by Matthew Cobb
859 Foot (2004), p. 369; de Gaulle (1962c), p. 21. Kedward (1993), pp. 272–3, contains an interview with Starr’s radio operator, Yvonne Corneau, which includes details of their activity but not any further clue as to why de Gaulle was so infuriated.
860 Brinton (1961b), p. 140.
861 Brinton (1961b), p. 141.
862 Minguet (1997), pp. 32–6. The views of those involved in these movements were expressed in an interview with workers from the Juno aviation company in Argentueil, near Paris, in December 1944:
‘Q: How did you come to take over the factory?
A: On 17 August, after the German managers left, we took over, together with FFI members who worked in the factory, in order to stop any pillage or destruction.
Q: How did you appoint your managers and supervisors? A: Each shift elected its leaders. Line managers, supervisors, shop supervisors, and a provisional director were then ratified by an assembly of the whole workforce. Our management was officially recognized on 14 November. A delegate from the ministry surveys the activity of the factory. He is very happy with the workers’ management.
Q: How are you paid?
A: We have built a first set of twelve motors without being paid. The work currently been done in the factory is supported by unemployment benefits. Q: What is the financial situation of the factory?
A: We don’t have a penny. We receive no financial help. We want to give France the embryo of an air force. Everything we do or build is done for free. Q: Do you hope to be nationalized?
A: Yes. And we hope that this will spread to all industries of national importance.’ (Madjarian, 1980, p. 172–3.)
863 The final step was taken at the beginning of 1945, when the PCF made clear their commitment to rebuilding the capitalist economy – ‘Produce, produce and again produce!’ they told workers (Buton, 1993, p. 196), denouncing strikes as ‘the weapon of big business’ ( Madjarian, 1980, p. 336).
864 These were soon renamed Gardes Patriotiques or Gardes Civiques because of potential confusion with the Vichy Milice.
865 Between September and December, delegates from the Comités de Libération (CdLs) met in a series of conferences, in which they appeared to be a potential threat to centralized government power. As a resolution adopted at their first meeting put it: ‘The CdL has the duty to carry out all the plans of supply and transport, to publicly denounce and arrest all those who seek to delay these measures. The prefect is at its side to execute the decisions of the CdL and to inform it of the measures taken by the Provisional Government of the Republic. Although its legal authority flows from the government, the government should not forget that the real power has been given to it by the people in arms, and that it is therefore in the service of the people, represented by the CdL.’ Buton (1993), p. 141. For more on relations between the CdLs and local government, see Madjarian (1980), pp. 75–164 and Kramer (1981).
866 The only Resistance-inspired force that was acceptable was the Forces Républicaines de Sécurité, created by Raymond Aubrac in Marseilles and subsequently transformed into the CRS riot police. Auglhon & Barrat (1975).
867 A clear contemporary summary of the political aspects of the resolution of dual power can be found in Sawyer (1947). Sawyer was a US academic who ‘observed’ French affairs in Algiers and France from October 1943 to November 1945. He was in fact an OSS agent.
868 Buton (1993), p. 195. In September 1944 OSS agent Crane Brinton interpreted these events in what is probably one of the few references to Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution to be found in the files of US Intelligence: ‘it is clear that Trotsky’s classic analysis of the “dual power” applies very well here . . . what is happening here is a process in part revolutionary, the taking over of power by “new” men long carefully organized for just this aim’ (Brinton, 1961a, p. 18). ‘Dual power’ refers to the suggestion that many revolutions share a common feature – a temporary, unstable period when contending forces may each have partial control of the key structures in society (army, economy and state apparatus). Brinton did not think that France was on the brink of a proletarian revolution – he was certain that the Communist Party was following Moscow’s line and merely sought to gain influence without openly challenging de Gaulle’s authority (Brinton, 1961b, p. 138). But the changeover between Vichy and the new authorities, and the disputes over the armed strength of the Resistance, suggested to him that the country was in a situation of ‘dual power’. Writing to Moscow on 15 September, Soviet diplomat Kozyre agreed: ‘In the liberated regions of the country and in Paris there is dual power. This is particularly the case in the provinces, where, alongside the regional commissars named by de Gaulle, there are local commissars appointed by the comités de liberation. As a result, real power is in the hands of the organs of the Resistance’ (Buton, 1993, p. 142). However, the elements of dual power that did exist in France at the time were extremely embryonic, and the two sides involved in the conflicts over the armed forces and the economy did not clearly represent the interests of two different classes. But there was a potential for them to do so, as the events of autumn demonstrated. Thorez’s declaration marked the end of this period. For other interpretations of events in France in the light of ‘dual power’, see Sawyer (1947), Madjarian (1980) and Kramer (1981).
869 There are many studies of the tondues. See, for example, Virgili (2000). For an excellent discussion of the social and cultural implications of this practice, and how it has been studied in recent years, see Vinen (2006), pp. 346–56. The second part of Marcel Ophüls’ documentary film The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) contains an interview with a woman from Clermont–Ferrand who was denounced during the épuration. The interview reveals the confusion of the time, leaving the viewer with an uncomfortable impression of ambiguity.
870 Rousso (1992). For one of many discussions of how these national figures have been arrived at, see Kaspi (2004), pp. 189–98. An examination of myth and reality in a particular locality can be found in Labédan (1983).
871 In retaliation, the Milice murdered Georges Mandel, who had been Minister of the Interior in 1939–40 and was opposed to Vichy.
872 Kedward (1993), p. 279.
873 Brinton (1961a), p. 8.
874 Brinton (1961b), pp. 136–7.
875 Blumenson (1978), p. 266.
876 All figures from Rousso (1992).
877 The fact that in the last two decades of the twentieth century the far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen repeatedly surged to the front of political debate reveals the gulf that often exists between national myths and national realities. It also shows that Vichy was not simply an aberration, but was part of a long tradition of anti-Semitism on the French right, which stretched back to the Dreyfus affair and forward to today.
878 For discussions of why France was unique, and comparisons with other countries, see Foot (1978) and Moore (2000).
879 See the entry on Rémy (Gilbert Renault) in Marcot et al. (2006), pp. 512–3.
880 D’Astier’s song was made popular in the 1970s in an English version by Leonard Cohen, entitled ‘The Partisan’. Cohen changed the final line to a more romantic and positive outlook than d’Astier’s bleak and accurate vision:
Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,
Through the graves the wind is blowing,
Freedom soon will come;
Then we’ll come from the shadows.
881 The French ambassador to Algeria has recently accepted that the events constitued a ‘massacre’ – Le Monde, 28 April 2008. For a discussion of the origin of the massacres and the problem of ever knowing the number of victims, see Ageron (1984). Charles Tillon was the Communist Party Minister for Air at the time, yet he claimed he knew nothing of the deployment of French aircraft in the massacre. For a discussion of the Communist Party’s sometimes ambivalent attitude to the events, see Ruscio (2007).
882 See Kedward (2005), pp. 327–48 for a summary of the Algerian War and the attitude of résistants to it.
8
83 Bidault (1965), pp. 273–7.
884 Ajchenbaum (1994), p. 347.
885 For excellent accounts of the way in which the history of the Resistance was written, see Azéma & Bédarida (1994) and Douzou (2005).
886 Claude Bourdet of Combat recalled Malraux’s attitude when the two men met at the end of 1941. Bourdet came asking for help, but Malraux gave him the brush-off: ‘Come and see me again when you have money and weapons,’ he said. The great writer does not seem to have thought it was his role to help in getting either. Bourdet (1975), p. 73.
887 Azéma & Bédarida (1994), p. 31, n. 8.
888 Rousso (2000). For a discussion of the contrast between the views of the two men, see Piketty (2000).
889 Mitterrand also laid roses on the tombs of the socialist Jean Jaurès, assassinated in 1914, and the nineteenth-century French anti-slavery campaigner Victor Schoelcher (Favier & Martin-Rolland, 1990, p. 68). Given Mitterrand’s subsequent revelations about his pro-Pétain past (Péan, 1994), his gesture with regard to Moulin can be interpreted as a cynical manoeuvre, an attempt to assuage his guilt, a genuine homage or a mixture of all three, depending on your view of Mitterrand.
890 This chant can still be heard on French demonstrations as the riot police close in.
891 For a balanced discussion of the impact of the film, see Douzou (2005).
892 See Daniel Cordier’s discussion of how his own memory played tricks on him, even on details he thought were quite clear. Cordier (1995).
893 Rude (1974), p. 9. (Preface by Pascal Copeau.)
894 See Frenay’s letter to Passy in Passy (1951), pp. 389–415. The section dealing with Moulin’s alleged loyalty to the Communist Party can be found on pp. 413–4. See also Frenay (1977). The main works published in the 1990s were Wolton (1993) and Péan (1998).
895 Péan (1994).
896 The book was by journalist Gérard Chauvy (1997).
897 The historians wanted to know why Raymond Aubrac could not explain why he had not been transferred to Paris with the other Caluire detainees. As Klarsfeld (1997a) pointed out, this was profoundly unjust. There was no reason why Aubrac should know the explanation – he was the prisoner, not the jailer.
898 Some of the historians who were involved in the ‘round table’ subsequently expressed their unease at the proceedings in a collective letter published in Libération (Andrieu et al., 1997). Discussions of the ‘Aubrac affair’ can be found in Diamond & Gorrara (2001), Suleiman (2004, 2006), Douzou (2005) and Reid (2006). Bensaïd (1999, 2000) criticizes the notion of history as a court, and the danger of historians setting themselves up as judges. The complex relation between memory and history was the subject of one of a series of important academic meetings that took place in the 1990s around the Resistance, each of which produced a valuable collection of articles. For the work on memory, see the papers from the 1995 colloquium held in Toulouse, collected in Guillon & Laborie (1995). For a highly romanticized account of the liberation of Raymond Aubrac, you could do worse than watch Claude Berri’s entertaining film, Lucie Aubrac, a success at the box office if not in the minds of historians. The fact that the film, too, came out in 1997 may not have been entirely unconnected with Chauvy’s desire to publish, or with the importance given to the subsequent ‘affair’ by the French media.
899 Papon was sentenced to life imprisonment 1998 but was released four years later on grounds of ill health; he died aged ninety-six in 2006. Bousquet was banned from office after the war but was eventually amnestied in 1958. He became close to François Mitterrand, but when Bousquet’s wartime role was revealed, their friendship ceased. Touvier was sentenced to death after the war but escaped and was hidden by right-wing priests until he was eventually found in 1983. Despite having been pardoned in 1971, Touvier was convicted of crimes against humanity in 1994 and died in prison in 1996.
900 See Kedward (2005), pp. 625–30 for an overview of this period.
901 The ‘square’ in question is a rather sad construction which is part of the Gare de Lyon. There is no street named after Jean Moulin in Paris, although Google Maps claims there are twenty-seven in France as a whole, as compared with nine named after Henri Frenay.
902 See, for example, the work of Robert Belot, who has produced a detailed biography of Frenay (2003), a stimulating analysis of the anti-Gaullist tradition in the Resistance (2006a) and a richly illustrated popular account of the Resistance (2006b).
903 See Julien Blanc’s forthcoming work on the Musée de l’Homme network, Thomas Rabino’s study of Carte (2008), and the ground-breaking investigations of the Communist Party’s armed struggle by Berlière & Liaigre (2004, 2007).
904 The Star Trek: Voyager programme was based on the premise that there was a rebel faction called the maquis.
905 Cassou (2001), p. 39.
Index
Abraham, Marcel, ref1, ref2
Abwehr, ref1, ref2, ref3
Achavanne, Étienne, ref1
Affleck, Flying Officer, ref1, ref2
Afrika Korps, ref1
Albrecht, Berty, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
‘Alex’ (CND agent), ref1
Algeria:
Front de Libération Nationale in, ref1
independence demonstrations, ref1, ref2, ref3
Algiers, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
ALLIANCE circuit, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe, ref1
Allied Mediterranean Landings, ref1
Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (AMGOT), ref1, ref2
Allies:
ambivalence of, ref1
dismemberment of French Empire proposed by, ref1, ref2
dying Vichy tries to negotiate with, ref1
elaborate deception by, ref1
Enigma messages read by, ref1, ref2
German cities pounded by, ref1
Sicily invaded by, ref1
’Allo ’Allo, ref1
Alsace-Lorraine, ref1
Amiens jail, ref1, ref2
André, Philip, ref1
Angers, ref1
Anglo-Soviet treaty, ref1
Aragon, ref1
Aragon, Charles d’, ref1
Ardennes, ref1, ref2
an in, ref1, ref2
Armistice Day, ref1
Aron, Robert, ref1
Ascq, ref1
Astier de la Vigerie, Emmanuel d’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15
Armée Secrète and, ref1
bureaucratization of movement complained of by, ref1
Churchill meets, ref1
CNR signed up to by, ref1
describes de Gaulle, ref1
Dewavrin’s dislike of, ref1
sng of, ref1, ref2
in USA, ref1, ref2
Astier de la Vigerie, General François d’, ref1, ref2
‘Aubrac Affair, the’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Aubrac, Jean-Pierre, ref1
Aubrac, Lucie, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Aubrac, Raymond, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Aubry, Henry, ref1
Auschwitz, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Aveline, Claude, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Ayer, A. J., ref1
Ayral, Jean (‘Pal’), ref1
Balbaud, René, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5 diary of, ref6
Bancic, Olga, ref1
Barbie, Klaus, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Barlone, Lieutenant, ref1 diary of, ref2
Barton, general, ref1
Basin, Francis, ref1, ref2
Bastien, Lydie, ref1
Bataillons de la Jeunesse, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Battle of Britain, ref1, ref2
beginning of, ref1
winning of, ref1
Battle of France, see Fra
nce: fall of; see
also Dunkirk
Baumel, Jacques, ref1
BBC, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16
CNR’s founding announced prematurely by, ref1
cryptic messages broadcast by, ref1
de Gaulle banned from, ref1
de Gaulle’s broadcasts on, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
readers’ letters read by, ref1
warnings to maquis broadcast by, ref1, ref2
Beaufils, George (‘Joseph’), ref1
Beaumont, Robert, ref1
Beaurin, Jean, ref1
Beauvoir, Simone de, ref1
Bégué, Georges, ref1
Bel, Lieutenant Le, ref1
Belgium:
capitulation of, ref1
Hannut tank battle in, ref1
Hitler attacks, ref1
Jews in, ref1
Benoît, Pierre, ref1, ref2
Benon, Jacques, ref1
Bénouville, Guillan de, ref1
Bénouville, Pierre de, ref1, ref2
Bergen-Belsen, ref1, ref2
Berr, Hélène, ref1, ref2, ref3
Bertram, Barbara, ref1, ref2
Bertrand, Pauline (‘Paul Simon’), ref1
Bertrande (niece of Emmanuel d’Astier), ref1
Bidault, Georges, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Bingen, Jacques, ref1, ref2, ref3
