A Review of The Hotel on Place Vendome, a book by Tilar J. Mazzeo

There is perhaps no more storied hotel in the world than the Ritz in Paris. Its sometime residents included Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway. In the bar, one might find the ghosts of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. And, during the German occupation of WWII, the hotel was also home to many of the Luftwaffe officers and its leader, the notorious Hermann Goring. The Ritz was the last stop for Princess Diana before her fatal car crash.

 

The Hotel on Place Vendome, by Tilar J. Mazzeo, tells the story of the Paris Ritz from its establishment in 1898 (founded by Switzerland’s Cesar Ritz), through the German occupation from 1941 to 1944, and its bright future following several renovations (which continue to this day).

I found the German occupation portion of the story the most compelling. Gathered in one hotel you had German sympathizers, German collaborators, Free French activists, spies and counter spies, French actresses dating German officers, and on and on…And it all seemed miles away from the raging war until people began disappearing, rumors spreading about torture and death camps.

It was interesting to read about what happens when a great city like Paris is all of a sudden occupied by another country. And even more interesting to read about its liberation. Hemingway plays his part. And what about the actress who dated the German officer? You’ll have to read it to find out.