Written in 1940, in the U.S. where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had taken refuge when France collapsed, this small masterpiece was first published in French in New York and was quickly followed by its translation into English. While World War II was still ongoing, numerous editions of "The Little Prince" were published in French in Switzerland, Latin America, North Africa, and Lebanon, along with translations into many languages. A year later, on July 31, 1944, the eve of France's liberation, Saint-Exupéry, who was on his ninth wartime mission, knew well that while he disappeared with his airplane off the coast of Corsica, chasing German fighters, his little prince had already become a symbol, a beacon of light. It became a star of mutual understanding and communication for all those who, above the devastation of war and Hitler's atrocities, remained faithful to human values, to the inviolability of their inner world, to the right to struggle to give meaning to life, and for their happiness.