We finally visited one of the mansions on Parc Monceau. It's now the Nissim de Camondo Museum, which opened as a museum in 1935. The mansion was built in 1911 by the Comte Moïse de Camondo, a prominent Jewish banker, in order to house his collection of 18th century French furniture and artwork. Its design was modeled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles. Both the house and the collection were donated to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in honor of his only son, Nissim de Camondo, who fought and died for France in World War I.
More tragedy followed in 1943. During the German occupation during World War II, Camondo's only daughter, Béatrice, believed her wealth and influential position in Parisian society would shield her from being deported by the Nazis. But in 1943 she, her ex-husband, composer Léon Reinach, and their two children were forced out of their home and taken to the Drancy deportation camp north of Paris, and from there they were deported to Auschwitz where they were all killed.
In the museum is a letter from Béatrice's ex-husband urging her to leave Paris with their children, which she disregarded. Other highlights of the museum are the Grand Salon, the Grand Bureau, the library, the dining room, and the French silver service. The woodwork of the mansion also is extraordinary.
