War letters from Maurice Rougier
from 29 July 1945 to the summer of 1946
5023
(Maurice Rougier was on leave in Bourg from 10 to 20 July 1945)
Extract from the written letter from Germersheim on 29 July 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"... I've been home for 8 days and it seems to me that a long time ago.... 10 days of permission really pass without anyone seeing it......I found a landing point... .....I am assigned as deputy to the Chief of Staff of the Military Government Palatinate-Hesse... I'm happy. The G.M. is settled in a small town with little demolition (probably Neustadt)
I'm going to the mountain on Monday morning to settle in.
This new situation was regularized with effect from 17 August 1945, when it was made available to the Military Government of the Occupied Territories in Germany.written letter from Neustadt on 5 August 1945Extract from the written letter from Neustadt on 7 August 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...the poppy here is not like that of Germersheim, there are about 50 residents, 2 rooms: 1 for the senior officers (a dozen) and 1 for the others. We're beginning to feel the restrictions... It seems that there will be some reshaping here and I could move soon. The General is here today and talks about it. You saw De Lattre's farewells to the 1st Army (it was the Cdt since the landing of Provence), it happened in Stasburg Kehl it seems that it was superb....
Extract from the letter from Alzey (probably) on 29 August 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"... I have a lot of work to do in my fief to get to know all the administrative, economic, judicial, etc. (?) I'm a man of 40 years old who seems to me to be good, he doesn't speak French and I don't speak German well enough to do without the interpretation. But it's fine. We're in the premises of a bank, I have a room and a personal bathroom. Our cook is a German, but he still makes us eat well.
I have four officers.
I'm going to ask for permission for you and the kids, but I can't tell you if I'll have the facility to get you here. On the other hand, the country isn't very nice and I'm afraid you're getting into trouble all day long, what do you think? (In fact, it's only Easter 46 that the family can come to Germany, and it's going to be in another small town, nearby, Rockhausen) There are also troops here, but they don't have much to do with the "military government" and we don't have a lot of hospitality. We oppose their untimely "requisitions" and they accuse us of protecting the boaches... See that it takes diplomacy, my predecessor has been fired because of this.
Where are you? (Scoffs more precisely)
I'm sure you wrote to me that you'd only stay a week in Dampierre...
A festive meal menu on September 29, 1945
Extract from the written letter from Alzey on 30 September 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"... You must have returned to Bourg for the school year. Here they will open from tomorrow, I managed to evacuate by the troops the necessary premises 1 large school for primary education and 1 other for the high schools of boys and girls who existed here. As this does not yet make many places the classes will take place in half time (girls in the morning, boys in the evening). On this occasion I attended a few days ago the first session of an educational congress that brought together the teachers of the 2 Kreis and I read them a little bit of opening (see a newspaper article - in German - which relate the event, I could not translate them again) Tomorrow there are opening of secondary schools, Catholic and Protestant services to which 2 officers will represent me, and solemn opening evening with teachers, parents and students where I will still take up the floor. The question of teaching and training young people is paramount and we must deal with it first. I read my speeches in German....
Extract from the letter from Alzey on 4 October 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...This morning, a great ceremony in Mainz where General de Gaulle was passing. I was invited to attend. The General saw the officers and shook our hands, then he saw the German notables (I had brought 38 of my Kreis) and said a few words. extract from a local duck Talking about my talk at the school week. Let Fannette translate this. I am now going to take the oath of the German judges who have been resettled.
Extract from the written letter from Alzey on 7 October 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...the visit of General de Gaulle to Mainz was very impressed by his calmness and his words "let's not talk about the past but about the present and the future" "the task of rebuilding your city and your province will be hard" "you will have our support and our benevolence" "in this task you have our esteem and our consideration" "in the new world that is being built you are part of Western Europe". There was with him the General of Lattre whom I greeted and who shook my hand, asked me what I was doing and wished me good luck and also Mr Diethelm (a minister I think)The Burgmeister of Mainz also welcomed General de Gaulle to his loyalty and offered him a book printed by Gutenberg himself and 30 bottles of his best wine.
We had some mutations here, some went to Berlin - half the regiment that was here - the others will leave in a few days in France. So I am in continuous receptions, we must yell at it, here or in the neighbouring cantonments in my Kreis. Eight days ago I wanted to return all the politeness and I made a dinner of 20 cutlery where I managed to gather 5 or 6 women officers and social workers....... It's still boring that you can't come, we won't be able to stay so continuously apart. Finally, many comrades in the 1st Army have been here for 3 or 4 years and I can wait a little longer.
Témoignage de reconnaissance pour services rendus au 1 X Air Defense Command, US army, 28 octobre 45
Between the end of November and the beginning of December 45, Maurice Rougier came to Sceaux (mission to Paris at the ministry, where he made various steps concerning his future in the army, which would prove difficult with the planned drastic reduction of the staff. He reviewed his mother-in-law Marguerite Maillet, his sister-in-law Tandree who was ill, and his brother-in-law Etienne who was looking for a job, as well as Aunt Notte and his daughter Vonnette (the godmother Claude) who lived nearby, also in Sceaux.
letter of 29 November 1945
letter of 2 December 1945
Back in Alzey: Extract from Alzey's letter of December 9, 1945addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...the cold that just arrived -11° yesterday -7° today here... ... I went to Mainz yesterday and had 1 1/2 of a breakdown on the road, radiator frozen, the trips in the winter are not sure and I believe that despite all my desire to see you at Christmas it is better to stick to our forecasts....It will be for Easter if I'm still there! I saw in Mainz 2 comrades of the army like me who are quite pessimistic. They are retired and are since GM as such. They fear being put out because there is currently a campaign that tends to eliminate all the soldiers of the GM. And they say that pensions are still very miserable and that in France you can only find subordinate and poorly paid situations. ....
Early January 46 Maurice Rougier spent a few days in Seals again. From his visits to the ministry, he again drew pessimistic impressions about his future.
Extract from the letter from Alzey on 6 January 1946addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...I left Paris on Friday night.... I was happy to hear your voice on the phone the other day....I will ask and send you soon to ask to come here at Easter, but will I still be there? ..... we will reduce the occupation troops to 15 000 in Austria, 105,000 in Germany, 120,000 in all. So there will be a lot of re-entry in France. You know that De Lattre's project provides for 500,000 men, 120,000 in occupation, 100,000 in the colonies, 100,000 in North Africa, 100,000 in France, and 600,000 gendarmes and guards. (Mobile guards, there was no CRS yet).
.....Written letter from Alzey on 10 January 1946addressed to Claude in BourgWritten letter from Alzey on 1 February 1946addressed to Granie in Bourg
Extract from the written letter from Alzey or Rockenhausen on 17 February 1946addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"...a lot of public meetings of the different parties (Germans, for the first elections in Germany?) We have to control, the communists and socialists are doing a lot of propaganda, yesterday morning we appeared before the parliamentary committee in Neustadt, many heads of service had to floor but the time to get the delegates to talk about Cercle. ....
From the point of view of the situation, I received yesterday a ministerial dispatch which says that all officers except some exceptions will be retired ex officio. We will each notify individually, and 30 days after it must be gone! ....
Etienne found a place for Reconstruction (in Valencia it seems). Granie and her daughters were planning a moment to come in March 46 (for Mardi-Gras) to Germany, but it was finally Maurice who came on leave and it was in April 46 that Granie and her daughters came to Germany, to Rockenhausen, a small town nearby Alzey, without me being able todetermine when Lt-Colonel Rougier changed his position from delegate of the Alzey Circle to delegate of the Rockenhausen Circle.
Extract from the letter of 3 March 1946addressed to Granie in Bourg:
"......Great news, we have - all the G.M. active officers - been summoned to Neustadt on Thursday to learn that we had to get hara-kiri. We need 12,000 victims and we are looking for volunteers. (the GM or military maintenance solutions were clearly barred),
......there was only one solution left. (go by asking for the benefit of the law of decommissioning)
-
- It seems that the G.M. will also make it difficult to take the former soldiers, in which case I will only have to go back to my homes (which is perhaps not the worst solution). ....
.... I think I'll leave in a week, I'll go through Paris to get the wind at the end and probably be in Bourg around the 13th or 14th. Finally it seems that we have to be fixed within the month! I regretted that you're not here to talk to me about all this, it's very annoying to decide on your own. ....
14 March 1946Lt-Colonel Maurice Rougier ceased to be "Special Assimilated for the Occupied Territories", with effect from 10 April 46, and was proposed as a temporary Administrator, in order to settle his situation temporarily.
4 April 1946 Maurice Rougier was advised that he could be informed from 10 April 1946 of his final situation and from 25 May 1946 that he would be able to receive the order of application of the law on the discharge of executives.
7 June 1946It was made available to the new body which replaces the Military Government of the Occupied Territories (GM): the General Office for German and Austrian Affairs (CGAAA) as administrator, delegate of Cercle, with rank of 1 April 1946. But it was only temporary.
pm letter written on 10 June 1946addressed to Granie in Bourg
Curriculum vitae dated 26 June 1946 prepared by Maurice Rougier for his next release from the management.
By Ministerial Decree of 28 May 1946The Minister notified the French Chief Commander in Germany on 28 June 1946, Lt-Colonel Rougier was released from the Army with effect 1 month after the personal notification. effective 22 July 1946, because he was struck off the cadres with effect from 22 August 1946, having declared himself to be in Bourg (Ain) at 3 rue du Col Logerot (cf. State of Services).
By order of 29 August 1946, Lt-Colonel Rougier was removed from his post as Administrator, delegate of the Rockenhausen Circle. The notification was made on 17 September 1946 with immediate effect, but a new order (of 2 November 1946) the date of effect to 1 October 1946. against the advice of his superiors and appeared to be the result of the Ministry's offices' willingness to place protected persons in military civilian posts, taking advantage of the Military Executive Disengagement Act.
This time he was not only retired from the army since 22 August 46, but was also removed from his post at the CGAAA on 1 October 194, he had to return to France and seek a civil situation.
