The Paris Architect

“But what was happening to the Jews was a political matter that was out of his control, even if he thought it was unfair.” 

As a gentile, Lucien has the privilege of ignoring the plight of the Jewish people. While their oppression is a daily reality, to Lucien it is only an abstract political concept. As such, he can divorce himself from all sense of control and culpability.

“Granted, it was suicide to get involved in this. But… if it was done cleverly, maybe the Jew would never be discovered, no one would know of his involvement, and best of all, Lucien would make a huge amount of money plus get a big commission out of it.” 

Lucien’s initial refusal to take on the project of hiding a Jewish man is shaken as he considers the money he would make. Furthermore, the factory commission could be his chance for his “big break” in the architectural world.

“He’d done it! It was such a brilliant, elegant, and ingenious solution. He’d fool those fucking Nazi bastards.” 

Lucien’s excited, proud thought belies his earlier answer, setting the rest of his story in motion. This is the point of no return.

“Honor and service to country were ideals cherished by the French, although he’d always thought of them as a load of patriotic horse manure. But since his return to Paris, he’d had a gnawing feeling inside him that he was a coward.” 

Lucien realizes that his history of self-serving behavior left him with an impression of himself he does not like. The way to remove this view is to act out of accordance with it: he must be brave. It is this desire for self-respect that ensures his involvement in creating the hiding place.

“Maybe this was something he could do to get back at the Germans. Sure, he couldn’t risk his neck by shooting them, but he could risk it in his own way. And besides, given the solution he’d invented, was there really that much risk? The Gestapo would search and search the apartment and never find the hiding place. That image pleased the hell out of him.” 

Lucien begins to see his work with Manet as a rebellion against his German oppressors—heroic in its own way and sufficiently brilliant to flatter his ego.

“So you see, Monsieur Bernard, in a way, when I hide these people, I’m hiding Madame Ducrot.” 

Manet reveals the motivation for his expansive efforts to save Jewish people from the Nazis: his childhood nanny, Madame Ducrot. Without her influence, Manet likely would have shunned the Jewish plight like the other members of his social circle. 

“If a Jew is found in your building, every last one of you will be shot. If a Jew is found on the fifth floor and you live on the second floor—you die. It’s as simple as that.” 

Captain Bruckner announced this to the inhabitants of an apartment building where a Jewish man had been hidden. Part of the way the Nazis maintained control was through acts of terrorism. By enforcing these cruel policies, gentiles were less likely to risk the lives of all their neighbors to hide a Jewish person.

“They were all going to look the other way; they didn’t want to see what was going to happen to the people waiting in the street. That’s the way the French acted during the Occupation—they didn’t want to see. All that mattered was that they weren’t rounded up.” 

As a survival mechanism, French citizens in this book choose to ignore the unpleasant realities of daily genocide to draw minimal attention and danger to themselves.

“That wasn’t what this was supposed to be about. This was supposed to be about fitting an object of certain dimensions into an enclosed space with adequate clearances, rather like placing an object inside a box to be mailed. All for twenty-seven thousand francs and the opportunity to design a huge factory – to show the world that he really could do a great design. And now this wonderful car. And the unexpected pleasure of fooling the Germans. He almost wished Manet had said nothing about the people involved. He didn’t want to think of them.” 

When Manet tells Lucien that his creation saved lives, he is unable to think in the detached, clinical terms he had used before. This marks the turning point where he begins to think of the Jewish people hiding in his creations not as cargo but as people.

“That’s a great story, I knew it would have a happy ending.” 

Father Jacques tells Lucien about Nicholas Owen, who designed hiding places for the Catholic priests during the persecution of Catholics in Elizabethan England and was tortured to death. Lucien’s sarcastic reply implies a certain acceptance of the likelihood of his own death. While the tone may be glib, it reflects a key change in his mentality: going from hoping he will not be caught to accepting that he may be and proceeding with his actions anyway.

“All for some stupid self-righteous notion about helping one’s fellow man.” 

When Celeste berates Lucien for saving Jewish lives, she reminds him how entire families are killed simply because one member hid a Jewish person. She says his reasoning for endangering their own lives is stupid, and when he disagrees, it reflects a change in his perspective from selfish pragmatism to a more idealistic stance.

“They’d died saving him, when he was supposed to save them.” 

The Serraults’ death haunts Lucien, and the guilt prompts him to commit to being more diligent about both structure and comfort when designing future hiding spots. As a result, the pregnant Juliette successfully escapes the Gestapo when they burn the house down where she is hiding.

“The punishment for being a Jew in the Reich crossed the line into barbarism. They were being hunted down like wild animals. What made it so sickening was that it wasn’t perpetrated by a bunch of ignorant half-naked savages, but the citizens of a nation renowned for its culture and intelligence that had produced men like Goethe and Beethoven.” 

To Lucien, the most horrifying part about the atrocities the Nazis committed is that the Germans are civilized Europeans in other ways. As France’s intellectual and cultural peers, Lucien believes it should not be possible for the Germans to commit such horrors.

“When he asked himself why he was risking his life, the answer wasn’t the cash, the factories, or the sheer thrill of the challenge. He was risking his life because it was the right thing to do. He had to go beyond himself and help these people.” 

Lucien acknowledges the change in his perspective and motivations. Where once he was a self-centered man trying to better his own business situation, now he works for moral reasons. As such, he cannot stop.

“He loved and needed the boy with all his heart and couldn’t bear to part with him. He didn’t want to do it.”

 After the close call at the National Library, Lucien realizes Pierre is not safe in France. Still, he is heartbroken at the idea of being separated. He realizes he loves Pierre as a son and will not part from him if he can avoid it.

“‘To live defeated is to die every day.’” 

A Resistance member tells Lucien that they must fight the Nazis, even if the repercussions are terrible, because it is better to fight than to accept defeat and live under oppression.

“Pierre vowed that it would never be repeated. He had to be a man now; that’s what his father had told him at his bar mitzvah.” 

After watching Madame Charpointier’s murder, Pierre is determined to keep Lucien from the same fate. Because he is considered a man in Jewish culture, Pierre believes his ability to protect Lucien defines his manhood.

“Although this suicidal situation scared him shitless, he had no intention of backing out. He wanted to do it.” 

When faced with the prospect of hiding the Reich’s most wanted Jewish man in an apartment across the street from their headquarters, Lucien realizes that the risk was no longer part of his decision-making process. Despite fully understanding that discovery would his death, he decides to move forward with it.

“He was quite proud that he’d protected his protector this time—and he’d done it all on his own like a man should.” 

After killing Alain, Pierre has no remorse. He is proud that he succeeded in protecting Lucien by killing the man who would have caused his death. 

“Lucien figured that since he’d conceived the building, he alone had the right to kill it.” 

Lucien’s decision to blow up his own building demonstrates how much he has changed. While he reconciled himself to the idea that the building belongs to the Reich and is not truly his, he spent so long painstakingly bringing it to life that he feels he has the right and obligation to destroy it.

“Lucien wasn’t scared. He realized he was quite at peace with himself because he’d finally become something he’d always wanted to be—a father—and best of all, he’d been good at it.” 

In contrast to his initial intentions, Lucien views a life lived in accordance with his newly acquired principles more important than longevity. Having succeeded in his dream of being a good father—and arranged Pierre’s safety—Lucien considers his life a success and can face death with self-respect.

“‘Better wait until the middle of the night to get him out of there. And you, my friend, must be gone by tomorrow night.’” 

With this statement, Herzog reveals that he knows Lucien is hiding Janusky and, rather than exposing him, has protected him from Schlegal. He spares his friend from the death sentence his activities would invite.

“But Lucien knew he hadn’t failed in the least. He thought he didn’t have it in him to help another human being. But to his great surprise, he did. He was proud of it. And he had proved his father wrong.” 

Lucien is proud of his growth and newfound moral fiber, and he is satisfied that, regardless of the opinions of others like his father, he knows he has done the right thing.