On 1939.12.07 Albert Herz joined the Army. From the first two pages we learn that, surprisingly at first, he was enrolled in Blois which is some 180km southwest of Paris. The situation is made clear by the remark that he was living in "Marolles (Villemalard)". It turns out that at the start of the war the government had ordered German citizens living in France to report to various camps. There were several categories of camps, but the one in Villemalard (a hamlet that was part of the town of Marolles) was apparently called a centre de rassemblement or camp d'accueil.

We unfortunately do not have any of the correspondence between Albert Herz and Coralie Weill while he was in the camp, but we learn about life in Villemalard from the correspondence of Heinrich Blücher. Before being transferred to Villemalard the German refugees were convoked to the olympic stadium at Colombes. The first letter of Blücher that appears in the collected correspondence and that was sent from Villemalard is dated September 18. According to his chronology Albert Herz lived in Paris until September 7, so September 8 may be the date that he went to Colombes.

It is apparent that there was a certain amount of liberty with at least some of the internees working on neighbouring farms, with visits from wives being permitted on Sundays.They were "quartered like soldiers on manoeuvre", with a wake up call at 06h30, two meals a day and a small allowance. On October 3 Heinrich Blücher expresses the hope that military service would start soon, which suggests that such a possibility for the internees had already been discussed.

On November 24 Blücher speaks of "releases that are being initiated" and that he has stated five times that he was "willing to do [his] duty for France". Then on November 28 he says that "it looks like all men up to forty will be able to join some sort of foreign legion, or a sister organization to the real Foreign Legion, and these men will have all the rights of French soldiers".

This latter statement accords with our knowledge that Albert Herz joined the army on December 7. The "some sort of foreign legion" probably corresponds to the Compagnies / Groupements de_Travailleurs Étrangers. His decision to join was no doubt motivated by, as Blücher writes, his "willing[ness] to do [his] duty for France".

The delay in enrolling volunteers may have been due to the large number of men wishing to join the Legion. According to one source there were 75,600 candidates for entry in the Legion between September, 1939 and March, 1940.

On November 11, 1939 Albert Herz obtained a copy of the declaration of Coralie Weill, made on the day of their marriage, that she intended to retain her French citizenship. We may surmise that this document was in support of his application to join the army.

Albert Herz's first posting in the army (photo with Coralie Weill) was to Algeria. The stamp in his army booklet shows that he was enrolled in the Travailleurs Étrangers, a designation which suggests that this group was not directly engaged in fighting.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] A document from 1940.05.12 shows that Albert Herz had become a légionaire deuxième classe. The document form was printed in Bel-Abbes, Algeria, the location of the main headquarters of the Legion. This change of status and regiment might correspond to the date at which he left Algeria for Morocco, but it also could simply indicate the origin of the document. From the document we learn that his new group was the "3ième R.E.". The meaning of this is clarified in a certificat de bonne conduite where the signing officer was the "Commandant le 3ième Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie". The officer signed in Fez, Morocco and we know that Albert Herz was there at some point in time. In a document, printed in Fez he is simply listed as being in Groupement "B" T[ravailleurs] Étrangers, 5ième groupe.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] 1940[]: a photograph of Albert Herz on a horse.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] A message from Fez, dated December 1940, on the back of a picture of Albert Herz reads "To my dear Cora and my tiny, precious child [Arlette-Herz]". From pages 2 and 3 of his French Foreign Legion booklet we learn that on 1941.03.08 Albert Herz was being demobilized and that he was going to Limoges (which was still in the "Zone Libre" under the Vichy government) and that on 1941.03.18 he received his pay in Limoges.

The following documents all date from March 1941 and are related to the end of Albert Herz's military service. His official departure date seems to have been March 7, with various other dates and events being mentioned:

1941.03.06: notice of the termination of payments.
1941.03.06: inventory and the date of demobilisation.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] 1941.03.08: release from duty and train stamp.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] 1941.03.08: notice of departure and address in Limoges. Since his address in Limoges is given as 19 rue des Tanneries (one of the half-timbered houses which are still standing in the quarter around the cathedral), he obviously had arranged for accomodations while in Morocco. We know that the Herz family had Jewish friends in Limoges after the war and perhaps they had arranged things.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] 1941.03.18: In Limoges and bonus related to the end of service.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] From Albert Herz's chronology of various events we learn that he was living in Limoges until 1941.08.12 after which he moved to Chéronnac. This photo, from around April 1941 was sent to him by Coralie Weill, presumably while he was still in Limoges.

We know that Albert Herz was active in the Resistance, and apparently was involved in spotting allied paratroopers. An open question is whether he was involved in the interrogation of German prisoners. He was issued a false identity card under the name Albert Durand, and a card, unfortunately without a date, showing that he was a member of the Milices Patriotiques.

On one of our visits to Vayres, Simone Villard (a wartime friend of the Herz family) showed us Albert Herz's hiding place near Chéronnac where the Herz family was living. Given his German accent when he spoke French, he would have preferred not being questioned by the authorities.

The stress of wartime took a heavy toll on him as shown by this 1955 medical note.

From Albert Herz's chronology of various events we know that the family returned to their apartment in Paris, where Coralie Weill's parents had lived during the war, on May 9, 1945. This was one day after the final capitulation of the German government.

We have several documents from this period which relate to his work and his obtaining French citizenship:

On May 30, 1945 Albert Herz received an official letter stating that he had been reemployed by the fabric firm Max and Blanor where he was employed before the war. In a document dated April 18, 1946 the starting date is given as May 1. Since he was still a foreign resident, approval was needed from the prefecture and this was given on July 3.

On June 6, 1945 he obtained a certificate of residency from the mayor of Marmoutier as well as a copy of his marriage certificate.

On September 9, 1945 he registered with the Comité des réfugiés Juifs d'origine allemande victimes du Nazisme.

On January 25, 1946 he obtained a certificat from the Grand Rabin of Paris stating that he was of Jewish extraction.

On May 10, 1946 he obtained a copy of the declaration of Coralie Weill, on the day of their marriage, that she intended to retain her French citizenship. We may surmise that this document was needed for his application to become a French citizen.

On August 30, 1947 he became a French citizen.

On September 9, 1947 his naturalization was announced in the Journal Officiel. On October 2, 1947 he received a letter of congratulations from the Amicale des engagés volontaires à la Légion Étrangère.

We have a ca. 1956 photograph of Albert Herz at work at Max and Blanor.

On July 18, 1957 Albert Herz was dismissed from his position at Max and Blanor. For a disussion of the circumstances, probably involving his reaction the the death of his sister Rosie, see Ma famille, page 110. We learn from the certificat de travail that he had been a salesman until 1956.09.01 when he was promoted to the role of supervisor.

By October 10 he was working as a salesman for J. Heilbronn. Related to this is another, very positive, letter from Max and Blanor dated the next day. Both his old and new positions were on Rue de Cléry in the Sentier district of Paris.

Here are some photographs from the period 1945-1958.

On 1965.04.26 Albert Herz became a US. citizen. Because he had been in the army he did not lose his French citizenship, as was the case for Coralie Weill and Arlette Herz (Eliane Herz never became a US citizen).

Here are some photographs from the period 1958-1976.