World War II-Era Letter Discovered in Louis XV Desk at Versailles Chateau

For 67 years, a message from Nazi-occupied France remained hidden in a secret drawer of a desk that belonged to France’s 18th century King Louis XV. Restorers at the Chateau of Versailles recently discovered the letter, written by a World War II-era colleague who last restored the bronze-coated bureau.

The letter, released Tuesday by the chateau, details restoration work on the desk during the war. The restorer says he wrote the note after he finished the work — just as Paris was being liberated from the Nazis in August 1944.

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