Joséphine BAKER Signed Autograph Letter World War and Resistance. 1940

  
The Autographes des Siècles bookstore has been specializing for many years in the sale of autographed letters and manuscripts. Autographed letter signed to Valentine Fauchier Magnan.

Missing at the upper corner without affecting the text. [Château des Milandes] August 18, 1940. “I love our country more than anything. A very moving letter from Joséphine Baker, both dejected and combative in light of the recent French capitulation to the Hitlerian armies.

Abandoned by her husband, who, according to her, fled due to her skin color, the artist demonstrates her sense of honor and courage that would make her a brave Resistor: “Keep your head up. “My dear dear dear Val, You can never imagine my joy when yesterday the postman brought me your letter dated June 2nd, it was my birthday gift, my birthday was June 3rd, how happy I am to know that you have not forgotten me, thank you. So much has happened since our last meeting on the Champs Élysées, I am glad that you continue to work for the Red Cross, yes so many prisoners and so many other things my poor Val how unfortunate. There is one thing that weighs on my heart and that is that the day I left, I had called Madame Menier to see her and tell her everything but, alas, she was not free that day, and I had to leave immediately.

Since then, I think of her, the poor woman all alone over there, I think about it constantly. I could not talk to her on the phone naturally and since then it has weighed on my conscience. I am here in the countryside, alone but at peace, Jean. [Jean Lion, her husband] has left with his family, afraid because of me, I am of color and the other thing, you understand me?

Well, I will not leave the boat Val, I cannot. I love our country more than anything. I am glad to know that our little Claude is well [.

] Write to me quickly dear Val. Having become French through her marriage in 1937 to Jean Lion, Joséphine Baker decided to join the resistance against the Nazis and would refuse to sing in Paris as long as the Germans were there. Starting in 1939, she undertook several tours along the northeastern border to motivate the troops.

In September 1939, Daniel Marouani, brother of Joséphine Baker's agent, introduced her to Jacques Abtey, an officer of the 2nd Bureau, the Army's intelligence service. Abtey, who was head of military counterintelligence in Paris at the time of the declaration of war, was tasked with recruiting “Honorable Correspondents,” trustworthy and volunteer personalities capable of moving everywhere without raising suspicions to gather information on the activities of German agents.

It was agreed that Joséphine Baker would use her connections to be invited as often as possible to the receptions held at embassies to gather information on enemy troop movements. She successfully obtained valuable information on German troop movements and Mussolini's intentions at the beginning of the war during receptions at the embassies of Italy and Portugal. In June 1941, Joséphine Baker fell seriously ill.

Her hospitalization lasted 19 months but did not put an end to her intelligence activities; on the contrary, her room became a center for exchanging secret information. She also worked to convince all the American officials she met to support General de Gaulle and Free France. When the Americans landed in North Africa on November 11, 1942, she left her hospital room to experience the long-awaited event. Barely recovered, Joséphine Baker went to boost the morale of the troops and organized shows, donating all her fees to the French army. Pascale Chardonnet and Françoise Firmin, Société d'Histoire du Vésinet, April 2014.

For easier reading, we have corrected the spelling of J. The Autographes des Siècles Gallery specializes in the sale and expertise of autographed letters and manuscripts from great personalities of past centuries. Purchase / Payment Methods We accept the following payment methods: Bank transfers and checks. The prices indicated are in euros and are net.

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