Julius Van Cram abandons Lili

Julius Van Cram’s departure from Germaine Laboine in Nice turns an apparent marriage and shared return to France into a prolonged, uncertain separation. He left shortly after their child was born, saying he was going out to buy cigarettes, and did not return; yet his later letters and occasional payments meant that his disappearance never became a complete break in contact.

Background and Marriage

After several months with Van Cram, Germaine Laboine discovered that she was pregnant. The pregnancy was unexpected, and she told him about it believing he might advise her to end it. Instead, a few weeks later, he asked her to marry him. His response established a sharp contrast between her uncertainty about the pregnancy and his apparent readiness to make a commitment.

They married in Istanbul. Van Cram took Germaine to an office whose location she did not know, where she signed papers and took an oath. She believed they were married because he told her they were. The circumstances left her without a clear understanding of the formal process, so the marriage rested, in her account, on his assurance as much as on the papers she signed.

Return to France and Departure

A few days after the marriage, Van Cram suggested that Germaine return to France with him. They travelled by Italian boat to Marseille, but she had not obtained a new passport in his name; according to the account, there had not been time to arrange one. They stayed in Marseille for a couple of weeks before moving to Nice.

In Nice, the couple lived in a comfortable apartment off the Promenade des Anglais. Their child was born there. Two months later, Van Cram went out to buy cigarettes and did not come back. The ordinary errand marks the abrupt break: Germaine was left in Nice with their child, and she never saw him again.

A Disappearance Without Complete Silence

Van Cram’s departure did not end all communication. He wrote to Germaine several times from different cities, including London, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and New York, and sent money with the letters. The sums varied, sometimes substantial and sometimes almost nothing. He asked for news of Germaine and especially of the child, and she replied.

These later contacts complicate the meaning of his disappearance without undoing its consequence. He had left Germaine and their child without returning in person, but he continued to reach across distance through letters, questions, and irregular financial support. The account establishes neither why he left nor what became of him; it presents a separation sustained by intermittent communication rather than a definitive severing of ties.