Communists Awake
Operation Barbarossa awoke French Communists from their slumber. An anti-German demonstration on August 13 led to arrests and to the banning of the French Communist Party by the Germans (the French government had banned it in 1939). Some 4,000 Jews were detained at a protest on August 20, and in August and September, 3,477 Jews were arrested for possession of firearms, leaflets, and other contraband.12
Charles Tillon, head of the Communist Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (Snipers and Partisans), published the first issue of France d’Abord in August, calling for armed struggle, no matter how unprepared. He quoted his lieutenant, Gilbert Brustlein, as saying, “It’s one thing to derail a train or leave a bomb somewhere, but it’s quite something else to attack a Nazi in the middle of Paris with old firearms that jam.”13
On August 21, the young Communist Pierre Georges (aka Colonel Fabien) waited at the Barbès-Rochechouart Métro station in Paris with a lady’s revolver in his pocket. When Germans in uniform appeared, he shot Naval Cadet Alfons Moser twice and killed him. Georges avoided capture by feigning that the assailant was escaping and shouting, “Stop him!”14
In retaliation for the shooting of Cadet Moser, Hitler demanded the shooting of hostages. If the culprits were not caught, French officials would propose a list of hostages to General Otto von Stülpnagel, the military commander in France (Militärbefehlshaber, or MBF), who would choose whom to execute. The reprisal policy was announced to the public in newspapers and posters and by radio.
The next day, the Vichy regime sent its condolences and urged that innocent French citizens not be punished for the act of Communists. Vichy Minister Jean-Pierre Ingrand, the representative of the French ministry of the interior to the German military administration, instructed the French police to collaborate fully with and provide all known intelligence to the German authorities. Wehrmacht Major Walter Beumelburg conferred with Ingrand and Vichy Ambassador Fernand de Brinon (whose Jewish wife had been named an “honorary Aryan”), threatening that the Wehrmacht would execute fifty hostages unless Vichy executed six. Ingrand agreed that the French would convene a special court set up by the French minister of justice to condemn six public enemies to be executed. After a number of French magistrates refused to participate, lackeys were found who adjudicated the formalities by sentencing two Communists and a Jewish merchant, who were guillotined the next day. After three weeks passed without further executions, Stülpnagel demanded action, and three more Communists were guillotined.15
Criminal and political prisoners sentenced to death by French courts were executed by guillotine. Military executions, carried out by the occupation forces for offenses such as aiding the enemy or possession of firearms, were carried out by German firing squads. The soldiers did not know whose rifle had an actual bullet. If the shot did not kill the condemned person instantly, the officer in charge shot him in the head.16
“In some neighborhoods the police are closing off the streets,” wrote Jean Guéhenno on the day Moser was shot. “A whole arrondissement (the 11th) has been searched. Jews have been arrested, Communists shot. Every morning, new posters invite us to become informers and threaten us with death.” That day he returned to the Vallée-aux-Loups to view the evidence of the executions that had been taking place:
We follow a path along the vegetable garden, jump over a little wall, and cross a path. It is there. The occupying authority “used the terrain,” a rather deep hollow in a sparsely wooded area. Bullets have slashed into the slope…. The tree has been sawed off, ripped apart by bullets at the level of a man’s heart. It was used all last winter, four or five times every week. The earth is all trampled down at the foot of the tree. It has lost its bark. It is black from the blood that drenched it.17
That tree had been shot too many times for further use. “A few meters away, here’s the tree that’s in use today. It’s a beech tree. It is hardly wounded yet. Its bark has burst, however, and we can already see its white flesh with blood stains still at the same height, the height of a man’s heart. No trace of a bullet underneath. The firing squad has good aim.”18
Assassination Attempt Against Laval
Meanwhile, with the German invasion of Russia, Vichy agreed to the formation of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolchevisme) to serve on the eastern front. On August 27, Pierre Laval, de Brinon, and others were reviewing the volunteers who were about to depart when Paul Collette shot and wounded Laval and four others with a revolver. Collette had enlisted for the very purpose of getting close enough to collaborationist leaders for such an attack.19
Guéhenno wrote in his diary that “in Versailles, they were presenting its flag to the Anti-Bolshevik Legion recently formed by [Eugène] Deloncle, [Marcel] Déat, and [Pierre] Constantini, when shots rang out. From the very ranks of the Legion a man shot at the officials present at the ceremony. Laval and Déat, the colonel commanding the Legion, were wounded, along with a Legionnaire.” Not surprisingly, “the whole people of Paris had difficulty concealing its joy when it read the news…. The people think only of taking revenge on its masters, the masters of taking revenge on the people, and the same impatience reigns on both sides.”20 Agnès Humbert, who had been a member of the network of Musée de l’Homme, wrote from prison, “I learned of the assassination attempt on Laval, who, alas, survived!”21
It was speculated that Collette was Jewish and Communist, but he had actually belonged to the Croix de Feu, the rightist veteran’s organization. His death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment, Laval thinking that had he been guillotined, he would have become a martyr like Jeanne d’Arc. AP journalist Roy Porter wrote that “this young Frenchman had actually done what a lot of others had been talking about. He had fired one of the first shots in a series which, as it developed, was to spread into violence against the Germans and start the active sequel to what hitherto been passive resistance.” Surviving the war, he was presented with the Legion of Honor.22
Escalation of Gun Seizures and Executions
Executions continued to escalate. “The tree in the Vallée-aux-Loups will soon be cut down,” observed Guéhenno. “At the doors of the newspaper vendors, in the cafés, and in the Métro, no one dares to talk anymore.”23
Then, on September 3, Wehrmacht Sergeant Ernst Hoffmann was fatally shot by two men at the Terminus Hotel in Paris. Of the ten French men selected to be shot in reprisal, four had been found guilty of firearm possession and six of Communist subversion. In retaliation for the killing of Captain Scheben on the Boulevard de Strasbourg in Paris on September 15, twelve hostages were shot. Hitler demanded that many more be executed for the death of each German soldier.24
The MBF (Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, military commander in France) reported 716 cases of illegal weapons possession for July 13 to September 13. Besides 32 light machine guns, weapons seized included over 1,000 each of rifles and pistols, almost 2,000 hunting guns, and roughly 200,000 rounds of ammunition.25 “Cooperation between military police and French gendarmes and police was excellent. The French police complain that it lacks trained officers because many of them are German prisoners of war.”26
The MBF reported that the activity of the military police was limited to weapons searches, supervision of French police regarding surrender of weapons, search for and arrest of British citizens, searches for German emigrants, night watch, price control, and putting up of flyers against sabotage.27 A memorandum entitled “Fight Against Communism. Here: Prohibition of Firearms Possession” (Bekämpfung des Kommunismus. Hier: Verbot des Schusswaffenbesitzes) identified Dr. Grohmann as the official in charge. As it stated, the MBF requested a draft proclamation informing the population that, in the future, the possession of firearms will be punishable only by death. It was published in the press on September 13.28
More specifically, General von Stülpnagel issued a public announcement from Paris on September 12 that was published in newspapers the next day:
Pursuant to the order concerning weapons possession, the possession of firearms and war materials of any kind is prohibited and subject to the death penalty or imprisonment. As of today, anyone who possesses weapons or war materials contrary to this order will be subject solely to the death penalty.29
Announcements of such policies as well as the identities of people apprehended and sentenced to death thereunder would be increasingly publicized under the title “Avis” (notice) in posters and publications.
“As the tree in the Vallée-aux-Loups had become a shrine, the occupying authorities blew it up with dynamite,” wrote Guéhenno. “The firing squads have worked elsewhere ever since.” Noting the imposition of a three-day curfew of 9:00 p.m., he added, “They punish us like children, ‘for our own good,’ declares General von Stülpnagel. We are guilty of not denouncing the authors of attacks on German soldiers. The occupying authorities have not been able to arrest a single one of them.”30
The non-Communist Resistance and General de Gaulle himself opposed the assassination of random, unimportant German soldiers as ineffective and leading to unacceptable reprisals. French collaborationists, however, were fair game—the organization Combat killed several in the southern zone. Armed actions were also used to obtain supplies, ration cards, and documents.31
Working with the Allies
Long-term struggle involved sabotage and cooperation with the Allies. Switzerland proved a fertile venue to maintain contact with London. Swiss banks assisted with the surreptitious transfer of funds to the Resistance. Resistance leader Guillain de Bénouville noted, “I also foresaw the possibility of using our Swiss credits for the purchase of small arms, which could be freely bought in that fortunate country.”32
De Bénouville described how firearms were essential for the personal security of members of the Resistance as they carried out their functions: “In France we were in sore need of pistols. A man of the underground who was carrying secret documents, or whose life was at the mercy of the courageous silence of a comrade being tortured by the Germans, should certainly be armed.” But one never knew when he would be subjected to a pat-down search, which entailed raising one’s hands for a quick check of the coat and pants pockets along with the chest and armpits. “The best way to conceal a revolver of medium caliber, it seemed to me, would be a pocket in the left sleeve where it would be handy for use and still out of reach of the searcher who made the suspect raise his hands.” De Bénouville continued:
The death penalty had just been decreed in France for anyone carrying arms without a special permit. Until we could get hold of a permit in order to make duplicates for our men, we had to take every precaution to conceal our arms. But whatever the risk, the arms were necessary. At least we would have a chance of escape in case of arrest, and it was better to shoot it out than to face the awful torture that would certainly be in store for some of us if captured. Besides, it was good for our comrades to know that their chiefs did not intend to be taken alive.33
On one occasion de Bénouville and about twenty others were informed that a submarine from Britain would arrive at night with arms, messages, and three operatives. Before going to the beach to await its arrival, they were ordered, “You will load your revolvers. There’s to be no needless shooting, of course, but in case something goes wrong, you must not allow the passengers or the mail to be taken under any circumstances.” The operation was a success, especially the crates of Sten guns that would be taken to secret warehouses.34
Execution of Hostages
Stülpnagel announced on September 17 that ten hostages were shot following acts of violence in Paris against members of the German army a week before.35 The executions of the hostages, identified as Jews and Communists, were announced in newspapers and on red posters on walls in Paris, along with the warning of such sanctions against a larger number if the violence continued.36 Reporting the same, the New York Times added that French and German police together conducted house-to-house searches for arms in Paris.37
Stülpnagel issued an appeal asserting that most people were aware of their duty to assist the occupying authorities maintain calm and order, but that Communists sought to sow dissension. Since the cowardly murderers had not been apprehended, he said, harsh measures would be taken that would disrupt the population’s everyday life, and the people and the police must be vigilant and assist in the apprehension of the guilty parties. He concluded, “French citizens, I hope you understand these measures I am taking in your interest.”38
Stülpnagel next published an Avis headlined in bold type that twelve hostages had been executed in retaliation for the killing of a German soldier on September 16, threatening many more if the murders continued. Besides six identified as Communists and two who attacked German soldiers, four were executed for possession of arms: Pierre Guignois (also for possession of Communist tracts), Georges Masset, Daniel Loubier, and Maurice Peureux.39 Pétain delivered a radio address denouncing the “criminal” attacks on German soldiers, and exhorting the French people to contribute to the arrests of the guilty parties.40
Given that the death penalty was now automatic for possession of a firearm, it became necessary to ensure that people not be executed for items that were not serious weapons. Dr. Alexnat, military administrative counselor, on behalf of the MBF, sent a telegram to Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer SS and head of the German police.41 He urgently requested copies of the German laws on slashing and thrusting weapons issued before the 1938 German firearms law,42 particularly two laws decreed in 1931 by the Weimar Republic.43
Following a response from the Gestapo in Berlin,44 Stülpnagel wrote to Ernst Schaumburg, the commander of Greater Paris, that people arrested for possession of unusable weapons with sentimental value, or slashing or thrusting weapons, must be released, unless there was another reason for their arrest.45 He obviously realized that executing French citizens for antique guns or for knives would only create unnecessary resentment. Enough bitterness was already provoked by shooting subjects for possession of a hunting gun or a revolver.
Stülpnagel also wrote to Vichy representative Jean-Pierre Ingrand that unusable weapons with sentimental value—not including bayonets and swords—could be returned to their owners by asking the military police at the office of the commander for Greater Paris at Place de l’Opéra.46 How trusting would a French man be to present himself to the German police and claim a weapon that he considered unusable, but that they might not?
Ingrand then met with Stülpnagel’s representative, Lieutenant Dr. Rösch, who relayed Ingrand’s opinion that the German police used inconsistent standards when searching houses for weapons. Arrests were made of people who only possessed firearms that had only historic value. There was also confusion concerning sports weapons such as swords and fencing foils. Clarification was needed on whether sabers, swords, fencing foils, and daggers as well as firearms with only historic value could be excluded from the definition of being a weapon.47
Ingrand further conceded that the French population still possessed large numbers of weapons. Since there was now great concern about the death penalty, he sought a final surrender deadline, which would take place at French police stations, perhaps under German supervision. Ingrand further reported that the special French court to pick hostages and impose death sentences had just imposed such judgments on four persons.
No Amnesty
Ingrand’s proposal for a new amnesty was rejected. Noting numerous death sentences already imposed and carried out, Dr. Grohmann advised the MBF that any new deadline would have to be extended to the sentences already imposed. Yet it had been recently proclaimed that anyone found in possession of firearms would receive the death sentence. Anyone still in possession of firearms could throw them away, surrender them to the French police (who would not likely inform the Germans), or turn them in to the German authorities—in which case proceedings would be terminated.48
All the while, death sentences for arms possession were being hig
hly publicized. In bold type on the front page, an Avis (notice) in Le Matin reported that Eugène Devigne and Mohamed Moali, both from Paris, were sentenced to death on September 26 for arms possession and were executed the next day. It was prominently signed: “Der Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, VON STUELPNAGEL, General der Infanterie.”49
Another announcement by Stülpnagel had more detail. Marcel Pilongery, from Orly-Saint-Loup, was sentenced to death and then executed for possession of a French infantry rifle, a German rifle, two hunting guns, two small caliber rifles, four revolvers, and ammunition, which were hidden in his attic.50
By this point, regular announcements by Stülpnagel were being made of executions of French citizens for possession of firearms. While each published Avis lacked details, such people would have been sentenced pursuant to the German decrees, not French criminal laws, which at this time had no death penalty for arms possession. The German military administration only had a few judges and could only prosecute a limited number of cases, which meant that French courts may have conducted many of the trials and the Germans approved the death sentences, or that in more significant cases German military tribunals tried the cases.
Meanwhile the members of a ten-person ring distributing alleged Communist tracts to factories in a west Paris suburb were arrested, and a printing machine, paper, and a firearm with ammunition were seized. A search of the home of Félix Pozzi, described as the leader and an anarchist, revealed a revolver and ammunition, counterfeited food cards, and stolen blank registration cards for bicycles.51
Gun Control in Nazi Occupied-France Page 13