1945: The Lubinskis moved to Valence

    After France was liberated in 1944, my grandfather demobilized from the maquis, and went to work for the French government, putting his engineering skills to use, helping to rebuild and repair buildings damaged by war. They even provided him with a car to use, and gasoline rations so that he could get around.  He was in charge of the Valence area, so they moved from Beaumont-lès-Valence, into an apartment in Valence, at 9 Rue du Parc, 26000 Valence, France.  Today, there is a city building right across the street, but it was built later.  

    The street was very narrow, and my grandfather didn't park the car in front of the apartment. Rather, he kept it about 1/2 mile away (0.8 km) under a carport. 

Number 9 is the dark tan building on the left, with a balcony.

    I don't know exactly when they moved into this apartment; I'm guessing around January of 1945.  They were living there when my mother was born that December, and my Uncle Paul visited them there at least once.

    I also don't know exactly when they moved out of this apartment - I have letters sent to that address dating from May 1946.  I suppose they might have moved out of the apartment before then, and the letters forwarded to their new address, but that doesn't seem likely. Right after the war ended, it was hit-or-miss getting letters into or out of France (right after their area was liberated, my grandparents sent seven postcards to my Uncle Jake in America, letting him know they were OK). But this was 18 months later, and I believe that by that point, it only took a couple of weeks for letters to get across the Atlantic.