by David King
24 “set Europe ablaze” M. R. D. Foot, SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France 1940–1944 (Frederick, Maryland: University Publications of America, Inc., 1984), 11.
25 Section DF was smuggling M.R.D. Foot, SOE in France, 94.
26 British Military Intelligence Section 9 (MI 9) M. R. D. Foot and J. M. Langley, MI9: Escape and Evasion 1939–1945 (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1980).
27 not least in Raising morale was another important consequence, a “marvellous effect” in the words of Airey Neave in Saturday at M.I.9 (London: Hodder, 1969), 20.
28 at least 313 Jews Susan Zuccotti, The Holocaust, the French, and the Jews (New York: Basic Books, 1993), 257.
29 Smugglers had long See Lisa Fittko, Escape Through the Pyrenees, translated by David Koblick (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1991) as well as the works by Émilienne Eychenne, such as Montagnes de la peur et de l’espérance: Le franchissement de la frontière espagnole pendant la seconde guerre mondiale dans le département des Hautes Pyrénées (Paris: Édouard Private, 1980) and Les Pyrénées de la liberté (Paris: France—Empire, 1983).
30 “the people of the port” Daniel Judah Elazar and Peter Medding, Jewish Communities in Frontier Societies: Argentina, Australia, and South Africa (New York: Holmes & Meier, 1983), 67. See also Robert Weisbrot, The Jews of Argentina: From the Inquisition to Péron (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979).
31 “The federal government” Haim Avni, Argentina and the Jews, trans. Gila Brand (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1991), 9.
32 “deny visas” … “uncorrupted” Uki Goñi, The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Perón’s Argentina (London: Granta Books, 2003), 28–37.
33 “Monsieur le commissaire” … “I am unable” Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 170–174.
34 Pintard would eventually say Edmond Pintard, Audition, March 20, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III, and another one on March 22, 1944, also in carton n° III.
CHAPTER 15. WAR IN THE SHADOWS
1 “The cause of France” Charles de Gaulle, The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle, translated by Jonathan Griffin and Richard Howard (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers Inc., 1998), 83–84.
2 “Whatever happens” Ibid.
3 Most of de Gaulle’s The figure for the entire movement is in Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order 1940–1944 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 44; the role of Bretons in Thomas R. Christofferson with Michael S. Christofferson, France During World War II: From Defeat to Liberation (New York: Fordham University Press, 2006), 136–137.
4 seven thousand patriots Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France, 44.
5 “capable of using” Although exaggerated, Tillion makes a point. See Christopher Lloyd’s analysis, Collaboration and Resistance in Occupied France: Representing Treason and Sacrifice (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 34.
6 Liliane Schroeder reported Liliane Schroeder, Journal d’occupation, Paris 1940–1944: Chronique au jour le jour d’une époque oubliée (Paris: François-Xavier de Guibert, 2000), February 13, 1941, 68.
7 On the morning of August 21 Albert Ouzoulias (Colonel André), Les Batillons de la jeunesse: le colonel Fabien et d’autres jeunes dans la résistance, dans les maquis et l’insurrection parisienne (Paris: éditions sociales, 1967), 130–131.
8 “corresponding to the gravity of the case” Oscar Reile, L’Abwehr: Le contre-espionnage allemand en France, preface by Colonel Rémy (Paris: Éditions France-Empire, 1970), 163.
9 “All close male relatives” Ibid., 174–175.
10 “a good occupation” Point number 33 in Jean Texcier’s “Advice to the Occupied” for Bastille Day 1940, Milton Dank, The French Against the French: Collaboration and Resistance (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1974), 66.
11 “Total war has been” Combat, Underground No. 55, March 1944, printed in Camus at Combat: Writing 1944–1947, edited and annotated by Jacqueline Lévi-Valensi, translated by Arthur Goldhammer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), 3.
12 He missed his favorite Olivier Todd, Albert Camus: A Life, translated by Benjamin Ivry (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 36.
13 For a time Ibid., 161–162; previous experience, Herbert R. Lottmann, Albert Camus: A Biography (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1979), 235.
14 The German-controlled press John Gerassi, Talking with Sartre: Conversations and Debates (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 108–109.
15 “total dependence” John Gerassi, Jean-Paul Sartre: Hated Conscience of His Century Vol I: Protestant or Protester? (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989), 184.
16 “spiritual leader” Annie Cohen-Solal, Sartre: A Life, translated by Anna Cancogni (New York, Pantheon Books, 1987), 268.
17 “golden age” Ibid., 214.
18 handsome young SS men Fabienne Jamet, with René Havard and Albert Kantof One Two Two: [122 rue de Provence] (Paris: O. Orban, 1975), translated by Derek Coltman as Palace of Sweet Sin (London: W.H. Allen, 1977), 92.
19 “horrible creatures” … “threw their money” Ibid., 117–119.
CHAPTER 16. THE ATTIC
1 “the most passionate” Georges Massu, L’enquête Petiot: La plus grande affaire criminelle du siècle (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1959), 232–234.
2 “Adrien the Basque” Philippe Aziz, Tu Trahiras sans vergogne: Histoire de deux ‘collabos’ Bonny et Lafont (Paris: Fayard, 1970), 44; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I; AN, 334, AP 65, 4317–4318.
3 A forty-five-year-old Grégory Auda, Les belles années de “milieu,” 1940–1944 (Paris: Editions Michalon, 2002), 63, and AN, 334 AP 65, 4317–4318.
4 Devisenschützkommando Jacques Delarue, Trafics et crimes sous l’occupation (Paris: Fayard, 1968), 40.
5 some thirty-eight thousand apartments Jean-Marc Dreyfus, “Almost-Camps” in Paris: The Difficult Description of Three Annexes of Drancy—Austerlitz, Lévitan, and Bassano, July 1943 to August 1944,” in Jonathan Petropoulos and John K. Roth, eds., Gray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise in the Holocaust and Its Aftermath (New York: Berghahn Books, 2005), 225.
6 Approximately one thousand cases Detailed description from a victim of one such case in October 1943 is in BDIC, Fonds Delarue F Delta RES 787 6.
7 with a scar two inches long Report, March 27, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
8 “Gine Volna” Report, April 15, 1944; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
9 “La Chinoise” Marseille Police, March 28, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
10 100-franc note Fourrier acknowledged that this was a sign. Nouvelle Audition, March 19, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III, and discovery at rue Caumartin, Perquisition, March 15, 1944, also in n° III. See also Report, May 6, 1944, in same carton and later media attention, such as Le Petit Parisien, March 23, 1944.
11 An inspector observing … “to simmer” Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 179–180.
12 “1000 to 2000 bottles of cognac” René Nézondet, Audition, March 17, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
13 “white as a sheet” … distance-operated syringe René Nézondet, Audition, March 22, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III; this also appears in René Nézondet, Petiot “le Possédé” (Paris: Express, 1950), 70–75.
14 “Why did you not inform” … “horrible truth” Ibid.
15 Commissaire Massu asked Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 185.
16 “fainted, or almost fainted” Nézondet, Petiot “le Possédé,” 80. Aimée Lesage did not believe the faints were genuine interrogation, March 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
17 an old truck Augusta Debarre, Audition, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
18 the vehicle was gray Andrée Marçais, Audition, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire
Petiot, carton n° III.
19 “With my daughter” Yvonne Staeffen, Audition, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
20 TRANSPORTS AVENUE DAUMESNIL Angèle Lalanne, Audition, March 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
21 One of them Report, undated, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
22 Lion verified Maurice Lion, Audition, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
23 A quick visit Brigade Criminelle Report, September 10, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI.
24 His wife, Simone-Andrée Report, April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° II.
25 Half of the village Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 214–215.
26 “the most tragic cargo” Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 219.
27 Rain splashed Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 219–220.
28 a luggage room Ibid.
29 The contents Report, April 6, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
30 311 handkerchiefs Another tally found 366.
31 Massu hoped Massu, L’enquête Petiot, 221–222.
CHAPTER 17. FRUSTRATION
1 “I do not read the newspapers” Albert Neuhausen, Audition, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
2 In the bedroom Their son Christian Neuhausen admitted to the gifts. April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
3 He had also used Two suitcases, however, were found at Hôtel Alicot. April 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
4 “Now that Dr. Petiot” Albert Neuhausen, Nouvelle Audition, March 31, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
5 Neuhausen had other information Ibid.
6 a white shell necklace … Detectives also found Search of rue Le Sueur, April 4, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
7 “During my time with Dr. Petiot” Geneviève Cuny, Procès-Verbal, March 23, 1944; APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° II.
8 “Yes,” she said, “Dr. Petiot often” Ibid.
9 One friend predicted Le Matin, March 16, 1944.
10 suicide Le Petit Parisien, March 16, 1944
11 After living his first five years Gerhardt Petiot, Audition, March 30, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
12 “I went there three different times” Ibid.
13 thirty-three thousand Jews alone Serge Klarsfeld, Vichy-Auschwitz: le rôle de Vichy dans la solution finale de la question juive en France—1942 (Paris: Fayard, 1983), 8.
14 “You would phone” Jean-Paul Sartre, “Paris Under the Occupation,” originally published in La France libre (1945) and reprinted in The Aftermath of War (Situations III) translated by Chris Turner (London: Seagull Books, 2008), 15.
15 The case of APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folders 46 and 50.
16 The former husband Charles Bartholomeus, Audition, March 21, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
17 Mayor Hotin would deny Henry Hotin, Audition, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
18 “on her own initiative” Pauline Hotin, Audition, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
19 Wearing a yellow orange dress Jean Hotin, Audition, April 18, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
20 an enigmatic letter Report, April 20, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
21 “miscarriage” … “I am very sad” Thomas Maeder, The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), 95–96.
22 Jean said that he had first Gendarmerie Nationale Report, May 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
23 Denise’s family Report, March 24, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
24 “It was half past” Jean-Marc Varaut, L’abominable Dr. Petiot (Paris: Balland 1974), 242.
CHAPTER 18. NINE MORE
1 Confirmation came from Henri Chamberlin, Audition, November 22, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VII.
2 Max Stocklin Henri Chamberlin, Audition, September 8, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, 4.
3 “Otto agency” Jacques Delarue, Trafics et crimes sous l’occupation (Paris: Fayard, 1968), 29–31; Grégory Auda, Les belles années du “milieu” 1940–1944: Le grand banditisme dans la machine répressive allemande en France (Paris: Éditions Michalon, 2002), 42–48.
4 rue Tiquetonne He answered to the “bureau Otto,” which had expanded from three buildings, 18, 23, and 24 square du Bois de Boulogne. Henri Amouroux, Les beaux jours des collabos: Juin 1941–Juin 1942 (Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1978), 514.
5 “you will talk” Philippe Aziz, Tu Trahiras sans vergogne: Histoire de deux “collabos” Bonny et Lafont (Paris: Fayard, 1970), 45.
6 The leader of the Abwehr Oscar Reile, L’Abwehr: Le contre-espionnage allemand en France, preface by colonel Rémy (Paris: Éditions France-Empire, 1970), 76.
7 The Abwehr had found Grégory Auda, Les belles années du “milieu” 1940–1944 (Paris: Éditions Michalon, 2002), 18–23, 48, 53–64.
8 Adrien the Basque Adrien Estébéteguy was one of the first selected. Report by Section Spéciale, August 30, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, I.
9 naturalized German citizen Henri Chamberlin, Audition, September 8, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, 4, and Paul Clavié, Audition, September 19, 1944, BDIC, Fonds Delarue F° Delta RES 787, VI.
10 anonymous letter APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.
11 There was nothing Georges Massu, L’enquête Petiot: La plus grande affaire criminelle du siècle (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1959), 196.
12 the commissaire released Le Petit Parisien, March 25, 1944.
13 “Madame W” APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.
14 Seventy-eight percent 110,000 of 140,000 in the Netherlands, compared with 25 percent in France. Christopher Lloyd, Collaboration and Resistance in Occupied France: Representing Treason and Sacrifice (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 25.
15 When the Wolff family APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I, folder 7.
16 Hôtel du Danube Research on hotels in folder 18, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
17 “a spy on the Orient Express” Marcel Jullian, Le Mystère Petiot (Paris: Edition No. 1, 1980), 134.
18 “We always need” Eryane Kahan, Audition, September 8, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI.
19 “a man of vast culture” Thomas Maeder, The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), 89.
20 Maurice Wolff concealed AN, 334, AP 65, 3394.
21 “twelve bullets in my carcass” John V. Grombach, The Great Liquidator (New York: Zebra Books, 1980), 188.
22 Gilbert Basch Charles Nodier, Audition, April 25, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
23 Chaïm Schonker Hoofdbureau van politie te Amsterdam, June 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
24 She had declined Ilse Gang, Audition, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
CHAPTER 19. THE LIST
1 “doctoress Iriane” Anonymous letter, March 26, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
2 masseuse AN, 334 AP 65, 4354–4355.
3 close friend Louise Nicholas, Report, April 26, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
4 Welsing had little to say Herbert Welsing, Audition, April 26, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
5 It was about March 20 Fernande Goux, Audition, in Report, April 26, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
6 On April 12 List, April 12, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
7 His wife, Marie, feared Marie Lombard, Audition, March 27, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
8 But police s
oon learned Report, May 1, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° I.
9 A number of invoices Report, May 6, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° II.
10 The list of probable victims Report, May 10, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
11 “the most difficult and complicated” Stephen E. Ambrose, Eisenhower: Soldier and President (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990), 142; Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War (New York: Bantam Books, 1962), Volume V, 499–512, 528–544.
12 He introduced himself Charles Rolland, Audition, June 24, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° III.
13 It was in Marseille Ibid.
14 “He seemed in a” Ibid.
15 later criticized Massu discusses it briefly in L’enquête Petiot: La plus grande affaire criminelle du siècle (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1959), 241–242.
16 “The Greatest Bluebeard” New York Times, July 26, 1944.
17 Three weeks later Washington Post, August 17, 1944.
CHAPTER 20. APOCALYPTIC WEEKS
1 “told me that” Georges Suard, Audition, October 9, 1944, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI.
2 de Brinon would ever Count Fernand de Brinon, Audition, October 20, 1945, APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI, and again in the report of December 1945, in APP, Série J, affaire Petiot, carton n° VI. See also Le Pays, March 13, 1946, for another speculation about his intervention. Brinon passes over the spring of 1944 quickly in his Mémoires (Paris: La Page Internationale, 1949).
3 “vain flight” United Press, April 21, 1944; Le Petit Parisien, April 21, 1944; Le Cri du Peuple, April 24, 1944.
4 But Massu was not Jean-François Dominique makes this point well in L’affaire Petiot: médecin, marron, gestapiste, guillotinée pour au moins vingt-sept assassinats (Paris: Éditions Ramsay, 1980), 110. See also AN, 334 AP 65, 3368.
