France 1954 -> Home

The 1954 French flap:

The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.

NOVEMBER 2, 1954, SARREGUEMINES, MOSELLE:

Reference number for this case: 2-Nov-54-Sarreguemines. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

REPORTS:

[Ref. dn1:] "DERNIERES NOUVELLES D'ALSACE" NEWSPAPER:

REGIONAL INFORMATION

It could not fly, obviously...

THE SARREGUEMINE "SAUCER"
was born in the mind of a prankster

NANCY. -- Tuesday morning, one of our Lorraine fellow newspaper published photographs representing a flying saucer repoertedly seen close to Sarreguemines. The photographs were taken by a professional photographer who approached, according to his statements, within 12 meters of the craft.

Needless to say that these images and the accompanying comments caused a sensation. At the same time they [] under the eyes ones of the one who, in the beginning, just wanted to play a prank to friends and are the [] took without his knowledge an unexpected turn.

[], [], who gave the photographs [] his brother, acknowledged mystification to the gendarmes. His photography of a flying saucer at 12 meters, is only a skilful assembly. This [] changed his statements soon afterwards in front of the journalists who [], and this prank, if it is a prank, [] to have legal consuqquences for him which he certainly did not expect.

A student of Sarreguemines revealed Tuesday morning the truth [] exclaimed [] the newspaper and by seeing the saucers. He went at once to meet the correspondent of a newspaper of the area and told him what had occurred. To play a prank on friends, this student had manufactured at home a flying saucer using a pan lid, an oven round and wire. He had placed moss on the table of his kitchen to make believe in grasses and, with clever lighting, he had let cigarettes burn behind his invention to produce smoke which further added to the mystery. He took several photographs and went to bring the film to a laboratory where [] worked. When he came back [] days later, Gérault [] film was bad [] the student soon forgot [] the photographs [] [] made use of it for [] hoax. Such is [] that the young photographer [] morning to the gendarmes.

He was [] Sarreguemines with sev[] came to investigate on [] representatives of the [] severe. They lead him to [] restaurant room [] more explana[]. [], Gérault was [] and admitted the hoax [] recorded his statements [] went without [] him . Moments later, Gérault [] the journalists and had lied to the gendarmes [] first version [] that's how far things are. [] hoax, it'[] cleverly done, because a journalist went to the spot that[] []ged saucer, n[] the topography of the t[] [] described by the young [] meadow, the ditch, the hol[] [] moreover, the owner at [] is adamant that [] honnest, helpful, [] seems to have all his [] [] first thought [] newspaper this morning was to [] [] who says this, so the [] Same story [] young photographer [] his son is unable to [] like that It is too []

In any event, there will be more talk in the area on the saucer of []

[Ref. bb1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

The two authors start by quoting an article published by the newspaper "L'Aurore", for November 2, 1954:

"A young photographer, Jean Gerault, aged 23, working at Mr. Meyer's in Sarreguemines (the Moselle), founf himself acing a fying saucer in Welferding, a locality 2 kilometers of Sarreguemines."

"Having his camera in his pocket, he managed to approach a dozen meters of the machine, whose top was illuminated by a rather intense reddish light, and succeeded in taking three photographs."

They then induge in irony, with "finally an irrefutable proof", and tell that they made all possible efforts to find "the photograph of this spacecraft of another world."

They then indicate that to have discovered that the saucer had consisted of an electric bulb cut out and stuck on a piece of furnace with an antenna made up of a copper wire planted in loam. They add that the "receipt" for such a saucer had been published by "Radar" magazine for October 14, 1954.

This is followed of a paragraph which tells that they have "the proof now" that "if flying saucers exist" it is "only in the spirit of those who wish they do."

[Ref. la1:] "L'ALSACE" NEWSPAPER:

The regional daily newspaper, in a retrospective of 2004 bearing over the year 1954 in Alsace, mentions one saucer affair.

The newspaper recalls that on November 2, 1954, the 23 year old photographer Jean Gérault of Sarreguemines contacted the local Press and handed over photographs of a flying saucer which he said to have taken one evening while returning home.

The newspaper specifies that the news caused a commotion, everywhere in Alsace-Lorraine, where it was said that extraterrestrial life does exist. The saucer is as the saucers were always imagined, with the shape of a "reverted plate on four metal feet."

The newspaper adds that an investigation uncovered the forger within 24 hours, and that his saucer was made of modeling clay.

[Ref. bo1:] VICENTE-JUAN BALLESTER-OLMOS:

(77)

DATE: 1 November 1954 (approximate day)
LOCATION: Welferding, Moselle (France)
FORMAT: Picture
PHOTOGRAPHER: Jean Geraut

EXPLANATION: Fake

REFERENCES: Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, La Grande Peur Martienne (Nouvelles Éditions Rationnalistes, Paris, 1979), pages 192-193 and plates. It quotes the original source, the journal L'Aurore, November 2, 1954, and the magazine Radar, November 14, 1954, which reveals the deceit.

REMARKS: Nil

IMAGES:

Underneath: the hoax exposed by the gendarmes, Radar magazine photograph.

Underneath: Radar magazine photograph.

NOTES:

Contrarily to what was indicated in certain newspapers, the flying saucer was not in modeling clay. It was the four "Martians" who "came out of it" that were in modeling clay, as one of the photographs reproduced in the Press of that time shows (see above).

Once again, Barthel and Brucker use half-truths in attempt of ridiculisation of the ufologists:

The fact the photograph was a hoax had been known very quickly, since two days after the release of the story in the Press, the gendarmes had already proven the hoax. This had been then published in the press, and the case was thus closed.
They have chosen to publish an extract of an article of the national press and not to say any word of the articles of the regional press nearer to this business. There, they practiced exactly what they claim ufologists do: to neglect to seek or publish the local sources and to favor Parisian sources which are said to present exaggerated and less informed versions than the local sources for flying saucers cases.
It should not be believed by the reader that they had found by themsleves, independently, that the photograph is a hoax since they publish an image extracted the press of this moment showing the gendarmes near the model of saucer. It is thus clear that they knew perfectly what this was about and had no justification to present the explanation as if it may be theirs.
The case never appeared as a "solid" case nor even a "case" of flying saucer anywhere in the ufologic literature. I discovered this story previously on my own thanks to the interesting file by journalist Christian Valentin who of course narrates the hoax and tells this story in a decent and objective manner. Later I had the surprise to find that once again, Barthel and Brucker present a "case" in such a way that the unsuspicious reader can think that they solved a case and that ufologists are the complete idiots that they intend to depict in their book.

EXPLANATIONS:

Photographic hoax, as per the newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace for November 3, 1954.

KEYWORDS:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Sarreguemines, Moselle, photograph, picture, hoax, saucer

REFERENCES:

[---] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.

[---] Article in the national newspaper L'Aurore, November 2, 1954.
[dn1] Article in the regional newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, November 3, 1954.
[---] Article in the magazine Radar, November 4, 1954.
[bb1] "La Grande Peur Martienne", book by Gerard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, Les Nouvelles Editions Rationalistes éditeur, France, page 192, 1979.
[la1] "60 jours pour 60 ans", article on the Internet archives of the regional newspaper L'Alsace, Alsace, France, 2004.
[bo1] "The Year 1954 in Photos", paper by Vicente-Juan Ballester-Olmos, Fondation Anomaly, Spain, 2004.

Document history:

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	September 30, 2005	First published.
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 26, 2008	Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [dn1].
1.1	Patrick Gross	January 4, 2009	Addition [bo1].

This page was last updated on December 26, 2008