1944–1949 is a significant period during which Lucien learned musical and linguistic skills that would serve him well for the remainder of his life. During the occupation, the Germans made a show of creating “normalcy” within the population. This included sending all the children back to school.
Toward the end of the war, Lucien was sent to a rigorous Catholic boys boarding school, Le College Episcopal de Mouscron, in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium located about 10 kilometers from his home.