Description:

Winston Churchill
various, December 18, 1953 - March 4, 1954
Winston Churchill TLS & Archive Re: German Surrender, U. S. and USSR, Fantastic!
TLS with archive

This extraordinary English- and French-language archive - the keystone item of which is a typed letter signed by Winston Churchill as Prime Minister - relates to one French veteran's attempt to correct the historical record, namely Churchill's description of the German signature of capitulation as recorded in his six-volume history "The Second World War." Ca. December 18, 1953 - March 4, 1954. Various. The archive consists of the 1p typed letter signed by Churchill, with its original transmittal letter and envelope; along with four drafts of the French veteran's letter to Churchill, and a retained copy of its original cover letter. 8 pieces, approximately 11pp total. Please refer to catalog photos for additional information related to condition, which is overall very good to near fine. The archive is housed in a dark blue clamshell presentation case gilt-embossed "Winston S. Churchill / Letter Signed / March 4, 1954" along the spine. The case measures 10" x 12.375" x 1.875."

The archive includes:

1. A 1p typed letter signed by Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965) as "Yours sincerely, / Winston S. Churchill" at lower right. March 4, 1954 (typed over deleted "February" date.) [London, England.] On watermarked stationery with embossed "10, Downing Street, / London, S.W. 1." letterhead. Pencil-docketed in French at upper left, giving instructions to research and translate the attached documents. Lightly toned. Flattened transmittal folds. With a hole punch, paper clip impression, and pin holes at upper left. Else near fine. 7.5" x 9.5."

Churchill wrote this letter to 1st French Army veteran Ludovic Tron, in part:

"The matter you raise has now been investigated, and an amendment to future editions of my book will certainly be made to meet the point which you raise. My description of the signature of the capitulation in Berlin was of course confined to those officers who signed on behalf of the United States, Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. According to the copy of this document held in London Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny signed 'as a witness.'

However I will, as I said, make sure that his name is mentioned in future publications…"

2-3. The original cover letter which accompanied Churchill's letter, along with the original transmittal envelope. The 1p typed letter in French is signed by career Foreign Service diplomat Kenneth Michael Wilford (1922-2006) as "K.M. Wilford" at center. December 22, 1953. [Paris, France.] On embossed "British Embassy, / Paris" letterhead. Stamp-docketed near the top. Minor wear mostly confined to edges. 7.5" x 9.5." Envelope neatly letter-opened.

4. A 2pp autograph letter in French signed by Ludovic Tron on the second page as "L. Tron." Inscribed in magenta ink. N.d., n.p. This manuscript appears to be Tron's first draft of his letter to Churchill and includes several contemporaneous in-line corrections. 5.375" x 7."

5. A 2pp typed letter in French with manuscript edits in black and magenta ink. Signed in print as "Ludovic Tron" at the conclusion. Appearing to be the second draft of Tron's letter to Churchill. A few wrinkles, else near fine. 8.25" x 10.5."

6. A 2pp typed letter in French signed in print as "Ludovic Tron" at the conclusion. Appearing to be the third draft of Tron's letter to Churchill. Isolated pin holes, else near fine. 8.25" x 10.5."

7. A retained copy of a 2pp typed letter in French, Tron's final draft, addressed to Churchill's attention. December 18, 1953. [Paris, France.] Stapled at upper left. Minor chips and uneven toning. 8/25" x 10.625." (Please see below for a lengthy translated excerpt from Tron's letter.)

8. A retained copy of Tron's cover letter in French, dispatched to the secretary of the British Ambassador to France. December 19, 1953. [Paris, France.] The letter is signed in print as "A. Gloria." Unevenly toned and taped along the right edge.

Winston Churchill had published his definitive history of World War II, "The Second World War" (London: Cassell, 1948-1953). The final volume, Volume VI: "Triumph and Tragedy" had been published in 1953. This last volume covered the period 1944-1945 including the Allies' push into Nazi Germany. Churchill's opus had been translated into French in a twelve-volume first edition under the title "Mémoires sur la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale" (Paris: Edition Librairie Plon, 1948-1954).

Churchill had recently been contacted by a French war veteran, one Ludovic Tron (1904-1968). Tron had read excerpts from Churchill's last volume with pleasure, he explained, but he and other 1st French Army veterans objected to Churchill's failure to mention that their beloved commander, Marshal Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (1889-1952), had been present at the capitulation of Nazi Germany in Berlin on May 8, 1945.

Tron's December 18, 1953 letter to Winston Churchill reads, translated in part (with punctuation silently added to improve clarity):

"Mr. Prime Minister,

With the interest that naturally attaches itself to all that you write, and that also relates to the most dramatic history of our time, the members of the Association 'RHIN & DANUBE,' which organizes Veterans from the 1st French Army of Marshal de LATTRE de TASSIGNY, have read extracts from the last volume of your Memoires published by 'Le Figaro.'

If they were happy and proud of the memories you recalled - in particular of your inspection of the 1st Army in November 1944, on the eve of the Belfort offensive led by Lattre's Army, first at the Rhine - they felt painful surprise that you passed in complete silence over the presence of their Chief - and therefore that of France - at the signature of capitulation of the Reich, May 8, 1945 in Berlin…

I am, Mr. Prime Minister, the interpreter of their [the veterans'] emotions, in wishing that the reading of the chapter dedicated by General de LATTRE himself in the HISTOIRE DE LA 1ère ARMEE FRANCAISE… encourages you to revisit the point in your text, the sumptuous picture that you have painted of the apotheosis of the common and bloody efforts of the Allies.

Rest assured, Mr. Prime Minister, of the sentiments of faithful admiration held by the Soldiers of the 1st French Army, who forget not what the Free World owes to you nor what their Fatherland did for the salvation of it…"

The 1st French Army (Première Armée Française) had formed in 1943. It was tasked with driving a punishing offensive from Provence through Alsace-Lorraine and into Nazi-occupied Germany. Tron had enlisted as an artillery lieutenant in the 1st French Army in August 1943 and participated in both Italian and French campaigns. Heading up Lattre de Tassigny's Liberation-era cabinet, Tron had firsthand knowledge of his commander's presence at the surrender. Tron was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Cross of the British Empire, and the Légion d'Honneur. Since the 1st French Army was almost immediately dissolved following the war, Lattre de Tassigny encouraged his former troops to form a veterans group called the Association Rhin et Danube ["Association Rhine and Danube"] in October 1945 to stay in touch. Tron served as president of the Association Rhin et Danube until 1957.

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 10" x 12.375" x 1.875"
  • Medium: TLS with archive

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