The Enigma of Pierre Lottier
Pierre Lottier, a renowned designer and restaurateur, was a man of many facets. His public life was marked by glamor and recognition, but behind his charming facade hid a dark past that remained hidden for a long time.
The historian Xavier Juncosa, after arduous research, has brought Lottier’s double life to light in his book ‘The Double Life of Pierre Lottier’. Declassified documents from France’s Vichy period have revealed a disturbing past.
The Gestapo Collaborator
During World War II, Lottier, a far-right sympathizer, collaborated with the Gestapo. He worked as a transporter, moving objects stolen from deported Jews from France, Belgium and Holland to southern European cities for sale.
His partner in this sinister enterprise was Erich Schiffmann, Gestapo agent. Lottier selected the pieces and sold them legally through Sebastià Manonellas, owner of Decoration Manonellas, who served as a cover.
In addition to payments from the Gestapo, Lottier amassed a large personal fortune through the trafficking of stolen goods.
Escape and Reinvention
With the end of the war, Lottier fled France to Catalonia to avoid imprisonment. The Franco authorities received him with open arms.
At the same time, he became a collaborator of De Gaulle’s French government, providing information on senior Nazi officials. This skillful maneuver allowed him to avoid extradition and begin to build an image of respectability in Spain.
The Second Life of Pierre Lottier
In the fifties, Lottier rubbed shoulders with high society. He promoted boxing matches, designed interiors and furniture, and even worked as a set designer in the film ‘The Mechanical Pianos’.
He discovered Cadaqués and bought L’Hostal, a luxury restaurant where he served the elite for a decade.
In the mid-sixties, he moved to Santa Susanna, where he opened the hotel-restaurant La Réserve, a place frequented by the jet-set.
In his final years, Lottier restored and decorated the Ritz Hotel in Barcelona. In an interview, he stated: ‘As long as our society endures, there will be a nostalgic justification for a sweeter time, where the individual still counted.’
The Legacy of a Two-Face Man
Pierre Lottier died in 1987 and was buried in Pineda de Mar. His grave also houses his mother and stepfather.
Those who knew Lottier remember him as a charismatic and successful man. However, his past as a Nazi collaborator and dealer in stolen goods casts a shadow over his legacy.
Pierre Lottier’s story is a reminder that even seemingly respectable people can have dark secrets. His double life serves as a warning about the dangers of indifference and complicity in times of conflict.
