Throughout the time he spent living in the US, Georges’ marriage to Alice helped ease the transition and blend his identity from that of a Frenchman to that of a US citizen. Georges first met Alice on a visit to the United States, before he knew that citizenship was in his future. He was charmed by her beauty, and they married soon after. He spoke of her most highly throughout their lives – he is quoted in The Elegant Auctioneers (see book page, below) having gushed over Alice: “She was exquisitely feminine and slightly poor, as I hear all young Southern ladies are.
Still, they supposedly live in such fine houses, attended by hosts of fly-swatting servants – but enough. Why tease you unbearably with the multitude of her charms? I warn you she is the only luxury of my life I do not share.”
Alice proved to be more than just a “luxury” as the couple was forced to flee from Hitler’s wrath in 1939. They arrived in the US on June 10, 1940 – Just 7 days before France fell to the Germans during World War 2. As Alice herself wrote, “The wealthiest Jewish fortunes from all over the world had fled here – because of Hitler, the Gestapo, and concentration camps.” (see Alice Lurcy’s letter to J.P. Morgan, below). In an interview with Alice Lurcy’s niece, Alice Nelson, and her husband, Lewis Nelson, Mr. Nelson posits that “Alice became such an asset, politically as well as her beauty, because she had the correct credentials for getting out of Germany.”
To be sure, Alice’s American citizenship provided a variety of convenient connections by which she and Georges could transfer their belongings and themselves. A few months before their move, with the help of J.P. Morgan, Georges transferred all of his existing wealth to Alice. The confirmation of said transfer was sent to Alice’s family’s home in North Carolina (See letter, left, second paragraph). Morgan had been the custodian of Georges’ wealth when he first came to the US as well, and seemed to be the orchestrator of that transition via Alice. Families of French citizens were closely watched by government authorities during this time, and J.P. Morgan provided Alice with letters for the Immigration and Naturalization authorities saying that she “had financial wealth to support [Georges].” (See letter, below, second paragraph) The fact that Alice was in possession of these funds helped to establish their legitimacy and protect them from falling into the wrong hands. According to Alice, the proof that the money was hers allowed for four main advantages, as listed in a written summary of Georges’ federal tax dealings (See list items 1-4 in letter below). Notably, the transfer was not seamless – later legal troubles arose as several lawyers and tax entities called the Lurcys’ adherence to proper tax payments into question after Georges’ death.
