Adolphe Littmann-Lemaître. Collection

Adolphe Littmann was born on 10 November 1911 in Antwerp. His parents, Aleksander Littmann and Sara, were Belgian Jews. When World War II broke out, Adolphe and his wife Hélène Stir, born in 1916, were living in Antwerp. Adolphe had already become very suspicious by 1939, as he often spoke in cafés with German refugees who predicted that Germany would soon invade Belgium. While most people did not believe this, Adolphe took the threat seriously. So, at the outbreak of war, Adolphe and Hélène quickly decided to flee to southern France, to the Muret district of Toulouse. From there, they tried to escape to Switzerland via Marseille, but were denied permission to cross the border. Adolphe Littmann found work in Toulouse at the Belgian consulate, where he was responsible for supplying fugitive Belgians. He was also active with the Défense Passive (D.P.), an essential organisation that helped the city prepare for and respond to the threats of war. Their work focused on minimising casualties and ensuring daily life under the harsh conditions of war. In September 1940, Adolphe met André Thouroude, a retired civil servant living with his family in Toulouse. Thouroude provided Adolphe with a false identity as André Lemaître, born in Lille (Lille), and also gave his wife Hélène a new identity as Hélène Servais. Together, Thouroude and Littmann devised a plan to save the lives of many Jewish families. André Thouroude founded the company ‘Désinfecta’ at 8 Gd Rue Nazareth, which provided disinfection services to public institutions, hotels, barracks and more, under the guise of fighting rat infestations, among other things. In reality, the company served as a cover for employing Jewish workers, all with false papers, to protect them. Later, Thouroude began employing Jewish refugees without declaring them, even when southern France was occupied by the Germans in November 1942. Despite the enormous risk and the wisdom that this was completely illegal, Thouroude took responsibility for obtaining the necessary work permits and travel documents for his Jewish workers to travel freely. In addition, Désinfecta acted as an intelligence service for the resistance, passing on valuable information to its staff. Shortly afterwards, Thouroude set up a subsidiary in Valence, which was also run by Adolphe Littmann. Adolphe Littmann went to live there on Rue Général Farre. Thanks to Littmann's leadership, he and the Jewish workers were able to travel freely in the department of Drôme. This courageous initiative saved the lives of many, including Herbert Stir (Hélène's brother), Albert Wolfgang and Max Herschkovits. Thanks to Thouroude and Littmann's determination and courage, they managed to survive the occupation, despite the constant danger of deportation if their activities were discovered. Adolphe Littmann had also been a volunteer lieutenant of a group in Valence since 1940 in the Police Auxiliaire, more an extension of the civilian forces of order than a military force. In 1943 and 1944, Adolphe LIttmann was also a member of the Syndicat Régional des Représentants et Voyageurs du Dauphiné et des Savoies, probably involved in representing the interests of commercial travellers and representatives in the Dauphiné and Savoie regions, similar to other syndicates of the time. Their main activities related to protecting the rights and welfare of their members, many of whom worked in sales and business travel. This was a challenging period during World War II when many syndicates had to operate under strict control and censorship from the authorities. In the early morning of 6 June 1944, on D-Day, the Allies landed on the beaches of the northern coast of France. After Adolphe Littmann was informed of this landing via a communiqué the British radio, he took immediate action to prevent the German occupiers in Valence from sending confirmation of the landing to the command in Germany. To prevent this, Littmann decided to sabotage the SS barracks in Valence. He filled the building with gas that he used at ‘Désinfecta’ for rat control. This prevented the SS, who tried to enter, from entering. Adolphe, who spoke fluent German, kept the Germans at bay for 24 hours by claiming there was a rat infestation in the barracks, where their communication equipment was also stored. Adolphe Littmann survived the occupation and after the war was given permission by the French authorities to keep the double name Littmann-Lemaître. In October 1944, he and his wife returned to Antwerp for the first time. In 1945, André Thouroude ended the Désinfecta business, and all employees were able to return to their countries of origin. Later that year, Marseille opened an office to receive liberated Belgian prisoners of war who could return to Belgium via Russia on ships departing from Odessa. Adolphe Littmann went to work here and employed his wife Hélène Stir as a driver, which explains why both wore uniforms. Adolphe Littmann held the position of Chef de liaison et transmissions. Not long after, Adolphe started working for SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance) in Paris. SGS played a crucial role in the inspection, verification, testing and certification of goods and services, especially in the context of post-World War II reconstruction and international trade. Representing SGS, Adolphe also worked for the US Army Exchange Service as technical advisor or chief inspector of all locally procured goods by the AES (Allied Expeditionary Service) in the US occupied zone of Germany, including in Frankfurt. In addition to this task, he was responsible for all German personnel hired by Controll-Co to operate AES Warehouse in the occupied zone. He was authorised to control all goods in AES Warehouses or in the factories that produced goods for AES. Adolphe Littmann could count on assistance from the Theatre Service Forces European Theatre (TSFET), a vital part of the European Theatre of Operations (ETO), in this regard. The US army sent relief supplies to Germany via trains, but they often did not arrive because of theft, corruption and chaos in post-war Europe. Sometimes the trains were looted by local populations or soldiers, and in other cases the goods did not reach their destinations due to administrative errors or deliberate diversions. The disappearance of these trains led to significant delays and shortages in aid delivery, exacerbating the difficult situation in post-war Germany. However, the exact extent of lost goods and the number of disappeared trains remain unclear due to the unsettled conditions of the time. In 1947, as head of the Société Générale de Surveillance Liaison with AES, Adolphe Littmann was also put in charge of supervising warehouses, inspection posts, surveillance and control posts, working for AES. Adolphe Littmann continued to work for SGS for many years, including in Geneva. He came home only every 15 days before returning to work after a few days. He also worked for the SGS branch in Bree, Antwerp. After the war, Hélène Stir remained ill all her life and received no pension from the Belgian authorities. In his post-war life, Adolphe Littmann worked not only for SGS, but also as a writer, journalist and renowned bridge player. In 1973, he was named ‘Personality of the Year’ by the International Bridge Press Association (IBPA). Fourteen years later, his wife Hélène was awarded for her dedication to the administration of bridge affairs. As secretary of the World Bridge Federation since 1970, Adolphe Littmann played an important role in the development of rules for international bridge competitions and was a major promoter of the creation of the European Union Bridge League. Together with Guido Barbone, he devised the European Cup, a trophy sponsored by Philip Morris that was awarded to bridge clubs that had won national championships. This trophy, awarded to the winning team of the European Championships every two years, was named after him. Littmann was often a member and captain of the Belgian national bridge team and won several national and international tournaments. On 26 November 1980, in Antwerp, Adolphe Littmann died of a heart attack at the age of 69.

All documents, photos and objects in this collection were saved by Michelle (Mimi) Goldberg (née Littmann), daughter of Adolphe Littmann. On 5 September 2024, Michelle kindly permitted Kazerne Dossin to archive all items in this collection.

Michelle (Mimi) Goldberg (née Littmann)