This idea soon took shape and spread.
The organizers got their friends
together, warned them of the dangers and
asked everyone:
"Do you have a friend you can trust?
Then tell him, let him in on it."
[from August 1940: many military
officers supported the Resistance -
hidden weapons + ammunition - recorded
telephone conversations between
traitors and Germans]
We received a lot of support from high
military officials. Theoretically, all
French war material had been handed over
to the German Wehrmacht; in reality,
however, tons of ammunition were
secretly moved into hiding places.
Recordings of enthusiastic telephone
conversations between German officers
and French traitors were also kept safe.
They were to be ready on the day of
reckoning. [S.208]
[from August 1940: construction of
small fortresses "Places d'armes" at
strategically narrow points]
The Resistance built small fortresses,
the "Places d'armes", in the French
mountains. The surrounding passes and
gorges were secured by rifle
emplacements, machine guns and artillery
and the terrain was chosen so that a
single man could hold back even a strong
enemy superiority. Here was a France
that had never been conquered.
[from August 1940: curbing the murder
of Germans who had little strategic
importance]
Our first major task was to curb the
private acts of revenge against Germans
and bring them under control. There were
too many murders of unimportant Germans
at that time.
-- For example, a girl from a very good
family, whose fiancé had been killed in
action against the Germans, lured six
German soldiers into her room one after
the other and stabbed them to death.
-- A man set himself the goal of killing
a German every night to avenge his
8-year-old daughter who had died on the
run. He killed 15 before he was caught
and shot.
-- In a farmer's strawberry patch lay 8
Germans whom he had strangled because
his daughter had been murdered.
Hundreds of Germans were killed in
revenge - but also hundreds of Frenchmen
in retaliation.
The Resistance disapproved of these
unauthorized acts of revenge because
they hindered the preparation of more
effective strikes against military
targets. "It's a simple exercise in
arithmetic," said a colonel in the
General Staff. "If the Germans kill one
or more Frenchmen for every German
killed, we will be the losers in the
end. We can't afford that. We must only
do things that make sense."
[from August 1940: meetings of the
Resistance in the Paris subway on
moving trains - then in rooms, always
in rotation - the register of members]
In the early days, the Résistance had
its headquarters in the Paris Métro.
While the trains ran through the city,
we did our work in the carriages. Then
the Germans got behind us and we had to
come up with something new. We were
constantly changing our quarters.
Instead of lists of members, we had
narrow strips of paper. Each strip
contained the name of a new member,
their profession and their connections.
It noted,
-- whether the person in question owned
a bicycle,
-- how many people he could accommodate
and feed and
-- what he was assigned to: sabotage,
transportation or commando duties.
The lists were written at night by bank
officials.
[from August 1940: register of
communes with train lines, factories,
workshops, shipyards - and approx. 40
small newspapers]
A file was created for each French
commune.It listed every railroad tunnel,
every place where trains had to be
slowed down, every factory, workshop and
shipyard.Our secret newspapers, first
mimeographed, later printed, four-sided
and in a small format, were produced in
print shops hidden in attics or
cellars.This was to inform our friends
and help create a unified [p.209]
opinion.At the beginning of 1944 there
were about 40 such papers with a total
circulation of half a million copies.
[from August 1940: The traveling
employees - informing against German
Nazi propaganda - travel at night on
dirt roads]
The Resistance sent workers around the
country to listen to what people were
saying, countering German propaganda and
recruiting new volunteers. The thousands
of people who volunteered for the
underground had to be trained.
Instructors were sent to them - former
lawyers, teachers, soldiers - who were
constantly on the move and, in order to
avoid German road controls, only moved
on at night and on dirt roads.[From
August 1940: Resistance courses against
the German Nazi occupation: pistols with
silencers, etc. - first actions made
"fit for service"]
[from August 1940: Resistance courses
against the German Nazi occupation:
pistols with silencers etc. - first
actions make "fit for service"]
The instructors never taught more than
two people at a time.They taught their
"pupils",
-- how to set incendiary bombs;
-- how to attach a detonator to railroad
tracks to derail a train;
-- how to sabotage production in
factories producing goods for the
Germans;-- how to strangle a man
silently;
-- how to put a silencer on a pistol;
and
-- how to assemble and handle a
submachine gun.To test the courage of
such a recruit, the instructors
generally sent him to one of the nearest
towns with a harmlessly packed machine
gun; that meant: he had to go to a
station with it, deliver the package in
the baggage car, pick it up again at the
destination and deliver it properly in
the town - all under the eyes of the
[French] police [who worked for the
German Nazis, possibly bribed].Or they
demanded that he cut a Wehrmacht
telephone line or plant an explosive
charge on a railroad bridge. The
instructors only declared a newcomer fit
for service once he had passed these
initial tests of courage.
[from August 1940: The hierarchy in
the Resistance: Generals - Lieutenants
- Officers]
Rank in the Resistance depended solely
on ability. Former generals took orders
from former lieutenants. The staff was
subordinate to 20 regional units
commanded by officers, which changed
location every 8 to 10 days.
[from August 1940: The changing
quarters of the Resistance]
Each time, a quartermaster selected
about 10 houses in a village where the
command post could be safely housed.
Although the [Nazi commanders] Germans
had threatened to shoot anyone who took
in members of the Resistance, the owners
of the houses rarely refused to help.
[from August 1940: The "Corps Francs"
shock troops are in hiding with
beards]
The shock troops of the underground army
were the "Corps Francs", which were
roughly equivalent to American or
English commando units. The men were
called "Gorilles" because they grew
beards in their hiding places after an
operation to save soap and razor blades.
They were tough, daring lads, mostly
under 40 years old. Their work demanded
nerve, strength and contempt for death
[trained in the enemy image: Nazis
out].[S.210]
[from August 1940: The saboteurs with
cunning and slyness]
The saboteurs, on the other hand, were
often women, young people and older men.
Their task was no less important, and
they too were threatened with death if
they were caught. But in this work,
cunning and cleverness were more
important than muscle power.
2. The Resistance
1940-1944: examples of actions
[Aktionen ab August 1940 Beispiel:
ein deutsches Nazi-Waffenlager in
Besitz nehmen und unbrauchbar machen -
Aktion bei Leermond]
Jedes Unternehmen [jede Aktion gegen die
hohen deutschen Nazis in Frankreich]
wurde bis in die letzten Einzelheiten
vorbereitet. Da war zum Beispiel ein
Lager von Handfeuerwaffen, die bei der
Untergrundarmee gebraucht wurden. Eine
genaue Untersuchung stellte die Anzahl
der Bewacher fest, überprüfte die
Bewohner der umliegenden Häuser und
erkundete, wie man in das Lager
hineinkommen konnte. Nehmen wir an, es
wurde von 8 Deutschen bewacht. Um sie
sicher zu überwältigen, setzte der
leitende Offizier 16 Mann vom "Corps
Francs" ein. Zum Transport von Waffen
und Munition brauchte er zwei Lastwagen
und 50 Mann. Und schliesslich bestimmte
er ein Zerstörungskommando von 4 Mann,
denen genau gesagt wurde, was sie
anzünden oder sprengen sollen. Auch der
Zeitplan wurde exakt berechnet: 10
Minuten für die "Gorilles", 40 Minuten
für die Lastwagen, 10 Minuten für das
Brandkommando.
In einer mondlosen Nacht kommen die
Männer des "Corps Francs" zum Lagerhaus.
Ihre Gewehre mit Schalldämpfern zischen,
man hört nur Stürze und Stöhnen. Der
erste Teil der Arbeit ist getan; die
"Gorilles" ziehen ab. Keiner der übrigen
Beteiligten weiss, wer sie sind. Dann
kommen die Lastwagen herangefahren. Und
sobald alles verladen ist, schlüpfen
vier Brandstifter in das leere Gebäude.
Wenige Minuten später schlagen die
Flammen aus dem Dachstuhl. Das Geräusch
der Lastwagen verliert sich in der
Ferne, und die letzten Männer
verschwinden eilig.
[Aktionen ab August 1940 Beispiel:
Die Zerstörung des deutschen
Propagandasenders "Radio Paris": etwas
Sprengstoff mit Sprengladungen]
An grosse Unternehmen wie die Zerstörung
von [Propaganda]-Radio Paris, der
grössten Rundfunkstation Frankreichs,
wurden oft bis zu 3 Monate gewandt. In
diesem Fall fragte man in London an, wie
viel Sprengstoff dazu benötigt werde,
und die Engländer bauten, um das
festzustellen, ein Modell in natürlicher
Grösse und sprengten es in die Luft.
Vier Mann vom "Corps Francs" wurden mit
der Aufgabe betraut. Sie probten ihre
Handgriffe unter der Aufsicht eines
Instrukteurs Hunderte von Malen. Am
festgesetzten Tag kletterten die vier
über eine Mauer, brachten die
Sprengladungen an und machten sich
davon. 20 Minuten später war der Sender
zerstört. Die Männer sind nie gefasst
worden.
[Aktionen ab Ende 1941 Beispiel:
Sprengungen an der Eisenbahnlinie
Italien-Frankreich am Mittelmeer]
Ein anderes Beispiel für sorgfältiges
Planen und erfolgreiches Handeln waren
die Sprengungen, die wir nach der
Landung der Alliierten in Afrika [Ende
1941] vornahmen (Operation Crusader
18.11.1941 bis 17.1.1942 mit der
Belagerung von Tobruk in Ost-Libyen an
der Grenze zu Ägypten [web01]) Wir
rechneten damit, dass sie auch in
Südfrankreich landen würden, und mussten
versuchen, eine Truppenverlegung der
Achsenmächte [in Vichy-Frankreich]
aufzuhalten, indem wir die
Eisenbahnstrecken zwischen Italien und
Frankreich [S.211] blockierten.
[Der Zugverkehr in Südfrankreich
zwischen Italien und Frankreich sollte
unterbrochen werden]. Eine
Sabotagegruppe legte in einem Tunnel
Sprengladungen in eine Kurve. Ein Zug
sprang aus den Schienen, schob sich
zusammen und versperrte tagelang die
Durchfahrt. Eine andere Gruppe sprengte
eine Felswand. Die Steinlawine zerstört
e eine wichtige Eisenbahnbrücke. An
einer dritten Brücke wurden erst die
Wachtposten getötet, dann sprengte man
das Bauwerk selbst.
[Aktionen ab 1944: Geraubte
französische Lebensmittel für die
Ostfront wurden vergiftet]
[Ab 1944 wurde Frankreich ausgeraubt und
ganze Züge mit Lebensmitteln an die
Ostfront geschickt. Es entstand in
Frankreich ein grosser Hunger, man
musste Lebensmittelvorräte vergraben
etc.].
Als die Deutschen ganze Zugladungen
französischer Lebensmittel nach
Deutschland schickten, forschten
Chemiker der Résistance nach Methoden,
um die Sendungen zu vergiften. Dann
schlichen sich unsere Saboteure in die
Verschiebebahnhöfe von Paris ein und
streuten das Gift aus. Die Deutschen
benutzten daraufhin Güterbahnhöfe in
anderen Teilen Frankreichs. Aber die
Résistance hatte überall ihre Beobachter
- meistens Eisenbahner, die auf diesen
Bahnhöfen beschäftigt waren. Die
Lebensmittel kamen weiterhin vergiftet
in Deutschland an. [Welches Gift das
war, wird nicht erwähnt].
[Aktionen ab 1944 Beispiel:
Kugellager etc. mit Schmirgelpaste
einreiben]
Die Résistance-Laboratorien, die das
Gift geliefert hatten, entwickelten auch
eine Schmirgelpaste zur Sabotage in
Maschinenfabriken. Die Deutschen hatten
ihre Produktionen aus Sicherheitsgründen
weit auseinandergezogen. Ein Werk
stellte nur die Lastwagenchassis her,
ein anderes nur die Motoren und so fort.
In fast allen diesen Werken lief die
Produktion fehlerlos, aber in einem
beschmierte ein Résistance-Mann wichtige
Teile, etwa die Kugellager, mit der
Schmirgelpaste. Der Lastwagen rollte
zwar vom Band - vielleicht fuhr er sogar
100 Kilometer, aber dann blieb er aus
unerfindlichen Gründen stehen. 10 Monate
lang litten 90 Prozent aller Lastwagen
aus einer grossen Autofabrik [Citroën,
Peugeot oder Renault] an dieser
geheimnisvollen Krankheit. Derselbe böse
Geist wirkte in Frankreich bald auch
beim Flugzeugbau, auf den Schiffswerften
und in Maschinenfabriken aller Art. Eine
Werft [am Atlantik oder in Marseilles]
lieferte bis zuletzt kein brauchbares
Schiff ab.
3. 1940-1944: The German
Nazi occupying forces against the
Resistance
[German Nazi action against the
Resistance from August 1940: Beating 1
Resistance man unconscious + laying
him on the street]
The Germans fought the Resistance both
directly - with arrests, executions and
torture - and indirectly - with all
kinds of tricks. One of the Germans'
favorite tricks was to beat a captured
Resistance man unconscious and then lay
him on the street. They hoped that the
sight would encourage other members of
the organization to come to his aid. It
was hard to leave a comrade lying there
like that, but it had to be done.
[German Nazi action against the
Resistance from August 1940: Venus
traps - and Venus then often switches
to the Resistance]
For a long time, the Germans also used
female agents; for a Frenchman, there is
supposedly nothing more important in
life than love. Pretty German girls who
spoke fluent French sat around in cafés
and nightclubs or strolled along the
boulevards. They were supposed to make
friends with men who, without wanting
to, might tell them something [p.214]
about our plans against the Germans. But
they didn't get much out of it, because
the Resistance soon discovered them. In
addition, a surprising number of these
girls fell in love with the French men
and were thus lost to their task. Many
city administrations also required them
to submit to the unpleasant control
regulations for prostitutes.After a
while, the Germans dropped the method.
4. 1940-1944: Resistance
- communications with clandestine
radio stations+transports
[Actions from August 1940: Secret
radio stations for the connection with
Great Britain - German Nazi actions
with tracking transmitters and
direction finders]
One of the most difficult problems of
the Resistance was to maintain contact
with its various units and with England.
Most of the time, this was done through
secret radio stations.
Sometimes, with the help of sounding
carts, the Germans managed to determine
the approximate location of a house in
which a Resistance transmitter worked.
They then sent a man with a small
tracking device and headphones to walk
down the street and determine the exact
location. Then the house was surrounded;
the operation of the transmitter was
killed and the system was destroyed. The
Resistance responded by attacking the
German tracking cars and killing their
crews.
[Actions from August 1940:
communication transmitted orally
memorized - receipts for ammunition on
rice paper that can be swallowed]
When it came to messaging, word-of-mouth
transmission proved its worth. The
bearers memorized their assignment and
did not carry anything written with
them. Ammunition, however, was only
delivered against a receipt, but even
this was written on rice paper so that
it could be chewed up and swallowed in
the event of an arrest.
[Actions from August 1940: Transport
of messages with vans and express
trains]
For a time, the trunk of the car of a
high-ranking Vichy official was used to
exchange messages between command posts
in two cities. The letters were put in
when the car was waiting on the side of
the road and taken out again in the
other town by a mechanic friend. With
the help of loyal railway workers, the
scheduled German express trains were
also used quite regularly, as were
German army trucks.
5. France 1940-1944:
Lack of nutrition, black teeth and
lost of teeth
[Actions from 1940: teeth turn black
or fall out - the Nazi Germans check
the teeth to find spies]
As a result of the lack of nutrition,
the French population was in poor
physical condition. Broken legs healed
slowly and painfully, as did a simple
cut in the finger. The teeth turned
black and fell out. When the Germans
arrested a suspect, they opened his
mouth. If his teeth looked healthy and
white, he couldn't have been in the
country long, so he was probably a spy.
A Resistance man, who had been in
England for a long time, asked his
dentist before returning to France to
artificially give his teeth a diseased
appearance. He didn't want to jeopardize
his safety when he came back. [p.215]
6. The Resistance
1940-1944: Transports and the network
of friendly places
[Actions from August 1940: transports
by bicycle, transports with pretty
girls, transports in police cars,
transports with handcuffs]
Every trip of members of the Resistance
was carefully thought out and organized.
Cyclists were less suspicious than
people on foot for a variety of reasons,
and a pretty girl usually got through
where a man couldn't. One of our agents
even drove across France in the car of a
gendarme friend. His trick was simple:
the policeman had handcuffed him, so
that the Germans thought he was a
prisoner and paid no further attention.
[A resistance activist in Switzerland,
for example, transported documents in a
bicycle in the tube of the bicycle
saddle].
[Actions from August 1940: The
network with friendly places -
couriers have connections from England
to Russia]
Every Frenchman who had ever been to
Germany had something useful to say. He
knew about
-- a train station where one could sleep
safely,
-- a house whose inhabitants were
helpful,
-- a farm where you could get something
to eat.
With the help of such clues, couriers of
the Resistance have even made their way
across Germany to Russia. American and
English prisoners of war who escaped
from Germany and came to France by such
routes were taken from here to Spain or
by ship to England.
A member of the Resistance voluntarily
joined a transport of French forced
laborers in order to determine the
location of a secret U-boat yard [in
Schleswig-Holstein on the Baltic Sea:
probably Peenemünde]. In Germany, he
escaped from his guards and wandered
overland for a month until he found the
place. He memorized the situation
carefully and returned to France on
foot. The shipyard was then paralyzed by
bombs for a long time.
7. The Resistance 1944:
Destroying the Lines of Connection of
the German Nazi Occupation
[Actions from the beginning of 1944:
cutting telephone lines, blowing up
railway tracks, blowing up German Nazi
bunkers]
Before the Allied landings in France
[i.e. from the beginning of 1944], the
Resistance cut off German
communications, destroyed bases of
operations and hindered supplies. Many
men and women were trained for a single,
simple task in view of the invasion:
-- to cut a telephone line,
-- to tie some sticks of dynamite to a
railroad track or
-- to activate the primer of an already
laid charge which was then to blow up a
German bunker.
The really difficult tasks, in which a
precise schedule had to be adhered to -
for example, blocking a supply route -
were reserved for the "Corps Francs" and
the sabotage squads.
[Addendum: Paris is handed over
intact - the great revenge of the
Resistance with murders of Germans and
expulsion of Germans
Paris was handed over as an intact city.
Whether the Resistance played a role in
this could be, but it doesn't have to
be.
After the "US"-GB occupation of France
from August 1944, the Resistance
organized a great revenge against French
men and women who had become involved
with German occupiers: women had their
hair cut and had to wear bald heads
etc., heaps of Germans were murdered
etc. Alsace and Lorraine, which had been
occupied by German in 1871, now became
French again and all "high Germans" had
to leave Alsace and Lorraine, also
good professors etc. See e.g. the
Municipal Museum of Strasbourg].
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