, unconnected with German propaganda or the collaborationist press, came to be known to us.
As explained in the first part of this series, it all started with an old album found in 2020 at a flea market in the south of France by Stéphanie Colaux, a photography enthusiast. The album contains a historian’s treasure: 377 photos taken clandestinely in Paris, its inner suburbs and Vernon, Normandy, during the Occupation, a time when taking such daring photos could have meant imprisonment or death for a French person.
Read Part 1 Looking for the mysterious photographer who snapped occupied Paris and mocked the Nazis
Although many of them are dated and captioned on the back, their author was unknown. The person who put together the album has not been identified either. The only information provided was a handwritten card stating that the album had been obtained from a “Resistance network.” The photos were attributed to a “Parisian stroller” who was willing to brave any danger to capture evidence of the “Nazi boot” on the capital.
The photo, taken at the Richelieu-Drouot station, has neither date nor caption, but a simple number, “7,” inscribed on the back. And yet, it was this photo that provided us with an unexpected clue. An internet search revealed that an identical image, also numbered “7,” exists at the Museum of the National Resistance (MRN) in Champigny-sur-Marne, just east of Paris. However, there is a key difference with the picture in the museum: The back of it bears a caption − a few lines in capital letters − and a precise date. It reads: “Mr. Fritz doesn’t look happy to be photographed. Look at his friendly face… View taken 14 July 1940, 2:15 pm”
Many other photographs, also preserved at the MRN, appear to be similar in style and content to those in the album. They are well-composed and could be the work of a professional or a knowledgeable amateur. They are also accompanied by sarcastic commentary. It seemed that the two sets complement each other, to create an astonishingly rich collection.
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