Gershon Lehrer

“When the Germans conquered Paris they confiscated the grand houses of the French nobility. One such grand house was that of Philippe de Rothschild, and its new occupier was an SS general, a General Halle. Rothschild spent much of the war years in England with the Free French Forces, and when he returned to Paris at the war’s end his mansion was restored to him. ‘Felix,’ said Rothschild to his old butler, who had remained in domestic service in the mansion throughout the war – ‘Felix,’ he said, ‘the house must have been very quiet during my absence. What did you do?’ ‘Oh no, sir,’ answered Felix, ‘it wasn’t quiet at all.’ ‘Not quiet?’ asked Philippe de Rothschild. ‘No sir,’ said Felix respectfully. ‘The SS general hosted receptions every night.’ ‘Every night?’ asked Rothschild, baffled. ‘But who came?’ ‘The same people who used to come to your receptions before you fled, sir,’ answered Felix. ‘The very same people.”
― Yehuda Avner, The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership