It's rare that there is a historical event that has such magnitude that absolutely everyone will remember where they were when it happened. That event- The CoVid 19 pandemic....where were you? AT HOME!! Well, at home with the occasional exciting intermission of queuing outside Rewe to gain access.But between palm-sweat-inducing glances at figures and statistics (how can hands that are dryer than sand from all the washing still sweat so much??) we are all figuring out how to pass the time and maintain our sanity. This lapse in time has forced us all to evaluate how we spend our time, which is often more alone than we would like. I haven't got the magical answers but I have got some suggestions, which is almost the same thing. Kind of.
Cycling, for me , has been an absolute saving grace. To me, it is the perfect way to let off steam while being in the world. It’s also a good way to catch some sweet rays while staying away from people and maintaining, say it with me now - social distancing! Plus, cycling is a brilliant way to put some real distance,in a relatively short space of time, between you and your annoying children/ house mates / boyfriend/girlfriend (delete as applicable).With the weather being so great, each day has been an opportunity to get out and see some of the beautiful places that Berlin has to offer. Plus, and this is a real bonus - I have not seen one person taking a shit on the street in front of me on any of my rides so far! Wonderful.
So far I've been on the following journeys: Grundewald/ Havelsee route, this was just as the virus fever was hitting the streets of Berlin. The track around the lake here is really wonderful and the roads that link from Grundewald around Havelsee are smooth AF . Plus there are plenty of cross-ride opportunities throughout Grundewald which allows you to do some cool downhill stuff as parts of the forest are quiet at the moment. You are sheilded from shame if you crash out and end up eating dirt when you fall.
Gorinsee - Another great spot for a romantic cycle alone. I was recently here with Kim from She36, impressing her with how much I can sweat even on a relatively cold day. It's kind of a special ability. We cycled here from Prenzlauer Berg and took the long way around, and stopped for a tea in the café at the lake. Which , FYI does the most amazing looking ice cream sundaes I've ever seen. Those sundaes will meet their maker (me) as soon as all of this blows over.
Tegel See/ Tegel Havel/ Frohnau - Myself and Maria went on a fab cycle around this route on Saturday, while maintaining ABSTAND BITTE!! Maria was Road Captain-ess for this route and I was happy to let her lead the way, watching her as she whistled people out of the way. We went around the lake and over some bridges and passed by a woman who was shouting at some jelly sweets that had fallen on the ground. I was sick with jealousy cycling through Frohnau, we passed by houses that were bigger than my whole apartment block. I guess the joke is on those very rich people in those beautiful houses because A) they must take ages to vacuum B) Lying on piles of money every night probably isn't that comfortable anyway.
Liepnitzsee - I made a solo trip here yesterday, a smooth 65km around trip. I had visions of wading into the water like an Elephant in one of those "This craggy looking circus rescue elephant has never seen water, until now!" click bait videos. Splashing around and spraying myself with water from my nose. But it wasn't to be because the breeze off the water would have put your knickers in a twist. Instead I chilled out in the forest which was totally empty and so quiet. A good day.
The Murderess from the Grunewald (28): Preparing for War (3b): “The Monster in the Petticoat” (2)
“Paris” by riccardomortandello
Note: This chapter contains, among other things, the mention
(not a description!) of the sexual abuse of a minor. If this topic
triggers negative emotions/memories in you, please skip this
chapter.
Chapter 27
"Thank you, Professor Nerz. I appreciate your support. How did the story of the Violette Nozière go on?
"As I said, the story from the Rue de Madagascar was just right for Paris in 1933, and the fact that it was a story with many sequels did the rest. The influence this criminal case and the way the press dealt with it had is expressed in a caricature of the time, which can be found in a French newspaper called L'Œuvre. It shows Hitler who, after reading a French newspaper, complains that it is only about 'this Violette'. Violette Nozière even eclipses Hitler's seizure of power. She or her case dominates the headlines, the title pages. Even Hitler disappears behind them. Can you imagine that?"
"That's really remarkable," Jamie agreed.
"As I said, these articles illustrated with photos changed the reading experience of the people. At first, only the police officers and the work of the police were photographed. In the days when Violette Nozière was on the run, they looked for her or her corpse in the Seine. There was this suspicion that she might have thrown herself into the Seine and so excavation work was carried out there. All this was photographed by the journalists and printed by the newspapers. By doing so, the newspapers changed the reader's view of what was happening. The reader is now drawn into the action, he becomes a kind of 'co-investigator'. The questions raised by the newspapers spur readers on to come up with their own thoughts about what might have happened, and speculations grow immeasurably.
Violette Nozière (1933) via Wikimedia Commons
And just when you think the scandal couldn't get any bigger, there's an unexpected twist. On August 28, 1933, the accused makes a statement and confesses the murder. And what a confession that was! She testified that she wanted to kill her father because she could no longer bear that he had sexually abused her."
Jamie let out a surprised "Oh!"
"Exactly!”
Professor Nerz nodded and remained silent for a moment before continuing:
"We live 87 years later today and you, in particular, belong to a generation that is not afraid to say everything that needs to be said. But,
Dr. Fraser, at that time it was quite different. Abuse! That was a word that one neither dared to pronounce nor to write nor to listen to at that time! And now imagine that: Patricide and abuse! I don’t know whether it is clear to you, but there is a double taboo here. And I don’t mean the two offenses! No, the act of abuse, of incest, is, of course, a taboo. But it is also taboo in French society at that time to talk or write about such an act. That was the situation at the time.
I know that many people associate quite different things with the name of the French capital. Paris! This is the city of love. Have you ever been to Paris, Dr. Fraser?"
"Oh yes, I even studied there for a while!"
"Ah, then you know what I mean. Paris, that makes one emotional, doesn’t it? You hear Paris and you think of the flowering avenues along the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame. And who doesn't think of romance, Montmartre and free love? Everything is free in Paris! The sky over Paris is full of violins! And while these wonderful pictures are running in front of our eyes we hear Charles Trenet singing quietly in the background with his characteristic voice 'La Mer' and we start dreaming.”
Jamie had to smile.
"Yes, yes, Paris, the city of love ... and the guillotine! For it was in Paris, the city of love, that the guillotine was first applied in practice, coloring its streets blood-red. Red, the color of love and yet it is also the color of bloodshed by a murderous revolution."
Jamie was shocked out of his thoughts, for when Nerz had pronounced the word 'guillotine' as if to emphasize it, he had struck his desk with his flat hand loudly.
"Red is not always the color of love. It can also be the color of the guillotine. You see, Dr. Fraser, that's exactly our job. We have to confront the people inside and outside the courtroom with the facts. Facts count. What counts is not the idea that we or others have of something. Facts. Not the opinion that we or others have about a thing or matter. The facts alone matter. Whether something has been declared a taboo, as here in the case of the Violette Nozière, is of no interest to us."
Nerz was silent for a moment, then he asked:
"Have you seen the movie 'Never look away’”, Dr. Fraser?"
"Oh yes!"
"This moment when the lie is confronted with the truth. There's no evading it anymore. It doesn't take many words, just facts - and a whole world of lies breaks up. In a single moment."
"That was really very impressive," Jamie agreed.
"It reminded me of something I read many years ago. An English theologian was asked how he would defend the truth. His answer was: 'No different than a lion. I open the door of their cage and let it out. That,
Dr. Fraser, will be your job. On each new day of the trial, you must unleash the Lion of Truth. And you must trust the power of truth. Sometimes it will look as if the truth is losing the battle. But that's not true. That only means that the hour of the truth has not yet come. Then you just have to go on."
Nerz was silent again as he wanted to give Jamie an opportunity to let sink in what he had said.
"Let's come back to Violette Nozière. As I said, the abuse was a taboo, a taboo that could not be talked about. But if a crime cannot be talked about, then it cannot be denounced. And that is exactly how the newspapers react. The press knows that if it were to address the incest, it could lose at least part of its readership. So they don't denounce the deed, but the talking about it. The choir of the Parisian newspapers unanimously condemns Violette Nozière's testimony as 'heinous accusations'. The 'argumentation' that we can read in the almost 90-year-old publications is the same one that is still used today to silence rape victims. They said: 'If Violette was really raped by her father, why didn't she confide in her mother or her grandmother? She is said to have had a particularly intimate relationship with the latter. How difficult it was (and still is!) to talk about this topic, the press didn't say a word about it.
And another factor plays a role here. Besides the economic and political problems, France has a demographic problem at that time. Society is aging. And young people, who will be the future of the nation, are a cause for concern. It is said that there is a decent youth and a corrupt youth. Let us be honest, these two groups of young people have always existed. Quite apart from the fact that there have always been these two groups of adults. But, in this particular situation, this way of looking at things becomes more important. And Violette Nozière is, of course, an example of the side of the corrupt youth. Young people who live into the day and no longer respect role models and values. And throughout all social strata, there is a fear that this immoral youth could tear the country even deeper into the abyss. What is to become of a nation whose youth is so corrupt? Well, to be honest, Violette Nozière also gave enough reason to have this image of her. As I said before, she had many friends and lovers at a young age and now it becomes also known that the young woman posed for nude photos. And such a person dares to incriminate her honorable father, a long-standing and excellent employee of the French railways, in such a disgusting way? That was the reaction of many Parisian citizens and the newspapers took up this mood.
Apartment of the Nozière family / Crime scene via Wikimedia Commons
Jean-Baptiste Nozière and his wife were regarded as hard-working people who sacrificed themselves for their daughter's education. They lived in a small two-room apartment in the east of Paris. They were a kind of model for a working-class family that had managed to move up to the lower middle classes. That was the life of many people, or at least that was the life many people aspired to. And then the newspapers came and brought photos showing how the family lived. You can still see it today. A small, cramped apartment, a modest luxury. Furniture and pictures made to look antique. Wallpapers with large flower patterns, which were fashionable at that time. How many people would have thought: 'Well, that looks almost like at home?’ And now imagine what these people thought when Violette's accusations became known? How dare she! This ungrateful child! That wicked slut! Yet the lifestyle of the young Violette could have been seen as an indication of the truthfulness of her statements. Today we know that young people who experienced abuse at the age of Violette can show exactly these symptoms: school skipping, a sudden drop in performance, repeated stealing, manipulative behavior of others and promiscuous behavior."
Again, Nerz kept silent to let what was said sink in.
"About ten days after her arrest, the responsible judge has the family's apartment examined again and now a rag with semen stains is found. Violette Nozière states that her father used this rag to prevent her from getting pregnant. This is not evidence, but a find that irritates the investigators. And then, on the father's bedside table, they found offensive, pornographic, pictures. Now the mood is slowly turning and the press, always anxious not to lose any readers, follows this path. And yet: Violette Nozière must remain in custody. She is not listened to. The public's opinion is divided and that is good for the press because it knows how to serve both parties with different articles and comments.
But now something is happening that has never happened before. Other victims of abuse send letters to the judge. These letters have remained in the files to this day. These women turn to the judge and tell him about their own experiences. And they ask him to believe Violette.
And then something else happens. The Surrealist movement takes up the case of Violette Nozière. Under the direction of André Breton, some artists published a volume of essays and drawings entitled 'Violette Nozière'. They break with the taboo and at the same time attack the patriarchy. The volume was published in Belgium because it would have been banned by censorship in France. It was the figure of the femme fatale, the sexual aura of Violette, that attracted these artists. Violette's story, especially her indictment of her father, fit into the program of the surrealists who attacked the traditional family.
Violette Nozière vor Gericht (Agence de presse Meurisse [Public domain]) via Wikimedia Commons
On October 11, 1934, the trial against Violette Nozière was finally opened. For more than a year, the accused has been in prison and for more than a year, the press has shaped people's opinions. Among them, of course, is the opinion of those who will now take part in this trial as jurors and determine the fate of the accused."
Jamie let a loud sigh be heard.
"My goodness, how could they be able to judge them neutrally?"
"Exactly, Dr. Fraser. In Violette Nozière's case, there was no one to defend the arguments that spoke for her in public. Her two lawyers were not in a position to do so. What would two men do against crowds of journalists and millions of printed articles?"
"Hopeless."
"Exactly. And the jurors were all men and fathers. Women were not admitted to the jury in France at the time."
"Absolutely hopeless."
"As you say. The jurors then only need an hour to pass sentence. They find the defendant guilty and the court sentences her to death. Just two days after the trial began! The accusation of abuse, of incest, was not taken into account. Nor was that necessary, because incest or abuse was not listed as a criminal offense in the penal code in force at the time! The penal code, according to which she was sentenced in 1933, dates from the time of the French Revolution and was last revised in 1810."
"She never had a chance, did she?"
"No, she never had a chance. And the majority of the French welcomed this verdict. That is very understandable because 'order' has been restored. Everything is good and one or should I say 'man' can return to everyday life.
But, Violette Nozière is not executed. Three successive French presidents pardoned her. President Albert Lebrun converts the death penalty into a life sentence. Marshal Philippe Pétain then reduced her sentence by decree of August 6, 1942, to 12 years of forced labor from the day of her imprisonment in 1933. And on August 29, 1945, she was finally released. On November 17 of the same year, General de Gaulle, President of the Provisional Government, lifted the 20-year ban on French territory imposed on her by a new presidential decree. She married and has five children, for whom she is a good mother. Her own mother reconciles with her and believes her that she did not lie in court. On November 26, 1966, Violette Nozière died of cancer."
"My goodness, what a story!"
"Isn't it?"
Both lawyers were silent for a moment. Then Nerz spoke again:
"Violette Nozière had no one to defend her in public. She had no one to fight the suspicions of the press. Your client, Dr. Beauchamp, will have us on her side. You defend her in the courtroom and we take over the litigation PR outside the courtroom. We will not allow the press to destroy her client's life and capitalize on it."
Jamie took a deep breath.
"I appreciate your help."
"As I said at the beginning, we can see a number of applications from this process in the case of your client. Let us now come to these specific points.”
