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00:00This is the story of the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris.
00:24During the Second World War, when the French capital was occupied by the Germans, a Jewish
00:33architect found refuge here for four years.
00:40During this time, he renovated a large part of the hotel, though no outsiders were aware
00:45of his presence.
00:50His room had no number on the door and wasn't on any lists.
00:55And he worked exclusively at night.
01:01But the architect wasn't the only one who owed his life to Le Bristol.
01:05The hotel also saved other Jews from persecution.
01:12Its discretion earned Le Bristol the name, the Hotel of Silence.
01:19For its founder, Hippolyte Jamais, discretion and the protection of his guests, who ranged
01:25from high-ranking politicians and government agents to well-known celebrities and artists,
01:30were paramount.
01:32And this remains part of Le Bristol's identity to this day.
01:37What happens within these walls never leaks out.
01:40This cloak of absolute secrecy was a reason why Le Bristol was one of the only hotels in
01:45Paris to escape being seized by the Germans during World War II.
01:55While the Nazis invaded the French capital and Hitler eventually even ordered the city's
02:00destruction, the story of Le Bristol is one of solidarity, humanity and courage.
02:10The hotel is located in the 8th arrondissement, in one of Paris' finest districts, not far from
02:16the Champs-Élysées.
02:23Le Bristol first opened its doors in 1925.
02:32Its founder, Hippolyte Jamais, aimed to create the ideal luxury hotel.
02:41The hotel was smaller back then.
02:44My father took the smallest room for us, as he'd spent a lot on the construction.
02:51They just pulled out the dresser drawer, and that was my first cradle.
02:59Hippolyte's son Pierre was born just before the hotel opened.
03:06He spent the first months of his life on the first floor, just above the service entrance,
03:11in one of the few rooms that were finished at the time.
03:21As he grew, he learned a lot from his father, like how to quickly and quietly make the right
03:26decision at the right time.
03:36After the First World War ended, Parisians were in the mood to celebrate.
03:40The streets were full of life.
03:43Women became emancipated.
03:45For many Parisians, the Roaring Twenties heralded a fresh start.
03:53The years between 1919 and 1929 were a time when fashion, art and culture flourished.
04:00They were also the years when there were no boundaries between different artistic and cultural domains,
04:07and the fashion world, which experienced its golden age during this period.
04:13The Hôtel Le Bristol Paris was named after Frederick Hervey, the Earl of Bristol.
04:19His travels through Europe in the 18th century made him a symbol of the luxury traveler par excellence.
04:26Hippolyte Jamais came from a family of Parisian restaurateurs.
04:31His parents owned the famous restaurant Le Boeuf à la Mode.
04:38His deployment at the front during the First World War had a strong impact on him and influenced
04:43his later decisions regarding his hotel.
04:47Jamais bought this modest building and transformed it into the Bristol we know today.
04:58In 1925, he had the opportunity to purchase the property on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré,
05:04on which to build his hotel.
05:08He demolished the existing building to construct Le Bristol.
05:13Previously, it had been the private residence of the Comte de Castellan, a dandy who lived
05:19the high life in Paris.
05:23And it was at this location where Hippolyte Jamais built his Bristol.
05:28It was his life's dream and crowning achievement.
05:31Before the war in 1914, his father had sent him to Apprentice at the reception of the Hotel
05:42Adlon in Berlin.
05:44Afterwards, he said, I want my own Adlon.
05:48That's because, in the early 1920s, Paris did not yet have many luxury hotels.
06:04The Bristol was located diagonally opposite the Élysée Palace and the Ministry of the Interior.
06:19Long the political heart of Paris, this area is still the seat of power today.
06:24But, over time, the big fashion labels have also taken up residence on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
06:31and the surrounding streets.
06:34In Paris, politics, luxury, and culture have always gone hand in hand.
06:44Together with his wife Yvonne, who also hailed from a respected family of restauranteurs,
06:49Hippolyte built a hotel which incorporated the latest construction methods.
06:54Here, the city's most famous landmark served as a role model.
07:04They decided to build the framework entirely of metal, just like the Eiffel Tower.
07:12From that point on, a concrete construction was off the table.
07:17That was good, because a metal structure can always be torn down, rebuilt, or enlarged.
07:24What's made of concrete can't be modified so easily.
07:28And because he always wanted to make improvements to the Bristol,
07:32it was constantly under construction.
07:36The bankers were impressed that the Gemay family had a solid enough backing to support these projects.
07:44Their previous ones had proven to be good projects, not just beauty projects.
07:49They were not only about expanding the hotel, but also about making it more efficient and attractive.
07:55And above all, making the hotel a place that would stand the test of time, maybe even times of crisis.
08:02This is what the Bristol looked like in its first decade.
08:09Its art deco decor would soon be mixed with classic 18th century Régence style elements, and later replaced entirely.
08:18Hippolyte Jamais purchased fine furniture, tapestries, even paintings of Marie Antoinette.
08:27Nothing was too good for his guests.
08:30He had created his Parisian Hotel Adlon.
08:37In its early years, the Bristol did a booming business.
08:44You have to imagine a world in which people suddenly had access to things they never did before.
08:53Those who'd worked hard to achieve a certain standard of living suddenly had places to spend their wealth, nice places to spend it.
09:02So they wanted to go there and kept coming back, especially in Paris.
09:07And I think they created a certain joie de vivre, which partially explains the success of this hotel, which was very large for those days.
09:15You don't come to the Bristol just to sleep or enjoy the sights of Paris.
09:27You come to feel like you are a part of history.
09:30The artisan's know-how is extraordinary, right down to the details of the wall coverings. Everything's perfect.
09:37And it's important to incorporate that history when redecorating a room.
09:46For example, when that room tells the story of Josephine Baker, who celebrated her 50th stage anniversary at Le Bristol.
09:56Farron is one of Le Bristol's current residents. Quietly and inconspicuously, the hotel cat watches people come and go.
10:09Le Bristol is one of the few hotels which still hands out real room keys, not key cards.
10:15Josephine Baker stayed here time and again. She spent many happy years in Paris, from the 1920s all the way through to the 1970s.
10:30The suite named after her recalls the years when American tourists descended on Paris in droves.
10:49Aboard large cruise ships like the Mauritania or the Queen Mary, they arrived at the ports of Le Havre and Cherbourg,
10:57bringing with them lots of spending money and an irrepressible love of life.
11:06They traveled on to the French capital to enjoy pleasures forbidden to them in their homeland.
11:13For example, the consumption of alcohol.
11:17Prohibition drove Americans to explore the nightlife of Paris.
11:21Over half a century later, Le Bristol dedicated this small swimming pool, shaped like a ship, to the memory of that American clientele.
11:34The days of the American craze and full guest books ended abruptly in 1929 with the great stock market crash.
11:48The crisis of 1929, the great depression which began in the US with Black Thursday, only reached Europe a little later.
12:05For Europeans, the crisis really began in the early 1930s.
12:12As a result, many of these rich clients were now virtually bankrupt, and therefore far fewer come to Europe.
12:21Countries abandoned the gold standard and currencies became devalued.
12:25For European countries, that meant millions of unemployed.
12:34For European countries, that meant millions of unemployed.
12:38From then on, Le Bristol's rooms remained empty.
12:43The times of plenty were over.
12:47At least for a while.
12:49And that was a problem for Hippolyte Jamais, who had made major investments in this hotel just before the economic crisis began.
13:02There was no one around to admire the hotel's stylish new makeover.
13:07Its luxurious lounges remained empty.
13:09He successfully completed the expansion of the eight floors, each boasting 300 square meters of space.
13:20They faced onto the biggest inner courtyard in Paris.
13:26Here, in this green oasis with 20 different species of birds, his guests were to relax and enjoy some respite in tough times.
13:33But now people had big worries, and Hippolyte Jamais was becoming increasingly bitter, because he feared he'd be forced to give up his dream.
13:45While he'd constantly kept expanding the hotel during the boom years, now he was saddled with a mountain of debt.
13:51He could no longer afford to complete the maisonette he'd planned to build for his family on the seventh and eighth floors.
13:59He felt like a failure, as a businessman and a father.
14:03He fathered 10 children, but didn't really take care of them, because he was Le Bristol.
14:14It was Mama who raised us.
14:17He was a father, but more of a businessman than a family man.
14:22During the Great Depression, when his hotel attracted few guests, Hippolyte Jamais worked on the many small details, inventions and special features which would eventually save Le Bristol.
14:36For instance, Le Bristol was the first hotel in Paris to have combined heating and air conditioning units.
14:49But Hippolyte Jamais' most famous invention was the magnifying mirror.
14:56There are many examples that show he was a visionary.
15:00Take those little magnifying mirrors in the bathrooms, which are now standard fixtures in every hotel around the world.
15:08Now they're completely normal, but they were invented by Hippolyte Jamais, though no one knows that.
15:14If he'd patented them, he'd have become a billionaire.
15:17Unfortunately, he didn't do that at the time.
15:20But that gives you an idea of the kind of hotelier he was, full of ideas, creative.
15:24It was also Hippolyte Jamais' idea to create an air-raid shelter here, to create a place where people could take refuge, yet once again a refuge within a refuge, just in case something really dramatic happened in Paris.
15:43The lean years dragged on.
15:45Still, Hippolyte had a wealth of contacts, bankers, restaurateurs, and politicians, who helped keep him afloat at a time when many hotels were going under.
16:01Ironically, it was only when German troops marched in and seized Paris in 1940 that the tide turned for Hippolyte Jamais and Le Bristol.
16:10As the Germans began to take control of the city and requisition its hotels, Hippolyte had to quickly come up with a plan to save his establishment.
16:25The Nazis requisitioned small, medium, and large hotels according to the hierarchy of the troops who were to be lodged there, whether they were officers or soldiers.
16:35Cinemas were reserved for them, and bordels too, and all the signage was in German.
16:42In roughly the same spot where the hotel bar now stands, Hippolyte Jamais built his famous air-raid shelter.
16:58It was his ace in the hole.
17:01No other hotel could offer its guests such a sense of security.
17:09As Germany had not yet declared war on the United States, Hippolyte Jamais took a big gamble.
17:14I think he realized very quickly that history was sealing the fate of Paris, and with it that of his business.
17:23And of course, he had this famous air-raid shelter, so he went to see the American ambassador in Paris.
17:29Hippolyte asked him to tell all his compatriots, or at least his diplomats in Paris, that they should come and stay here, so that this place would remain almost neutral, as far as that was possible at the time.
17:42So, American diplomats settled in at Le Bristol.
17:52Although the embassy had previously dealt with the Hôtel de Crillon, the Americans were swayed by the air-raid shelter, as well as the fact that Hippolyte let the embassy staff have the rooms for free.
18:03That proved to be another clever move on his part.
18:09After American ambassador William Burlett and his entourage moved in, Le Bristol was not only protected from being seized by the Germans, it was also fully booked for the first time in years.
18:24The hotel was the site of secret political meetings, as well as a place where ordinary visitors from around the world could still find accommodation in wartime.
18:33Because my father had this agreement with the American ambassador, it was considered to be a US hotel. As a result, it was never closed. It was open to Parisians, to everybody.
18:52In spite of all the restrictions, the Bristol was flourishing again, the only hotel in the city to do so.
18:59Many Jewish citizens were already fleeing from the Nazis.
19:04For some of them, Le Bristol became a place of refuge.
19:09Together with her aid organization, Anne Morgan, the daughter of famous American banker J.P. Morgan, arranged lodgings at the hotel for numerous Jews from 1940 to 41.
19:19They were later evacuated to the U.S.
19:24But Hippolyte Jamais also secretly stowed away another Jewish citizen. His name was Leo Lerman.
19:31The Jew he hid was his architect, Monsieur Lerman. He created the new restaurant that still exists today.
19:44Monsieur Lerman lived in room 106 for the entire duration of the war.
19:49He sent his family, his children, to Switzerland. He was the only one in his family who stayed in Paris.
19:59My father put him up and paid him as a full-time employee.
20:04The elevator's wrought iron grill is the work of Leo Lerman, as are many other features still in existence at the Bristol today.
20:19For a full four years, Lerman lived in hiding here.
20:29And during this time, he renovated a large part of the hotel.
20:37He was an extraordinary man. Even today you can't walk through this hotel without mentioning him.
20:43Though Lerman himself had to keep his wanderings here to a minimum.
21:02The funniest thing is that he kept on working for Le Bristol just at night.
21:07So he walked through the hallways at night. He designed the wrought iron grill on the Bristol's elevator during this time.
21:17At the end of the war, he left the hotel as a free man.
21:22Lerman renovated 50 rooms during his years at Le Bristol.
21:37Lerman renovated 50 rooms during his years at Le Bristol.
21:40He was a man who could walk into an existing room and, in the blink of an eye, knew just what could be done to make it even more pleasant.
21:57Right under the noses of the German occupiers and other guests, he bravely and secretly supervised the renovations from his hotel room.
22:05Back then, no one was to know he was there, because little indiscretions are quickly committed.
22:17People are only human, after all.
22:20But Monsieur Germain even made his room number disappear entirely.
22:24So that in people's minds, this room didn't even exist.
22:28Room 106? No, there's room 105, but 106 doesn't exist.
22:32It's not known what happened to Leo Lerman after the war, and Hippolyte Germain never breathed a word about this incredible story.
22:44I think that for him to have taken the risk, because it was a risk for which Monsieur Germain could have paid a heavy price,
22:53they must have been more than casual acquaintances. Over time they became quite close.
23:01There are certain cases like this of French people who saved other French Jews.
23:07We call this micro-history.
23:08But I think these little stories give this hotel a history and humanity.
23:19I think we also have a need to show that such cases of solidarity exist,
23:25that this hotel saved a man's life.
23:28I think it's important to save a man's life.
23:29When the United States entered the war in December 1941, the situation changed yet again, for Hippolyte Germain and his hotel too.
23:47The Bristol, which had previously been neutral territory, now catered to the German embassy's guests.
23:57So, after the war, Hippolyte was accused of collaborating with the Nazis,
24:02as he was under the command of the chief of protocol of the German embassy in Paris, Fritz Bodeau.
24:07For a time, he had to work together with this chief of protocol from the German embassy in Paris,
24:19who was visibly very harsh, even in his contact with Hippolyte Germain.
24:25Unfortunately, observers didn't catch on to that right away, which you can understand at such an overwhelming time.
24:31I can only imagine that this kind of interaction in a hotel, that was supposedly a hotel for diplomats,
24:40neutral, protected, quiet, would raise lots and lots of questions.
24:44But afterwards it turned out the person in question was a double agent, I believe.
24:50Did he know Bodeau was a German who spied for the French?
24:55Hippolyte Germain kept his silence, even though he could have cleared his name.
24:58His discretion applied to everyone.
25:02Simone de Beauvoir lived in the hotel during the war.
25:07The Ritz is associated with personalities like Coco Chanel, who lived there for 30 years.
25:14It's similar with other hotels.
25:17With Le Maurice, it's Salvador Dali.
25:19But to my knowledge, the Bristol never used artists, intellectuals or painters to draw attention to itself.
25:28Nothing ever stuck, neither talk of collaboration, nor secret stories about hidden people.
25:35Maybe because it's such a discreet place.
25:40And those who are very discreet, leave no traces behind.
25:54As the end of the Second World War drew closer, Parisians longed for peace.
26:18And on August 25th, 1944, their wish was granted.
26:38With the liberation of Paris.
26:40By this time, Hippolyte Germain had skillfully guided his hotel through 20 tumultuous years of history in the making.
26:59And in the final hours of the German occupation, he even helped to alter the course of history.
27:14Hitler's order to completely destroy Paris was not executed in the end.
27:20And Le Bristol played a part in this.
27:22In exchange for sparing the city, 150 German officers' wives were hidden from the French resistance at Le Bristol for a night.
27:32And smuggled out of Paris unharmed.
27:37The man responsible for cutting the deal was Swedish Consul General Raoul Nordling.
27:42Who knew Hippolyte Germain and Le Bristol very well.
27:52Today, the hotel's role in this story is hardly known.
28:00Le Bristol has never boasted about this part of its history.
28:03Its focus remains on being the ideal luxury hotel.
28:09But Léo Lermont, the Jewish architect who found refuge here, left his mark on the Bristol's restaurant.
28:14In 1940, the hotel's coal store was located here. The room was badly damaged.
28:25Lermont covered the walls of the oval-shaped room with light-colored wood.
28:29He swapped the Art Deco furnishings for fine 18th century style furniture, giving the room a sense of elegance, warmth, intimacy and distinction.
28:38Chef Eric Fréchon has made the Bristol's Epicure restaurant into a culinary temple, which holds three Michelin stars.
28:49Every day, table reservations are discussed. The restaurant is always fully booked.
28:57Who's coming? Are they VIPs?
29:01The waitstaff try out the new dishes on the menu. They must know exactly what they're serving, and how it tastes.
29:12Thank you, Chef.
29:14Come on, come on, come on.
29:19The wine selection must also be perfect. The sommelier coordinates it with the chef and the restaurant manager.
29:35Hippolyte Jamais was the only hotel owner in Paris who remained lord of his castle throughout the war.
29:41In the post-war period, the hotel's exceptionally good condition, which owed much to Léon Lermont, led the French Foreign Ministry to officially designate Le Bristol as the place to stay when ambassadors and accredited diplomats visited the French capital.
29:59Paris was once again a major player on the international political stage, and visiting world leaders also needed hotel rooms.
30:13West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer often stayed at Le Bristol.
30:19And it was here that he and French President Charles de Gaulle hammered out the final details of the Élysée Treaty, the friendship treaty between France and West Germany.
30:28I think from the start, Chancellor Adenauer had an apartment here, from the time he started coming to Paris regularly, though he didn't always physically occupy it.
30:43And after that, it was standard practice for all German chancellors to have an apartment in Paris.
30:48They didn't have to register or ask the ambassador to prepare for their arrival. It was like they were at home.
30:56It was like they were at home.
31:02In his day, Hippolyte Jamais met many great statesmen, including then US President Harry Truman.
31:08Le Bristol was now a true luxury class hotel.
31:12Even today, politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, appreciate its relative seclusion.
31:18I think Le Bristol has always been a meeting place for the powerful, due to its proximity to the Élysée Palace and the Interior Ministry.
31:36So the political world has always been here, the business world as well, because businessmen meet politicians in places of power.
31:46And a lot of galleries have set up shop nearby.
31:56One morning in May 1964, Hippolyte Jamais unexpectedly collapsed on the sidewalk.
32:02Two days later, after suffering a heart attack and a stroke, he died.
32:08From then on, his eldest son Pierre ran the family business.
32:12Pierre the young rebel became Pierre the hotel manager and husband.
32:20For Le Bristol, he flew around the world.
32:28Like his father before him, Pierre Jamais met with VIPs, like then-future French president Jacques Chirac.
32:36But what would a luxury hotel be without a truly romantic love story?
32:48After Pierre's divorce from his first wife, Heidi entered his life.
32:52The young German woman was looking for a job, at the Bristol in Paris, of all places.
32:58I left home at 19, I wasn't even of age, you only were at 21 back then, and came to Paris.
33:14It was a 22-hour train trip to travel from Berlin to Paris, long enough to fly to America three times today.
33:28When he finally received me, it took just half an hour, and I was hired.
33:36It all went quite fast.
33:38Have you done? No, you can't do that here. What do you want to do?
33:43He said, I don't care, tell me what you want me to do.
33:47And that was it. Do you have a room? No, then you'll get one. Dinner, etc.
33:52In half an hour, I was out the door.
33:54Back then, Pierre Jamais was twice Heidi's age.
34:02But that proved no obstacle.
34:05It was love at first sight.
34:11How sweet.
34:13The couple married in 1966.
34:20Three years later, their daughter was born.
34:24The family enjoyed living in the hotel.
34:28They received the guests, and represented and carried on Hippolyte Jamais' legacy.
34:33It was our passion.
34:37It was simply the nicest thing in the world.
34:41Pierre and Heidi continued to run the hotel through the 1960s and 70s.
34:47Back then, strict codes of conducts were still in place at luxury hotels.
34:56We actually wanted more of a quiet clientele.
34:59We did have actors, but not like they have today.
35:02It was all still a little old-fashioned.
35:07For example, no man could enter the restaurant without wearing a tie.
35:12Today, that's unthinkable.
35:15Later, Le Bristol got its own hair salon.
35:19And last but not least, something Hippolyte Jamais had always rejected out of hand.
35:23An in-house bar.
35:24My father, with his diplomatic clientele, did not want a bar in the Bristol.
35:36He was afraid that street-walkers would come into the hotel.
35:39I opened the bar.
35:51In 1975, Josephine Baker celebrated her 50th stage anniversary in Paris.
35:57250 invited guests came to Le Bristol to join in the revelry
36:01with the legendary American-born performer who found fame in France.
36:05The people who lived in France were in Paris.
36:08It was the last big soirée presided over by the Jamais family.
36:16Josephine Baker also celebrated the last evening of her life here.
36:20It was the last big soirée presided over by the Jamais family.
36:24We held the last dinner for Josephine Baker, who died the next day.
36:35Her funeral was held at La Madeleine.
36:45We had lots and lots of artists.
36:48Actress Cécile Sorel came down the stairs and asked, did I look good doing that?
36:56Lots of artists, too.
37:03Le Bristol now boasts one of the largest hotel wine cellars in France.
37:07Almost 100,000 bottles are stored here. 85% of them are French wines.
37:18Some 15 years ago, Le Bristol began producing its own house wine and has amassed quite a collection.
37:30Sommelier Bernard Neveu always finds just the right vintage to go with every meal served at the Epicure restaurant.
37:40Even Hippolyte Jamais wasn't averse to a glass or two.
37:45Of course, Le Bristol had a wine cellar back then, though it didn't have as many bottles.
37:54We've been lucky enough to acquire a large number of bottles.
37:58And through the great efforts of the chef, the restaurant was awarded with first two, then three Michelin stars.
38:04So we've really expanded our wine cellar because the demand is there.
38:10Clients who come to eat lunch or dinner at a three-star restaurant are connoisseurs when it comes to wine and gastronomy.
38:17So we must respond to that demand, and that's what we've done.
38:20Almost a century has passed since Le Bristol first opened its doors.
38:27In 1978, the Jamais family sold the hotel.
38:31In addition to Pierre, the managing director, Hippolyte had nine other children who stood to inherit their share.
38:37Today, Le Bristol is a five-star palace hotel, the highest hotel classification that exists in France.
38:50It's managed to retain its original character, discreet, unobtrusive and laid-back, while moving with the times.
38:57Things have evolved. As you can see now, I'm the first female head concierge of a Parisian palace hotel.
39:08At the start, this was mainly a man's profession. Why?
39:13Because concierges used to work their way up from being porters, valets or bellboys.
39:19Back then, they had to carry heavy loads, not the small, ultra-light suitcase as we have today.
39:24So they were essentially all men.
39:28And then they had to park nice cars, which was also a male domain.
39:33But today there are schools which let young people, young women, train to be concierges and enable them to enter this profession.
39:42Sonia Papé's duties as concierge differ considerably from those of her predecessors.
39:47Maybe there was a telephone in the beginning, but maybe not. Then fax machines and telex.
39:58Communication was very different back then.
40:02And when you wanted to make a reservation at the restaurant, you had to know the phone number by heart, have the right contacts.
40:08I've been told that when they left an establishment, concierges sold their address books.
40:18They sold their positions with all the contacts that acquired as a concierge.
40:22Now, with the new social networks and the internet, our clients can get all the information they want.
40:31So our profession has changed entirely, as the clients are already experts.
40:37They already know what they want to do as soon as they arrive at the hotel.
40:41Le Bristol is open to all, yet retains an air of mystery.
40:52Woody Allen shot his film Midnight in Paris here, and A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio are regular guests, who can come and go virtually unnoticed.
40:59We've added a touch of glamour to Le Bristol in recent years.
41:12Before, things here were more masculine. Diplomats, businessmen, high finance.
41:19And now we've given it a bit of glamour with the cinema, but while remaining very discreet.
41:25It all comes back to that aspect of being safe, of being sheltered from everything.
41:35Even if you do something terrible, even if you leave here thinking you should never have done it,
41:41what happens here stays here, word will never get out.
41:45And this aspect of silence, which we call discretion, is something that has always characterised us.
41:51And what's good is, it's something that underlines the family aspect.
41:56What happens in a family, stays in a family.
41:59That here remains in a family.
42:00I've changed again.
42:01A family came back.
42:02We have decided toá»±c
42:05And take care of
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