This exceptional bit of history is now written with a capital H. Hired by Printemps Haussmann in 1911 as a handkerchief salesman, Raoul Minot rose through the ranks to become assistant head of the “reserves”, where merchandise was stored. His wife, Marthe, also worked at the store as a cashier. During the German Occupation between 1940 and 1942, he courageously documented daily life in Paris, clandestinely taking some 700 photographs that shed light on the German presence and the realities of this dark period. Following a denunciation, he was arrested by the police and died in 1945 in Germany, shortly after his liberation. Nicknamed the “ghost photographer”, Raoul Minot remained unknown for decades until an investigation by Le Monde, published in August 2024, revealed his identity and his story, which is now part of the Printemps Group's heritage.
