François Pecheur

Vorname : François (Franz)

Name : Pécheur    (remarque : François a toujours refusé de s'appeler « Fisher » comme lui ont proposé les allemands. Il souhaitait garder son identité française au maximum)

Mon arrière arrière grand père paternel, né en 1879, habitait en Moselle à Metz. Il était maraîcher et pour lui c'était impossible de quitter ses terres. Il était père de deux garçons.

Comme l'Alsace et la Moselle étaient annéxées par les allemands depuis la guerre franco-prussienne de 1870 et la traité de Franfort du 10 mai 1871, il était obligé de parler allemand.

Lors de la première guerre mondiale, il fût mobilisé dans l'armée allemande. Pour ne pas qu'il tire sur les français, ils l'ont envoyé sur le front Russe. Il a été transféré à l'hôpital de Bad Orb en Allemagne. Quand il a été guerri, il est retourné au combat en Russie. Il est rentré de la guerre  bien après las autres, sa famille n'avait alors aucune nouvelle de lui.

Il n'a jamais raconté sa vie militaire et la guerre. C'était devenu un secret pour lui.

GIDEL Louis, 3éme C

 Les Papiers Joints :

 Document 1(recto verso) :

Il s'agit d'une carte postale adressée à sa femme et à ses enfants. Ce courrier explique qu'il s'est blessé et qu'il est à l'hôpital.

 Document(recto verso) :

Il s'agit d'un courrier adressé à sa famille. Ce courrier dit qu'il est retourné sur le front en Russie. François est celui tout à droite.

 Documents  3 et 4(recto verso) :

Ce sont des lettres d'un ami de la famille, Auguste, adressé à la femme de François, Julia. François est celui qui est à gauche de la photo.

 GIDEL  Louis, 3éme C 





Name : François (Franz)

Surname : Pecheur « Fisherman » (Comment : François always refused the name Fischer (meaning Fisherman in German) as the Germans had suggested to him. He wished to preserve his French identity as much as possible).

My great great grandfather from my father’s side, born in 1879, lived in the Moselle region, in Metz. He was a market gardener and for him it was impossible to leave his land. He was the father of two boys.

As Alsace and Moselle regions had been annexed by the Germans since the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and since the treaty of Frankfurt of May 10th 1871, he had to speak German.

''During World War I, he was mobilized in the German army. In order for him not to shoot'' the French, he was sent to the Russian front. During the first months he was wounded in the thigh and was transferred to the Bad Orb hospital in Germany. When he had recovered, he returned to the battle in Russia.

He came back home significantly later than other soldiers, his family did not have any news from him.

He never talked about his military life or the war. He kept this a secret.

1st Document  :

It is a postcard to his wife and children. This letter explains that he was hurt and that he now is in a hospital. François is the man on the left.

2nd Document :

''It is a letter to his family. This letter'' tells that he has returned to the Russian front. François is the man on the right.

3rd and 4th Documents :

These are letters from a friend of the family, Auguste. He sent the letters to Françoises wife, Julia. François is on the left side of the photo.

The 1st German letter : 

Bad Orb December, 19th 1914

Dear wife and children,

I write you this postcard to tell you, I'm fine. I hope that you are fine too. Sorry, I can't come home for Christmas, but I will sure come home for the New Year because everybody will get holidays. Actually it lasts longer than I thought.

You can send me a gift or money for the holidays because my life here is very expensive.

See you soon,

Franz

2nd German letter :

Lamperthein 6/07/1915

Dear wife and children,

I just received your nice postcard and I'm still in good health and I hope that both you and the children are fine too. Your brother in law Eberhard has also received his postcard from you and was very happy. I forget to tell that to you, because you do not know a lot about our life that we have here, and that might last even longer!

Greetings to you, your dear husband kisses you and the children.

Franz (François)

Translated from German by Zoé Marin,

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