History of the Hotel
The Hotel d'Alsace, built in 1987, was constructed on the site of the "Bamberger" mill.
Mr. Weigel, a local historian, kindly shared this information with us about the history of the mill and its last residents. Also known as the "Wormmühle," it had existed since at least 1710.
Among the owners were: Christian Muller in the 1710s and 1720s, Georges Ernst in 1779, the Widow Craft just before the Revolution, Michel Ehrstein around 1815-1825, and Geoffroy Demmé in 1835. Then there is another Ehrstein (Jacques).
The last family to operate the mill was the Bamberger family. The Bambergers owned the mill from 1905 (perhaps earlier, but without proof) until its destruction in 1940.
The photo above of the Hôtel d'Alsace was taken shortly after its construction in 1987.
Among the owners were: Christian Muller in the 1710s and 1720s, Georges Ernst in 1779, the Widow Craft just before the Revolution, Michel Ehrstein around 1815-1825, and Geoffroy Demmé in 1835. Then there is another Ehrstein (Jacques).
The last family to operate the mill was the Bamberger family. The Bambergers owned the mill from 1905 (perhaps earlier, but without proof) until its destruction in 1940.
The photo above of the Hôtel d'Alsace was taken shortly after its construction in 1987.
The photos below show the mill during the time of the Bamberger family. One of the two little girls in front of the mill is Elise Bamberger (born in Wissembourg in 1901), who married Emile Pradelle in 1924.
Emile and Elise Pradelle (Emile is in his Air Force officer's uniform) can be seen in the photo taken in front of the mill at the wedding of Elise's brother in 1938/9.
The photos were found by Mr. Weigel when the "Pradelle" house was sold at auction (the brick house to the right of the Hôtel).
Emile and Elise Pradelle (Emile is in his Air Force officer's uniform) can be seen in the photo taken in front of the mill at the wedding of Elise's brother in 1938/9.
The photos were found by Mr. Weigel when the "Pradelle" house was sold at auction (the brick house to the right of the Hôtel).
Heavily damaged during the Second World War, what remained of the mill was subsequently razed.
From September 1940 onwards, the mill suffered considerable damage. An article in the "Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten" states :
"In Wissembourg, the dynamiting of the bridges undertaken by French troops on the Haguenau road and at the edge of town on the Germania side caused significant damage. The Bamberger Mill was largely destroyed. The sluice gates and turbines were mostly destroyed and are now nothing but ruins. The owner of the business did not live to see the destruction of his life's work, as he died eight days after the evacuation of the town."
From September 1940 onwards, the mill suffered considerable damage. An article in the "Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten" states :
"In Wissembourg, the dynamiting of the bridges undertaken by French troops on the Haguenau road and at the edge of town on the Germania side caused significant damage. The Bamberger Mill was largely destroyed. The sluice gates and turbines were mostly destroyed and are now nothing but ruins. The owner of the business did not live to see the destruction of his life's work, as he died eight days after the evacuation of the town."
Elise and Emile Pradelle married in 1924 and managed a farm in Rhue, Allier. This farm also served as a cover, allowing him and several other soldiers to avoid the Compulsory Work Service by posing as farm laborers. Emile Pradelle joined the Resistance in the "Alliance" network under the pseudonym "Corsaire" and became the head of the Vichy sector as well as the deputy for the Central region.
The Pradelle couple were arrested in Vichy in 1943 following the betrayal of an infiltrated double agent. Emile Pradelle was interned in Clermont-Ferrand and Fresnes before being transferred to Freiburg im Breisgau. The Gestapo in Strasbourg accused him of spying for a foreign power.
The Pradelle couple were arrested in Vichy in 1943 following the betrayal of an infiltrated double agent. Emile Pradelle was interned in Clermont-Ferrand and Fresnes before being transferred to Freiburg im Breisgau. The Gestapo in Strasbourg accused him of spying for a foreign power.
On November 28, 1944, Pradelle and two other members of the Alliance resistance group were taken from their cells by the Gestapo, who shot them in front of the prison gate in reprisal for the RAF bombing of Freiburg the previous day.
Emile Pradelle, already a recipient of the Legion of Honour, was posthumously awarded the Resistance Medal on July 7, 1945.
Elise Pradelle was also interned in Clermont-Ferrand before being sent to the Ravensbrück and Holleischen concentration camps. She was liberated in April 1945 in extremely poor health, from which she never fully recovered.
She was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour on April 11, 1956.
Elise Pradelle died on January 9, 1969, in Wissembourg.
The photo on the left shows the mill from the opposite bank of the Lauter. Today, only a section of the sloping walls that would have enclosed the wheel remain.
In the photo on the right, behind the mill, you can see the building with its stepped facade. This building was part of the Hoche barracks (destroyed in 1973).
