“The girls of the Folies Bergere in Paris are traditionally admired, feted and ogled. But when a pretty blonde dancer has a sound spanking back-stage it is a cause for shocked consternation all round. Especially when the dancer whose dignity was outraged is 35-year-old Lydia de Lipski newly awarded the Legion of Honour for her help to the Resistance during the war”.
Make no mistake Lydia de Lipski was a real heroine during the Second World War. Her Polish father organised a resistance group in Paris, after France was invaded by Germany and the teenage Lydia acted as a courier – a very dangerous job.
Eventually, she was betrayed and captured in 1941 and so began 4 years in a series of notorious concentration camps. She never revealed the names of her fellow resistance group members but was sent to Ravensbruk as a ‘political deportee’ (a capital crime) and was thrown into the death cell, only to be saved by the Swedish Red Cross in a prisoner exchange deal.
After the war, Lydia was convalescing in the Swiss alps where she fell in love with a painter called Ludovic de la Chapelle. She had a son with Ludovic but the couple split up and she found herself back in Paris with a child to support. As a child she had trained as a dancer, so Lydia changed her last name to Lova and joined the Folies Bergere – the famous Paris music hall.
A Dressing Room at the Folies Bergere
Some years later at the age of 35, France recognised the brave resistance fighter and awarded her the Legion of Honour. Unfortunately her boyfriend at the time, M. Jean Lessage, couldn’t cope with the attention Lydia was receiving and grew tired of all the talk about the coveted medal.
Eventually in a pique of jealously, he snapped and turned the lovely Lydia over his knee and spanked her soundly – so soundly, that she couldn’t sit down comfortably for several days.
But in court, the judge didn’t see the funny side of his actions and fined M.Lessage £15 with damages of £22.10 shilling awarded to Lydia for her discomfort!
Credit: Thanks to Martyn for writing this Spank Statement.
The Spank Statement 
Of course that fine seems pretty much of a slap on the wrist compared to the sexual harassment lawsuits of contemporary times. Nice to have such a full backstory to this news event. Thanks, Valdor.
Cheap at the price too!!! I’ll bet there have been many more spankings chez les folies bergeres. Naughty little shepherdesses need ‘une bonne fessee’ de temps en temps!
FJ
I wonder what she was wearing when she got spanked-some skimpy dancer costume?
Reminds us all that spankings need to remain consensual. I wonder what that would be in today’s money?
I’m sure that it didn’t help their relationship, either. Suing a boyfriend doesn’t exactly bring you closer together. Spanking her without consent isn’t any help, either, despite scenes in popular movies which suggest otherwise.