Need help in determining what happened to a monument located in paris.
(i need specifics)  This is what I know:
1. the name in english is "Memorial to Aeronauts in the Siege of Paris"
2. It was located in Place des Ternes, Paris, France
3. the artist was Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, of "statue of liberty" fame
4. was supposedly melted down by the germans in 1944

lookng for information concerning the destruction of it, who, how, when, why, etc.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 29 Dec 2004 19:40 PST

Hello Greg,

Interesting question you've posed.  There's a smattering of
information available on the statue -- a few newspaper articles
describing its design, a photograph of the statue, and a description
of the events at the siege of Paris that led to the commeration in the
form of Bartholdi's commission.

However, there is only brief mentions here and there about the actual
demise of the statue, apparently melted down by the Germans as scrap
in 1944, although the link given by scriptor-ga below references a
1941 data of destruction.

Let me know if this information is of interest to you.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by greg666-ga on 30 Dec 2004 01:20 PST

I am aware of the photograph and historical events leading to the
monument's construction.  Details regarding The loss of the structure
are my concern.  Thank you for the effort.

greg

This probably requires contacting the office competent for public
monuments of the city of Paris, or the French Ministry of Culture. All
I could find about the destruction of the monument is this:

"Formerly Porte des Ternes: Monument to the Memory of the Balloons and
Carrier Pigeons of the Siege [of Paris]; to the Heroes of Mail
Service, Telegraph Service, Railways, Aeronauts and Pigeon Breeders of
1870-1871 (posthumous). Erected in 1906, destroyed in 1941."
From the official press release of the Bartholdi Exhibition (PDF file)
http://www.bartholdi2004.com/musee/frames/Bartholdi_Le_Lion.pdf

"The balloon was realized, and it was huge (Paris, Porte des Ternes,
today Place Général Koenig). But it could not resist the purge during
the occupation years, disguised as retrieval of non-ferrous metal."
French Ministry of Culture: Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi Celebrations
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/celebrations2004/bartholdi.htm

Maybe one of my colleagues is more successful than I.
Scriptor