The future poet was born in Quimper (Finistère department) on 12 July 1876, into a Jewish family from Prussia. In 1888 the family changed its name from Alexandre to Jacob.

Being the son of a tailor, his studies at the Lycée in Quimper, his 8th place in the Concours Général in philosophy and his admission to the colonial school did not seem to predispose him to the life of an artist that he took up in 1897 when he moved to Paris. He was attracted by the spirit of the latest artistic trends, he met Picasso in 1901 and spent much time with the artists at the "Bateau-Lavoir", where he also took up residence in 1911. In 1903, he published “The Story of King Kabul the First and Gawain the Kitchen Boy”.

Many of his works were illustrated by his friends: Derain for the Brother Matorel burlesque and mystic works, Pablo Picasso for “The siege of Jerusalem”, Juan Gris for “Ne coupez pas mademoiselle,” etc.

He converted to Catholicism in 1909, and was baptised on 18 February 1915 at the Couvent de Sion in Paris. Picasso was his godfather. He was found unfit for combat and did not take part in World War I, and in 1916-1917 he adopted surrealism, writing “The Dice Box”.

Albert Speer (19 March 1905, Mannheim - 1 September 1981, London)

Born into a family of architects, Albert Speer studied at the technical schools of Karlsruhe, Munich and Berlin, where he was taught by Heinrich Tessenow, qualifying in 1931. On hearing a speech by Hitler in 1930, he was filled with enthusiasm for National Socialism, and joined the party in January the following year, as its 474 481st member.

Hard-working, efficient and talented, Speer excelled in many competitions and was noticed by Hitler who, on becoming chancellor, made him his own personal architect tasked with building the city of Berlin. In 1933, he received his first official commission, from Joseph Goebbels: to contribute to the restoration of the Chancellery building in Berlin. The following year, he designed the setting for the Nuremberg Rallies, based on the ancient site of Pergamon, in Turkey. In 1937, Speer designed the German pavilion for the Paris Exposition.

His organisational talents earned him an appointment as Minister for Armaments in 1942, succeeding Fritz Todt. In 1943, he assisted Herman Goering with the Reich’s economic planning, drawing on Todt’s organisational principles: forced labour for the construction of roads and strategic sites.

Coming under suspicion in July 1944, following the failed assassination attempt against Hitler, he was saved only by the annotation “if possible” made by Claus von Stauffenberg on the list of plotters contacted to form a post-Hitler government.

Speer succeeded in maintaining a high level of German activity in 1944, at the height of the Allied bombings, even going so far as to limit the scorched earth policy desired by Hitler, in the latter months of the war.

In 1946, he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials, where he sat apart from the defendants’ bench and acknowledged his own guilt, though denying any responsibility for the Final Solution. This earned him the epithet “good Nazi”, but it would later be called into question in Der Spiegel newspaper, on 2 May 2005.

Held in the fortress of Spandau together with the likes of Karl Dönitz, Walter Funk, Rudolf Hess, Konstantin von Neurath, Erich Raeder and Baldur von Schirach, he was released in 1966.

Speer’s image as a “good Nazi” enabled him to join the SPD, which saw him as a model of German repentance and renewal.

His published writings include Erinnerungen and Spandauer Tagebücher. Speer died of a brain haemorrhage in London in 1981, while participating in a series of programmes for the BBC.

Source : MINDEF/SGA/DMPA

Militaire et homme d'État français, Philippe Pétain est né le 24 avril 1856 à Cauchy-à-la-Tour (Pas-de-Calais), d'une famille de cultivateurs. Pensionnaire dans un collège de jésuites à Saint-Omer, il intègre ensuite l'école des Dominicains d'Arcueil. Très impressionné par les récits de son oncle qui avait servi dans la Grande Armée de Napoléon, et très marqué par la guerre de 1870, alors qu'il n'avait que 14 ans, il décide d'être soldat et entre à Saint-Cyr, en 1876. Il y est admis parmi les derniers (403e sur 412) et en sort en 1878 (Promotion De Plewna), dans un rang toujours très modeste, 229e sur 336, prélude à une carrière militaire qui s'annonce peu brillante. Il est affecté comme sous-lieutenant au 24e bataillon de chasseurs à pied (BCP) de Villefranche (Alpes-Maritimes). Lieutenant à l'ancienneté, il rejoint le 3e bataillon de chasseurs à Besançon en 1883 où il reste cinq ans, ne participant donc à aucune campagne coloniale.

Il est admis en 1888 à l'École Supérieure de Guerre dont il sort breveté d'état-major en 1890. Promu capitaine la même année, il est affecté à l'état-major du 15e corps d'armée, à Marseille avant de revenir au 29e BPC puis à l'état-major du gouverneur de Paris, aux Invalides.

En 1900, il est promu chef de bataillon et est nommé instructeur à l'École normale de tir du camp de Châlons-sur-Marne. Son enseignement et ses idées personnelles de commandement diffèrent alors de ceux de l'École, notamment sur l'intensité du tir qui doit primer, selon lui, sur la précision.

Il est muté en 1901 au 5e régiment d'infanterie (RI) à Paris où, en qualité de professeur-adjoint à l'École supérieure de guerre, il est chargé des cours de tactique appliquée à l'infanterie. Il s'y distingue par ses idées tactiques originales, rappelant l'effet meurtrier du feu et préconisant la défensive et la guerre de positions quand les théoriciens officiels prônent la guerre à outrance.

Nommé lieutenant-colonel en 1907, il est affecté à Quimper au 118e RI.

Promu colonel le 31 décembre 1910, il quitte alors l'École de guerre et prend le commandement du 33e régiment d'infanterie à Arras, où le sous-lieutenant Charles de Gaulle est affecté à sa sortie de Saint-Cyr et où se produira leur première rencontre, le 8 octobre 1912.

En juillet 1914, le colonel Philippe Pétain a 58 ans et s'apprête à prendre sa retraite. Lorsque éclate la Première Guerre mondiale, le 3 août 1914, il est à la tête de la 4e brigade d'infanterie et se distingue en Belgique, dans la province de Namur. Promu général de brigade le 27 août 1914, il reçoit le commandement de la 6e division qui atteint le canal de l'Aisne, après la victoire de la Marne. Le 14 septembre, il est général de division et le 22 octobre, il prend officiellement le commandement du 33e corps d'armée avec lequel il réalise des actions d'éclat, notamment dans les batailles de l'Artois en 1915, tout en se montrant soucieux d'épargner la vie de ses hommes.

Le 21 juin 1915, il reçoit le commandement de la IIe armée.

En février 1916, lorsque les Allemands déclenchent leur offensive sur Verdun, Pétain est désigné par Joffre pour prendre le commandement de ce front et organiser la défense aérienne et terrestre. Il parvient, en quelques jours, à stabiliser la situation et met en place une noria continue de troupes, de camions de munitions et de ravitaillement sur la petite route de Bar-le-Duc à Verdun qui va devenir la "Voie sacrée".

Unanimement reconnu comme "le vainqueur de Verdun", il ne reste pourtant qu'à peine plus de deux mois sur ce front avant de remplacer le général de Langle de Cary à la tête du Groupe d'Armées du Centre et d'être lui-même remplacé par le général Nivelle dont l'étoile de cesse de monter depuis le début de cette bataille pour aboutir à sa nomination, le 25 décembre 1916, de commandant en chef des armées à la place de Joffre. Le général Pétain est quant à lui nommé chef d'état-major général, poste spécialement crée pour lui.

Opposé aux méthodes brutales du nouveau généralissime qui envisage, dans l'Aisne, un assaut mené "jusqu'au bout de la capacité offensive" des unités, c'est-à-dire sans égard aux pertes, il ne peut s'opposer aux menaces de démission qui assurent en dernier lieu à Nivelle la confiance du gouvernement. La bataille du Chemin des Dames, déclenchée le 16 avril 1917, se solde rapidement par un échec très coûteux en vies humaines. Le mécontentement des soldats gronde et des refus collectifs d'obéissance se manifestent dans de nombreuses unités.

Nivelle est remplacé par Pétain qui est nommé, le 15 mai 1917, commandant en chef des armées françaises. Chargé de réprimer les mutineries et de ramener la confiance des troupes, il impose de dures mesures disciplinaires mais réduit au minimum les exécutions prononcées par le Conseil de guerre (49 exécutions pour 554 condamnations à mort), met fin aux offensives mal préparées et améliore les conditions de vie matérielles et morales des soldats, en attendant "les Américains et les chars".

En octobre 1917, il reprend aux Allemands, grâce à des offensives à objectifs limités et ne gaspillant pas la vie des soldats, une partie du terrain perdu du Chemin des Dames (le fort de la Malmaison).

Il développe parallèlement ses idées sur la nouvelle importance de l'aviation dans les batailles et sur son utilisation combinée avec les chars. Sa directive n° 5 du 12 juillet 1918 s'oriente ainsi nettement vers la guerre de mouvement : "la surprise tactique sera obtenue par la soudaineté de l'attaque à la faveur d'une préparation par l'artillerie et l'aviation de bombardement aussi brève et aussi violente que possible, soit sans préparation à la faveur de l'action de rupture des chars d'assaut ouvrant la voie à l'infanterie et à l'artillerie. Le rôle de l'aviation est de la plus haute importance".

Il prépare également une grande offensive en Lorraine, prévue pour le 14 novembre 1918, qui doit mener les troupes franco-américaines jusqu'en Allemagne. Mais elle est abandonnée car, contre son avis et celui du général Pershing qui souhaitaient que la signature de l'armistice n'intervienne pas avant que l'ennemi ne soit rejeté au-delà du Rhin, Foch, nouveau général en chef, et Clemenceau, président du Conseil, acceptent l'armistice demandé par les Allemands à la date du 11 novembre alors que les territoires français et belges ne sont pas encore tous libérés et que les alliés sont encore loin de la frontière allemande.

Bénéficiant d'une popularité considérable à la fin du conflit, véritable légende vivante, Pétain est élevé à la dignité de maréchal de France le 19 novembre 1918 et reçoit le 8 décembre suivant, à Metz, son bâton étoilé des mains du président Poincaré.

Reconduit dans ses fonctions de commandant des troupes françaises en juillet 1919, il est également nommé, par décret du 23 janvier 1920, vice-président du Conseil supérieur de la guerre et par décret du 18 février 1922, Inspecteur général de l'armée. Il se consacre durant toute cette période à la réorganisation de l'armée française.

En 1925, il est envoyé au Maroc pour combattre la rébellion de tribus aux ordres d'Abd-el-Krim, chef de l'éphémère République du Rif. Cette campagne s'achève en mai 1926 par la soumission d'Abd-el-Krim.

C'est la dernière campagne du maréchal Pétain et son ultime victoire.

Entré à l'Académie Française le 22 janvier 1931, il est nommé, le 9 février suivant, Inspecteur général de la défense aérienne du territoire. Son immense popularité, en particulier dans les milieux de gauche qui voient en lui le modèle du militaire républicain, lui permet d'accéder, en 1934, au poste de ministre de la guerre dans le gouvernement Doumergue, poste qu'il occupe jusqu'au renversement du cabinet, le 8 décembre 1934. Au cours de ce bref ministère, il travaille essentiellement à doter les forces françaises des moyens indispensables à la conduite d'une guerre moderne, offensive et audacieuse, grâce à l'emploi combiné de l'aviation et des chars. Mais il est confronté à des contingences politiques et financières qui ne lui laissent guère de moyens d'actions. Il préside par la suite le Conseil supérieur de la guerre où sa politique de guerre défensive s'oppose aux idées du colonel de Gaulle, partisan de la concentration de chars dans des divisions blindées.

Le 2 mars 1939, il est envoyé par Daladier comme ambassadeur de France en Espagne pour négocier la neutralité du régime de Franco en cas de guerre européenne et superviser le rapatriement à Madrid des réserves d'or de la Banque d'Espagne et des toiles du musée du Prado, mises à l'abri en France durant la guerre civile espagnole.

Le 17 mai 1940, Pétain, qui a alors 84 ans, est rappelé d'urgence en France par Paul Reynaud pour occuper le poste de vice-président du Conseil dans son gouvernement. Le général Weygand est nommé à la tête des armées en remplacement du général Gamelin mais il est déjà trop tard. Le gouvernement s'installe à Bordeaux et des centaines de milliers de Français et de Belges prennent les routes de l'exode pour fuir les troupes allemandes. Le 16 juin, Reynaud présente la démission de son gouvernement et propose de confier la Présidence du Conseil au maréchal Pétain, considéré par beaucoup comme l'homme providentiel.

Jusqu'en 1940, Pétain était avant tout et essentiellement un soldat. Après 1940, il doit gouverner au lieu de commander.

Le 17 juin, il prononce son premier message radio-diffusé et annonce aux Français son intention de demander l'armistice qui sera signé à Rethondes, le 22 juin après avoir été approuvé par le Conseil des ministres et le président de la République, Albert Lebrun. Le 29 juin, le gouvernement quitte Bordeaux et s'installe à Vichy où, le 10 juillet, une loi votée par les deux assemblées (569 voix pour, 80 voix contre et 17 abstentions) confie au Maréchal les pleins pouvoirs avec pour mission la promulgation d'une nouvelle constitution.

Mais Pétain décide de ne rien promulguer tant que la France ne sera pas libérée. Il institue donc un État provisoire, l'État français, pour le temps de l'occupation.

Dès lors commence la période la plus controversée de sa vie. Devenu chef de ce nouvel État, Pétain suspend les libertés publiques comme les partis politiques et unifie les syndicats dans une organisation corporatiste du travail. Il instaure un régime autoritaire, antiparlementaire, anticommuniste et anticapitaliste qui veut réaliser la "Révolution Nationale" avec pour devise "Travail, Famille, Patrie" et pour ambition le "relèvement de la France" qui passe d'abord par le rapatriement des réfugiés, le ravitaillement mais aussi le maintien de l'ordre et de l'unité nationale.

Il fait promulguer, anticipant les exigences allemandes, des lois d'exclusion contre les francs-maçons et les juifs qui les excluent de la plupart des activités et fonctions publiques.

Alors que le général de Gaulle, parti à Londres, appelle tous les Français à résister à l'ennemi, le maréchal Pétain s'engage officiellement dans la voie de la collaboration après son entrevue avec le chancelier Hitler dans la ville de Montoire (Loir-et-Cher), le 30 octobre 1940. Il poursuivra cette politique tout au long de la guerre dans l'espoir de faire de la France le partenaire privilégié du Reich dans une Europe durablement sous hégémonie allemande. Son choix collaborationniste exclut toute rébellion ou simple protestation contre les exactions de l'occupant et implique au contraire de dénoncer tous les actes de résistance intérieure ou extérieure et les opérations alliées contre des civils comme des "crimes terroristes". Il encourage les formations para-militaires, fer de lance de la Révolution Nationale et du régime et soutien des troupes allemandes sur le front russe.

Après le débarquement allié en Afrique du Nord le 8 novembre 1942 et les ordres que donne le Maréchal à ses généraux sur place de combattre les alliés, après la dissolution de l'armée d'armistice et le sabordage de la flotte française dans la rade de Toulon le 27 novembre 1942, après la dissidence de la plus grande partie de l'Empire et la fin de la "zone libre", le régime de Vichy ne dispose plus que d'un pouvoir illusoire face aux Allemands et le Maréchal perd, en France, une grande partie de la popularité dont il bénéficiait depuis 1940. De plus en plus affecté par son grand âge qui ne lui laisse plus, selon ses proches collaborateurs, que quelques heures de lucidité quotidiennes, il maintient néanmoins sa politique de collaboration et accepte le durcissement de la répression jusqu'en août 1944 où il est emmené contre son gré à Sigmaringen, en Allemagne, avec de nombreux dignitaires de son régime. Refusant d'y constituer un gouvernement fantoche, il traverse la Suisse et se rend aux autorités françaises le 26 avril 1945.

Traduit devant la Haute Cour de justice, son procès débute le 23 juillet 1945 et s'achève le 15 août suivant en le déclarant coupable d'intelligence avec l'ennemi et de haute trahison. Il est alors condamné à mort, à la dégradation nationale et la confiscation de tous ses biens mais la Haute Cour demande la non-exécution de la sentence, eu égard à son grand âge. Le général de Gaulle accède à cette demande, en raison peut-être également des mérites passés du Maréchal mais aussi de leurs anciens liens, et commue la sentence de mort en peine de réclusion à perpétuité.

Interné quelques mois au fort de Pourtalet, dans les Pyrénées, il est transféré au fort de la Citadelle, sur l'île d'Yeu, en novembre 1945. Il y décède le 23 juillet 1951, à l'âge de 95 ans, et est enterré au cimetière de Port-Joinville.

The face of the commitment of the Catholic church in France towards the internees, Mgr Saliège was the first French prelate to protest against the deportation of Jews from the Récébédou and Noé camps. Jules Saliège, originally from the Cantal, was destined from an early age into the priesthood. He entered the small seminary in Pleaux and then enrolled at the large seminary in Issy-les-Moulineaux. He was ordained on 21 September 1895 and two years later became the Superior at Saint-Flour, after having taught philosophy and ethics there. Mobilised in 1914, during the war he was a volunteer military chaplain. He was posted to the 163rd infantry division. Demobilised in 1918, he returned to his duties at the head of the seminary before being appointed Bishop of Gap in 1925. Pious XI made him Archbishop of Toulouse and Narbonne in 1928 to succeed Mgr Germain. In 1931, he was paralysed following an attack of hemiplegia. After the Armistice of 22 June 1940, Mgr Saliège added a political hue to his pastoral activity, standing up against the racial laws of the Vichy government in March 1941.

He went into action out in the field, supporting the charities helping those detained (republicans Spaniards, Jews and the politically opposed), in the camps at Noé and Récébédou. In August 1943, he was the first French prelate to denounce the use of the French camps as an anti-chamber of Auschwitz. On 23 August 1942, he wrote in a pastoral letter: "That children, women, men, fathers, mothers should be treated as a wretched herd, that members of the same family should be separated from one another and embarked for unknown destinations, was a sad spectacle reserved for our times to see... In our diocese terrible scenes have taken place in the camps of Noé and Récébédou. These Jews are men, these Jewesses are women. All is not permissible against them... They belong to mankind. They are our brothers like so many others. No Christian can forget that." Although it was banned by prefectorial decree, this letter was still read out in most parishes and, most importantly, was taken up and transmitted by the BBC. In September 1942, the Récébédou camp was closed. At the same time, he organised the resettling of Jews in the area surrounding Toulouse. Other ecclesiastical figures followed his example, including Mgr Théas, in charge of the diocese of Montauban. On 24 March 1944, addressing French Catholic scouts leaving for Germany, he openly criticised national socialism and was almost deported, escaping from this fate because of his reputation and the state of his health. On the Liberation, General de Gaulle awarded him the medal of the Résistance and made him Companion of the Liberation (law of 7 August 1945). In October 1945, on his sacerdotal jubilee and his appointment as assistant at the pontifical throne, Mgr Saliège was cheered by the crowd for his acts of resistance. On 18 February 1946, he was made Cardinal Priest of S. Pudenziana by the Consistory.

Weakened by his hemiplegia, he was assisted by Mgr Garrone, but continued to occupy the role of chancellor of the Toulouse catholic institute and to be a member of the Roman Congregations of the Sacraments, Nuns and Ceremonials. He died on 4 November 1956 at the age of eighty-six and is buried in the Saint-Etienne cathedral in Toulouse.

His writings reflect a life of commitment: Lettre pastorale de Mgr l'Archevêque de Toulouse (pastoral letter of Mgr Archbishop of Toulouse), (1937); Notes de son Excellence Mgr Saliège (Notes of his Excellency Mgr Saliège) (1945) ; Un Evêque français sous l'Occupation (A French Bishop under the Occupation) (1945) ; Le Temps présent et l'action catholique (The Present Time and Catholic Action) (1946) ; Le Prêtre, le Temps présent et l'Action catholique (The Priest, the Present Time and Catholic Action) (1946) ; Les menus Propos du Cardinal Saliège (Cardinal Saliège's Small-talk) (1947) ; Lourdes Pax Christi (1948) ; Lettre pastorale de S.E. le Cardinal Archevêque de Toulouse au Clergé et aux fidèles de son diocèse (Pastoral letter from the S.E. Cardinal Archbishop of Toulouse to the Clergy and the faithful of his diocese)(1948) ; Son Excellence Mgr Gabriel Brunhès, Evêque de Montpellier 1932-1949 (His Excellency Mgr Gabriel Brunhès, Bishop of Montpellier 1932-1949) (1949) ; Ma vie par le Christ. Lettre du Cardinal Saliège et de Mgr Houssaron, (My life in Christ. Letter from Cardinal Saliège and from Mgr Houssaron (1952) ; Mgr Maisonobe, Evêque de Belley, 1882-1954 (Mgr Maisonobe, Bishop of Belley, 1882-1954 (1955).

Joseph Doumenc (Born Grenoble, 16 November 1880 – Died Massif du Pelvoux, 21 July 1948):

After graduating from the Polytechnique, a prestige engineering school, and then enrolling at the School of Applied Artillery in Fontainebleau, Joseph Édouard Aimé Doumenc joined the École Supérieure de Guerre, a French institution for military higher education, in 1907. A captain in the armed forces staff of the 19th Army Corps, he served at the border between Algeria and Morocco before being posted to the 60th Artillery Regiment in Troyes. During the First World War, as deputy to the director of the automobile section before being promoted to director in 1917, he earned a reputation for arranging the road transportation of supplies and relief troops during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. Furthermore, between November 1916 and March 1917, he, along with General Estienne, was a pioneer in the development of the first tanks. He was appointed commander in 1918. After serving on a military campaign in Morocco in 1925, he was made commander of the 1st Infantry Division then commander of the 1st Military Region. In 1938, he was appointed to the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre (the Higher War Council or CSG). In 1939, after being promoted to army general, he was sent to Moscow as head of the French delegation tasked with negotiating a military agreement with the USSR, but a German-Soviet was signed and his mission was terminated. When war was declared, he was put in charge of the Anti-Air Defence for the country before holding the post of Major General in January 1940. He left the service in 1942. He died in a mountaineering accident in the Alps in 1948.

General Doumenc was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 with nine bronze star attachments, the Croix de Guerre for overseas theatres of operations and several foreign decorations.

Publications: Commandant Doumenc Les transports automobiles sur le front français 1914-1918 (1920).

1904 Born in Neheim, Westphalia (Germany), on 21 September.

1926 Attends the conference La Paix par la Jeunesse (Peace by Youth), at Bierville (France), on the invitation of Marc Sangnier.

1928 Studies in Paris at the Institut Catholique Séminaire des Carmes.

1932 Ordained a priest in Paderborn.

1934 Rector of the German parish of Paris.

1940 German chaplain of three Paris prisons: Fresnes, La Santé and Cherche-Midi.

1944 Provides support and assistance to prisoners sentenced to death (over 1 000 at Mont Valérien) or deportation and their families.

1945 Superior of the Séminaire des Barbelés, Le Coudray (Eure et Loir).

1948 Dies in Paris on 24 February.

1963 Ratification of the Franco-German treaty of friendship and reconciliation. Stock’s body is transferred to the church of Saint Jean-Baptiste de Rechêvres (Chartres).

The séminaire des Barbelés

Few embodied the desire for Franco-German reconciliation like Franz Stock

Stock’s life was an expression of love for humanity. His moral legacy remains in the books and accounts by those who met him in the extreme circumstances of war.

The most tangible reminder of Stock in France is at Le Coudray, near Chartres

It is the building which, between 1945 and 1947, housed what became known as the Séminaire des Barbelés, or “Barbed Wire Seminary”. Under Stock’s directorship, the site received nearly 1 000 young German and Austrian POWs, priests and seminarians who would contribute to building the new Germany.

In the 1960s, organisations were set up in both France and Germany by those who wanted this exceptional individual to serve as a model on both sides of the Rhine for all those wishing to contribute to reconciliation between the two countries and to building a peaceful Europe.

The Franz Stock European Meeting Centre

Today, three organisations –

• Association Chartraine Franz Stock
• Franz Stock Komitee
• Les amis de l'abbé Stock

– have decided to set up a Franz Stock European Meeting Centre (CERFS) in the buildings of the Séminaire des Barbelés. Work got underway a few days ago, and all the French and German organisations will be contributing to the success of the project.

Source : Association Française Les Amis de l'Abbé Stock

On the 30th August 1941 Parisians were to learn through the posting on walls of a yellow notice with a black border that the previous day, " Henri Louis Honoré, Count d'Estiennes d'Orves, a French citizen, born on the 5th June 1901 in Verrières " and sentenced to death for spying by the German court, had been executed by firing squad along with Maurice Barlier and Jan Doornik. D'Estienne d'Orves came from a long line of nobility: from an old family of Provencal origin, the d'Estiennes, on his paternal side and the Vilmorins on his maternal side, both legitimist families attracted by social Christianity. Study and leisure interests in equal measure filled a happy childhood: he passed his Baccalaureate in 1917 and prepared for Polytechnic in 1921, following time travelling in France and Europe. On leaving Polytechnic in August 1923, where his fellow students described him as an affable man with an enquiring and spiritual mind, he decided to serve in the Navy. In October 1923, he was a trainee on board the Jeanne d'Arc. Subsequent departures would take him to new horizons: from Brazil to China and from Morocco to Bali, each port of call was the opportunity to learn about and to try to understand the people and their culture.

In 1929, he married Eliane de Lorgeril, herself a descendant of Breton nobility. Five children would be born from this union. 1939: War broke out. Lieutenant of Vessel d'Estienne d'Orves found himself posted to the Duquesne onto the general staff of X Force who, under the orders of Admiral Godfroy, were to strengthen the British fleet of Admiral Cunningham in the eastern Mediterranean. The Armistice took place whilst the French were in Alexandria: a tacit agreement between the French and British admirals had avoided any confrontation between the former allies, but the French ships were immobilised. This predictable period of inactivity and the realisation that he could enjoy a certain amount of freedom on manoeuvres would lead d'Estienne d'Orves to pursue a career in action. This decision was a great wrench: he knew he would have to leave his family and his homeland far behind; his background, education and even his military status should have encouraged him to follow the path taken by most of his friends. However, he would write, "By continuing the fight, I thought I was acting in accordance with our traditions". And, under the pseudonym of Château vieux (from the name of one of his ancestors), he published a press release announcing the creation of the 1st Marine Group.

At the beginning of July 1940, d'Estienne d'Orves offered his services to General Legentilhomme, the commander of French troops in Djibouti, who announced his intention to ignore the Armistice, engaging the colony with him. With four other officers and marines, he reached Suez where he met Colonel de Larminat who had just gone over to the Free French. On the 23rd July, he disembarked from the Antenor in Aden to learn that Legentilhomme's project had failed. So D'Estienne d'Orves decided to go to Great Britain where French vessels were awaiting crews. Embarking on the 2nd August 1940 aboard an armed cargo ship, the Jehangir, d'Estienne d'Orves and his companions arrived in London at the end of September on board an ocean liner, the Arundel Castle, following an eventful journey along the African coast. He would never have the satisfaction of going back to sea in command on the bridge: the rearmament of the ships was in fact very slow and, in addition, he proved to be one of only a few officers of the Free French Naval Forces to have attended military college. On the 1st October 1940, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and was thus appointed to the 2nd bureau at general headquarters. The vital task of the information department of the Free French was to concentrate on the occupied country: to discover the movement of enemy troops, the location of aerodromes and the positions of batteries etc. Several missions had already been sent to the French coast with this objective. Having become the assistant to Colonel Passy, the head of the B.C.R.A, d'Estienne d'Orves laid the foundations for a network known as "Nemrod". On the 6th September 1940, Maurice Barlier was the first agent to reach France; Jan Doornick was to follow on the 1st October.

But d'Estienne d'Orves soon wanted to be on hand himself in order to coordinate the action of his men, establish vital contacts and recruit other agents. That was when he took over the department, Passy having been assigned temporarily to other duties. Was it wise to send the head of the secret service into already occupied France? Even Passy doubted deep down that this fundamentally straightforward man, with his confident nature, was suited to clandestine work. But General de Gaulle agreed: On the 21st December 1940, the trawler "Marie-Louise" left Newlyn, in Cornwall, with d'Estienne d'Orves - now "Jean-Pierre" - and Alfred Geissler, a young radio operator from the Alsace known as "Marty", onboard. They arrived the same evening not far from the Pointe du Raz, to be accommodated in Chantenay, near Nantes. Contact was made with members of "Nemrod" in Lorient and Nantes. On the 25th December, the first radio link between occupied France and London was established. Barlier's mission was to prospect in the Bordeaux region, with d'Estienne d'Orves taking care of the North and the Paris area. On the 27th December the latter was in Paris, where he met pioneers of the Résistance movement. From Brittany "Marty" regularly sent important messages back to London. However, he strangely proved to be both a drinker and a gossip. On returning from Nantes on the 19th January 1941, "Jean-Pierre" decided to bring him back with him to England. But "Marty", the son of a pro-Nazi Alsatian and himself a Germanophile, had that very day already made contact with the German counter-espionage service, providing the names of the 34 members of the network. Indeed, arrests were to follow - d' Estienne d'Orves was arrested during the night of the 21st to the 22nd January - whilst "Marty" sent false messages to London until the February. The prisoners were successively transferred to Nantes - where they were subjected to their first interrogations - to Angers, Paris and Berlin, before being incarcerated once more in Paris on the 26th February at the Cherche-Midi prison. On the 13th May 1941 his trial began, as did that of 26 of his companions. It would last 12 days. D'Estienne d'Orves covered for his fellow prisoners. The military judges would pronounce 9 death sentences and other prison sentences, whilst, remarkably, also paying tribute to the enemy. Appeals were lodged. The suspended sentence given to d'Estienne d'Orves in particular has been explained in different ways: some see it as the military commander in France, Von Stülpnagel's wish to wait for a spectacular opportunity to dampen spirits; others remember that the conviction stirred up strong feelings in the navy, in London and also in Vichy, to the point where Admiral Darlan intervened with the German authorities.

In Cherche-Midi and then in Fresnes prison, d'Estienne d'Orves read, meditated, prayed, wrote commentaries on the great literary classics and kept up the morale of his fellow prisoners. Above all, he wrote. His diary is a testimony, almost in the sixth religious sense of the term: he tells his nearest and dearest about his childhood, giving the example of a Christian and a soldier. Periods of hope and disappointment followed as the days passed. His lawyer, Oberleutnant Mörner, seemed confident. On the 21st August 1941 Midshipman Moser of the Kriegsmarine was killed in Paris in the Barbès-Rochechouart underground station. On the 22nd, General Schaumburg, commander of "Gross Paris", signed the order that would now turn the arrested Frenchmen into hostages. At the same time, the military commander in France, Von Stülpnagel, probably used the opportunity to make an example out of those prisoners already sentenced to death by executing them. On the 28th August 1941, d'Estienne d'Orves wrote to his sister about France, "I am dying (...) for her full freedom and hope that my sacrifice will be of some use to her".

"May nobody seek vengeance for me. I only wish for peace in the newfound greatness of France. Make sure to tell everyone that I am dying for her and for her full freedom and hope that my sacrifice will be of some use to her. I embrace you all with my everlasting tenderness. Honoré"

The following day, d'Estienne d'Orves, Barlier and Doornik - their 6 companions had been pardoned - were led to the fort at Mont-Valérien. It was a sunny morning. In front of the execution post, the marine officer remained steadfast, publicly pardoning his judges. He had written: "Don't hate anyone because of me - everyone has done his duty for his own country. Learn instead to recognise and better understand the character of France's neighbouring people." At 6.30 am the three men were shot. D'Estienne d'Orves valued highly the duty to obey: However, he chose to disobey his superior officers in the name of an ideal, whereas he could easily have found a position in Marshall Pétain's France. But he could never consider that, convinced that a battle is never really lost whilst the possibility of free action exists. On the 11th March 1943, Aragon published his poem "La Rose et le Réséda" which tells of the common battle of "he who believed in Heaven and he who did not believe". D'Estienne d'Orves was the former.

Théodose "Tom" Morel

Théodose Morel was born on 1 August 1915 in Lyon. His father came from a long line of silk manufacturers from Lyon while his mother descended from officers and lawyers from Savoy.

After receiving his primary and secondary schooling from Jesuit Fathers, he chose to follow a career in arms and prepared, from 1933 to 1935, the competitive entrance exam for the Special Military School (ESM) in Saint-Cyr at Sainte Geneviève School in Versailles. Admitted into the ESM in 1935 (Lyautey year), his results two years’ later allowed him to choose his posting: the 27th Battalion of Alpine Hunters (27th BCA), in Annecy, where he arrived on 1 October 1937, the day of his appointment to the rank of sub-lieutenant.

Trained as a scout/skier in Chamonix, Théodose Morel, who married Marie-Germaine Lamy in November 1938, became an officer and assistant to the commander of the scouts/skier section in Abondance before being promoted to this post himself. In May 1939, his section took Savoy and the Italian border. It was stationed above Val d'Isère. On 21 September he was promoted to the grade of lieutenant and then the 27th BCA left for the Eastern Front, his section, to his great regret, staying behind to defend the borders.

He nonetheless managed to make a difference between 12 and 20 June when faced with Italian Alpine troops; thanks to a smart but risky manoeuvre, he and another hunter managed to take four prisoners during a reconnaissance operation.

Shot in the right arm on 18 June, he continued to support his hunters and consequently was awarded the Military Cross. On 21 and 22 June 1940, called to reinforce his section near Petit Saint-Bernard Pass, he managed to locate the enemy troops which allowed the artillery to launch defensive fire forcing the enemy to retreat. Lieutenant Morel received a second commendation and the Legion of Honour Cross.

He subsequently served in the Armistice Army in Annecy where Commander Vallette d'Osia took command of the 27th BCA while preparing his unit for attack.

In August 1941, Lieutenant Morel was appointed to the post of instructor in Saint-Cyr, transferred to Aix-en-Provence, and it was driven by this spirit of combat that he directed and instructed his students. After the invasion of the southern zone by the Germans in November 1942 and the demobilisation of the Armistice Army, he joined the Haute-Savoie resistance movement and took part in covert operations working undercover at a weaving company. Teaming up with Vallette d'Osia, commander of the Secret Army (AS) of the département, and Captain Anjot of the 27th BCA, he endeavoured to set up the AS for Haute-Savoie, inadvertently helped by the introduction of the Compulsory Work Service (STO) in February 1943. Following Vallette d'Osia’s arrest in September 1943 by the Germans, who had replaced the Italians, then his escape to England, the AS of Haute-Savoie lost its leader. He was replaced by Henri Romans-Petit, chief of the AS of Ain. Morel doubled the army’s activity, while his family narrowly escaped arrest.

By late January 1944, Lieutenant Théodose Morel, alias Tom, received the order from Henri Romans-Petit, commander of the Maquis in Haute-Savoie and the mission, to receive the parachute drops on the plateau in Les Glières at 1,500 metres altitude and 15 kilometres from Annecy. The resistance and sabotage actions were intensified and martial law was declared in the département. Tom then decided to unite 120 resistance fighters in Les Glières. Two companies were formed. From February, over six weeks, the number of clashes multiplied with the Gardes Mobiles de Réserve (mobile reserve groups) surrounding the plateau on which they were stationed. At the end of February, over 300 men formed three companies.

Using the resources at his disposal, Tom energetically organised the defence of the site in Les Glières and instructed his battalion to establish a strong and homogenous unit to fight for liberation. Under his command, the battalion – which adopted the motto vivre libre ou mourir (live free or die) – regrouped battalions from the AS (Secret Army) but also from the Franc-Tireurs et Partisans (literally ‘free shooters and partisans’) and several dozen Spanish Republicans, effectively merging different branches of the Savoy resistance movement.

A first parachute drop of 54 containers supplied the fighters with small arms. On 2 March, he decided to lead an operation against the Hôtel Beau Séjour in Saint Jean de Sixt, where members of the GMR were stationed. Thirty GMR soldiers were captured, a bargaining chip to negotiate the release of Michel Fournier, a student of medicine and nurse for the maquis, arrested in Grand Bornand a few days earlier. But despite the gentlemen’s agreement made with the police intendant Lelong from Annecy, Fournier remained imprisoned.

On 5 March, a second parachute drop was made on Les Glières, supplying 30 containers. To force Lelong into keeping his promise and after receiving precise information, Tom decided to lead, on the night of 9 March 1944, an important operation against the GMR's headquarters based in Entremont, for which he rallied together some 100 men. He saved himself for the main objective: the attack on the Hôtel de France, the headquarters of the police staff. The scouts/skiers section succeeded in penetrating the building following a fierce battle.

At the moment the hunters released their prisoners, Commander Lefèvre, head of the GMR, took out a concealed weapon from his pocket and cowardly shot Tom Morel who fell, hit in the heart, before being killed himself.

Lieutenant Théodose Morel was buried by his comrades, on Plateau des Glières, on 13 March. On 2 May 1944, his body was brought down into the valley. He was later buried at the military cemetery in Morette, today the National Necropolis of Les Glières, in Haute-Savoie.

• Knight of the Legion of Honour
• Companion of the Liberation - decree of 20 November 1944
• Military Cross, 1939-1945 (two commendations)

Source: http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr

Jean Rosenthal was born on 5 September 1906 in Paris' first arrondissement. His father was a gem dealer. He took his secondary education at the Ecole Alsacienne, sat the baccalaureate and obtained a law degree.

In October 1925, he was drafted early into the 1st Group of Aeronautical Workers. Appointed to corporal in June 1926, then sergeant in November, he was released in May 1927.

He then worked with his father at the jeweller’s before setting up on his own in 1935.

Called up in September 1939 as a reserve lieutenant, Jean Rosenthal was assigned to the 8th Air Wing. Demobilised in July 1940, he moved into his family home in Megève.

In December 1942, he decided to escape from France via Spain. He was arrested and jailed for a couple of weeks in Pamplona prison then he made his way via Madrid and Lisbon, finally reaching England on 23 January 1943.

Appointed to lieutenant of the L Force in February 1943, he was sent to Cairo via Freetown and Lagos. He made it to Tripoli and the forces of General Leclerc on 25 March 1943. A tank lieutenant, he was sent on mission to London by General Leclerc in July 1943.

On 1 September 1943, he was incorporated into the Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations, commonly referred to as the BCRA, and after a short instruction programme, signed up as a volunteer for a mission in occupied France.

During the night of 21-22 September 1943, as part of the "Musc" mission, he was air dropped into the Junot field at the crossroads of the Departments of Rhône, Ain and Saône-et-Loire with the British colonel Richard Heslop (codename "Xavier") of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Their mission consisted of evaluating the situation of the maquis in Haute-Savoie, their needs in terms of armaments and supplies, the size of their numbers and level of training. They took a tour of the maquis during which time Captain Jean Rosenthal, under the name Cantinier, installed a radio in Megève's gendarmerie.

After being flown back to London on the night of 16-17 October to report back directly to General de Gaulle, Cantinier was immediately entrusted with a second mission. He was now a delegate of Free France and landed in the Jura, in the “Orion” field, near Bletterans, during the night of 18-19 October, with Xavier, the American radio captain Denis O. Johnson, known as Paul, and Elizabeth Reynolds, a courier. Under cover he set up camp in Haute-Savoie. One notable member of his team was his cousin, Micheline Rosenthal, known as Michette, aged 16, who became a courier.

When in the company of the politician Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury, he met the politician Chaban-Delmas and more importantly, before the deployment of the FFI (French Forces of the Interior), he negotiated a deal with the FTP Free Shooters and Partisans). In Paris, he met their leader, Charles Tillon, and a gentleman's agreement was concluded. Cantinier was going to be able to dedicate himself to the large-scale manoeuvres in Les Glières.

In early 1944, liaising with the leaders of the various maquis, he led perilous missions, including notably the delicate sabotage operation conducted at the Schmidt-Ross ball-bearing factory in Annecy, which stopped production at the plant for several months. In February he also organised several parachute drops into the maquis in Les Glières.

On 9 March 1944 he was part of the expedition against the GMR’s headquarters in Entremont during which Tom Morel was killed and, after the order to withdraw given to the maquis on 26 March 1944, he started to prepare for the liberation of Haute-Savoie. 

On 3 May, 1944, Jean Rosenthal returned to London to get his orders and was sent back to France for yet another mission. He parachuted in on the night of 7-8 June 1944, landing in Cluny in Saône-et-Loire, along with Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury and Paul Rivière, to assure the liaison between the maquis and the interallied chiefs of staff.

In August 1944, under his command, the maquis leaders in Haute-Savoir liberated the Department, capturing 3,000 prisoners and a big haul of military equipment. On 19 August 1944, he received the surrender of the German forces under the command of General Oberg at the Prefecture of Haute-Savoie, in the company of the Regional FFI Leader Nizier.

In October 1944, Jean Rosenthal was transferred to the General Directorate of Studies and Research (DGER) in Paris where he voluntarily enlisted to serve in the Far East against the Japanese. He left London in April 1945 for Calcutta where he was appointed deputy base chief. Promoted to the rank of battalion chief, he planned the airdrops and obtained brilliant results for his teams of parachutists. After several returns to Paris, he moved back permanently in March 1946 and was demobilised two months later.

From that point on, Jean Rosenthal resumed the work he did prior to the outbreak of war, trading precious stones. He was named President of the World Jewellery Confederation. 

An honorary colonel, he also assumed important responsibilities within the Jewish community, as President of the CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France) and the AUJF (Unified Association of Jews in France).

Jean Rosenthal died on 2 August 1993 in Garaches (Hauts-de-Seine). He is buried at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.

• Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour [list]Companion of the Liberation – Decree of 20 November 1944
• Croix de Guerre, 39-45 (six commendations)
• Colonial Medal
• Military Cross (GB)

aka "Bayart"

Born in Rennes on 21 July 1904, Maurice Anjot grew up in a family that held very strong religious and national traditions. That is where he received his sense of duty and the moral qualities that, at a very early age, gave him a maturity and an intelligence that his superiors always admired. He was a robust, lively man. At first contact he seemed cold and reserved, but it quickly became clear that while he did not communicate freely and did not seek to stand out, it was because he lived things intensely within himself with his responsibilities, his ideals and his faith.

He had a brilliant military career. He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1925 and returned in 1929 as an instructor for six years. His superiors always saw "a rare set of moral, intellectual and physical qualities" in him, making him a well-rounded individual. He gave the impression of an "energetic and thoughtful leader", demonstrating "very sound judgement, common sense, a steady eye and tact". Named captain in 1935, he earned a well-deserved military citation during the fighting on the Aisne and on the Marne. He was assigned to the 27th BCA in Annecy after the Armistice.

He was an elite officer who decided to join the French Résistance in the spring of 1941. Police reports for “anti-governmental activities” give us an idea of the kinds of activities he was involved in during that year. He had multiple contacts with reserve officers to set up secret battalions in the region. “In the spring of 1941,” said a witness questioned during the investigation carried out in the autumn of 1942, “I received a visit from Captain Danjot or Anjot, Master Warrant Officer in the 27th Chasseurs Alpins. He was wearing civilian clothes and had come by car. He introduced himself and gave an overview of the situation in France. After the defeat in 1918, the Germans had set up a secret organisation to develop an army. It was normal for France to do the same, he said... This is how the movement was organised – a battalion similar to the “Chasseur” battalions was to be set up in each arrondissement, with reserves, including about a thousand men to be mobilised by individual convocation.”

His resistance plan could have been particularly effective. At the right time, a veritable reserve army could have come out of nowhere from behind the lines, suddenly expanding the armistice army. The project was all the more daring in that it dated from the beginning of 1941, at a time when most French people were not even thinking about a domestic resistance. The invasion of the “free zone” in November of 1942 put an end to it. Other methods had to be found, but the goal was the same – to reconstitute battalions “for the day when, as Anjot said according to another police report, we’ll have to clean up the country.” The Armée Secrète” was born. Captain Anjot was one of its main agents in the Haute-Savoie department, under the orders of Colonel Vallette d'Osia.

After his superior was arrested, he also led the life of a fugitive. He grew a moustache and sideburns; he became a different man with a different identity. He found a place to stay with friends, then with a priest, then at a farm. He was the same man in the Résistance that he was in the army – a methodical man who obstinately worked to pursue his ideals. He made important contacts himself; he centralised information; he maintained contacts with accomplices and organised underground activities – he alone knew their scope and their utility. At Glières, he did not hesitate to go to the intendant of police, Colonel Lelong, to negotiate. "My life is of little importance,” he said to those who wanted to stop him from taking the risks of such an approach, “if I can save the lives of others.” A few days later, Tom was killed in the fighting at Entremont. An officer was needed to continue his work at all costs, so that Glières would always be Glières. Anjot stepped forward and it seems that the officers on the Plateau were ardently awaiting his arrival.

He wrote a letter to his wife that shows what kind of man he was. "You know how events have turned since you left. Our comrade Morel’s sudden death led to a need for a replacement. If I took on this heavy load, it is because I felt that it was my duty. Don’t think that it wasn’t hard for me to take this decision, with you gone; but maybe your very absence enabled me to overcome the family aspect of the question more freely. Many people, with more or less cowardly and dishonest dispositions, currently turn away from their national duty. As an officer, I cannot do that. I hope that you and Claude will bravely accept my decision."

Alongside this spiritual testament, he added a word for his son. "I especially suggest that you always be kind to your mother. Obey her and always be the good little student I so enjoyed working with. I’ll be home as soon as possible and we’ll return to our former life. Don’t forget your daddy in your prayers."

In fact, even as he tried to reassure his family, he understood the situation far too well to be optimistic. Instead of living in the enthusiasm of the Plateau, he personally had to closely follow events day by day; he knew the threats that were building up. He didn’t expect to come back down; he made that clear to a friend with whom he spent the last evening before he took up his new command position. Forever methodical, he drew up plans with him for concerted action in case the situation didn’t change too quickly.

He went up to Glières on 18 March. It was quite an expedition to reach the Plateau through the roadblocks. He carried with him the banner of the company he had commanded at Kehl Bridge, to fly it symbolically over Glières. He also brought his Chasseur Alpin battle dress jacket with him: "If I must die”, he said, “I want to die Anjot”. That is why his moustache and sideburns had disappeared when he arrived.

Events unfolded too quickly for him to show his full worth. During the week that the Plateau was able to hold out, he just had time to move into his new command post and to hastily reinforce the defences. The enemy now had the initiative. Anjot had the great idea to save their honour by saving as many lives as possible – he was concerned for the more than four hundred young men who had inspired him to come and take on this dire duty. After proudly refusing to negotiate with the militiamen, he did everything he could to fend off the imminent attack. In the evening of 26 March, when his defences had been irreparably breached, he ordered an evacuation, giving each leader detailed instructions for his retreat. He headed out with a large column into the Gorge d'Ablon. He had reached the village of Nâves, with Lieutenant Lambert Dancet and Vitipon, when a German roadblock opened fire on their little group and on the Spaniards following them. They fought back but soon fell. Anjot was shot down in a hail of machinegun fire. P. G.