Moselle: Letters from Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of Europe, found in a garage

It is a "happy surprise" that will enrich the archival collections relating to European construction. A few months ago, Jean-Luc Bohl, the mayor of Montigny-lès-Metz ( Moselle ), was presented with unpublished writings by Robert Schuman, a member of parliament for Moselle in 1919 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1948 to 1952, who was also the author of a project for the unification of Europe aimed at avoiding new wars.

"A former city official contacted me to give me these documents he had found in his garage. We met outside the city and he opened his safe. He gave me a large stack of manuscripts, about 15 cm high!"

Documents that were previously unknown, "carefully preserved in a box by my predecessor at the town hall, who was close to Robert Schuman. And ultimately these writings had been lost," explains Jean-Luc Bohl. Manuscripts protected in pockets, still very legible. "There are correspondence exchanged with Jean Monnet ( both considered founding fathers of European construction ), original texts of lectures he gave."

Robert Schuman, who died in 1963 and was a proponent of "diplomacy rather than pointless conflict," according to Jean-Luc Bohl, expressed his commitment in these works. "Reading them, I was able to draw a parallel between the situation at the time, for example, the rejection of the European Defense Community, and the situation today. This demonstrates his visionary side. We see in many ways that he was a precursor to a Europe of peace. He truly fought for his ideas in these writings," says the elected representative from Moselle. This additional contribution to history "will be of benefit to researchers and activists for Europe."

The documents are currently "safe and secure at the town hall of Montigny-lès-Metz" before being officially handed over to the Moselle departmental archives and to the Robert Schuman house in Scy-Chazelles, not far from Montigny-lès-Metz.