Soltner in France

Born on 20 November 1932, André Soltner was the second son of a cabinetmaker in the small town of Thann in Alsace, a border region which had restored to France by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. His language at home was Alsatian, while school was conducted entirely in French. When Alsace was effectively annexed by the Nazis in 1940, the French language was suppressed, and school was taught in German until the war ended and Alsace went back to using French. Consequently, English would become Soltner’s fourth language; Soltner always retained his Alsatian accent and would initially run his kitchen at Lutèce entirely in French, as he had arrived in America knowing very little English.