Lille is a city located in the north of France, on the Deûle River. It had a population of 226,827 at the 2009 census.
Lille in "Uncle Alf"[]
Lille was the site of a battle during the brief Great War in 1914. Although the British put up a fierce resistance, the Germans defeated them. Adolf Hitler fought in that battle.[1]
In 1929, Germany still occupied France. Communist agitator Jacques Doriot made Lille his base of operations, demanding the withdrawal of German forces.[2] As the local Feldgendarmerie had become corrupt and inept since occupation began, the German government sent Feldwebel Adolf Hitler to capture Doriot.[3] Hitler succeeded in his task. In his letters to his niece, Geli Raubal, Hitler deplored the degraded nature of the citizens of Lille.[4]
Lille was an extremely polluted city. Hitler wished it would be cleansed, as Hercules washed out the Augean Stables, but then thought that the city might fall to pieces without the dirt holding it all together.[5]
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