François Mitterrand and the Second world war

The course of François Mitterrand during the Second world war was the subject of an important controversy in the Eighties and Nineties.

The defeat

The June 14th 1940, François Mitterrand, who is useful in the French Army, is wounded and captured. During its stay in the prison camps, in particular with the Stalag IXA located at Ziegenhain, its political positions, at the origin very on the right, appear to evolve to the left with the wire of its meetings with prisoners resulting from different social classes like in contact with an internal social organization to the camp

After two missed escape bids, in March and in November 1941, it ends up succeeding in escaping the December 10th 1941 and turns over to France.

The “Vichysto-resistant one”

Year 1942

Under the mode of Vichy, although sought by German as escaped prisoner, he works from January to April 1942 with the French Légion of the combatants and the volunteers of the national revolution as contractual, then with the Commissariat with the reclassification of the prisoners of war. He publishes an article on his captivity in the doctrinal periodical of the mode France, review of the new State , text which does not refer to Pétain or the national Revolution.

In a letter of the April 22nd 1942, it still acknowledges not to be not particularly anxious return to the business, intervened a few days before, of Pierre Laval which must according to him prove reliable, but it condemns the officialization of the French Legion of combatants (L.F.C.), preferring to him the model of the Service of order legionary (S.O.L.), which has just set up Joseph Darnand.

However, as of spring 1942, under the influence of former escaped prisoners (Jean Roussel, max Game preserve and Dr. Guy Money), his swing towards the rows of Resistance was in hand. In April, it causes, with Guy Fric, an uproar at a public meeting of the scientist Georges Claude, a burning collaborator. From the semione, it provides false paper to facilitate escapes from prisoners in Germany. It takes part in the meetings of the castle of Montmaur, the June 12th then the August 15th 1942, providing the first foundations of its future resistance network. As of September, it contacts free France, but the personal relations with Michel Cailliau, nephew of the de Gaulle general, are execrable. Other gaullists, met thereafter, will have a much better impression of François Mitterrand, following the example Philippe Dechartre, of his true name Jean Duprat-Geneau, associated of Michel Cailliau.

The October 15th 1942, François Mitterrand is received by the Pétain Marshal with several persons in charge of the Committee of mutual aid to the repatriated prisoners Allier, among which the resistant Marcel Barrois.

At the end of 1942, it finds a friend of pre-war period, Pierre Guillain de Bénouville, resisting related on Combat and the Noyautage of the public administrations (NAP).

Year 1943

Creation and development of the RNPG (January-July)

François Mitterrand resigns of the Police station in January 1943, after the replacement of Maurice Pinot, vichysto-resistant, and.

Little time afterwards, it enters clandestinity.

In January then as from spring, it approaches powerful the Organization of resistance of the army (ORA), in the course of formation. This one finances founded the Mitterrand-Pinot network in February: the national Gathering of the prisoners of war. Several members of the Mitterrand-Pinot network are, in practice, members of the ORA. François Mitterrand itself is regarded by the Action service of the organization as one of his members. Several actions are jointly decided between leaders of the ORA and leaders of the RNPG and are carried out by militants of the two movements.

In March, Mitterrand meets Henri Frenay and easily convinces it to work with him. Thanks to Frenay, interior Resistance supports François Mitterrand against Michel Cailliau. However, the date of the May 28th 1943, at the time of its meeting with the gaullist Philippe Dechartre, was considered by Patrick Rotman as the date of its final rupture with its former guards of Vichy.

The activity of the RNPG moves, during the year 1943, of the supply of false paper towards the supply of information to the free France. According to Pierre de Bénouville, “François Mitterrand had succeeded in setting up a true network of information in the camps. Thanks to the prisoners of war, we could take note of information, sometimes decisive, on what occurred behind the borders. ”

Clandestinity, Algiers, London (July-December 43)

The July 10th, François Mitterrand and the Communist militant Piatzook are the authors of a blow of glare at a great public meeting with Paris, Wagram room, devoted to the “changing” of the prisoners by the workmen. At the time when André Masson fades the “treason of the gaullists”, François Mitterrand challenges it room and the right denies to him to speak in the name of the prisoners of war, qualifying the changing of swindle. François Mitterrand is not stopped, his escape having been facilitated by Piatzook.

Four months later, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) searches in the residence of François Mitterrand, absent. Two of his/her friends are stopped, off-set; one does not return from the Concentration camp. A little later it is saved by the woman of colonel Pfister, directing Organization of resistance of the army, of an arrest by the Gestapo.

Under the name of code “Morland” (it will use also the pseudonyms of Purgon, Monnier, Laroche, Francois, captain Arnaud and Albre), François Mitterrand leaves then for London the November 15th 1943 then goes to Algiers where it is received by the Général de Gaulle. The meeting leaves a very bad memory to the two men. De Gaulle declares: “You made good work, Mitterrand, but I want that one puts order in all that. Why a movement of prisoners of war besides? While one is there, one could also make a Résistance movement of Breton, grocers or porkbutchers, hein? ” (alternative: Why not that of the hairdressers?).

The general asks so that the organizations prisoners amalgamate under the aegis of M.R.P.G.D., only condition to receive material and money. But Mitterrand refuses the supervision of the movement of Michel Cailliau.

Finally, de Gaulle accepts the conditions of François Mitterrand. March 18th, 1944, Henri Frenay written in Michel Cailliau that it “stands as personally guarantor” of François Mitterrand, and that the de Gaulle general shares his point of view.

As of on November 27th, 1943, the central Office of information and action makes of François Mitterrand an operations manager of first class. In its Memories of war , volume 3, de Gaulle quote by name Mitterrand among these operations managers who “held us informed of all”.

Year 1944

After a second passage to London, it returns the February 24th 1944 in France to direct the National movement of the prisoners of war and deportees (resistance network).

According to its memories, it organized itself this movement with its close relations during the period when officially it worked for the mode of Vichy, which allowed him all to know prisoners of return in France. It takes part in the Libération of Paris in August 1944.

It is named by Charles de Gaulle general secretary with the Prisoners of war in the government of the general secretaries, which takes over temporarily during a few weeks the duties, in Paris, of the provisional government.

The Rise of the rock of Solutré carried out each year since 1946, testifies to the attachment of François Mitterrand to his resistant friends.

later development

In 1984, François Mitterrand was shown of collaboration with the Régime of Vichy by the deputies François d' Aubert, Alain Madelin and Jacques Toubon. Mitterrand accepted the support of the general Pierre de Bénouville, old resisting and appointed RPR which disputed the charges. The three deputies were sanctioned one month of deprivation of M.P.'s salaries, for attack with the honor of the president.
François Mitterrand will refuse to require excuses in the name of the French State concerning the fate of the Jews during the Second world war, because Vichy was not for the president, not more than for all its predecessors since the provisional government, the French State but an authority in fact (it is the expression used in all the legislative texts referring to the laws of Vichy, until the years 1990). July 14th, 1992, François Mitterrand declares on the other hand that the participation of the mode of Vichy in the deportations concerns the obviousness. The decree of February 1993 founds on July 16th “national day commemorative of racist persecutions and anti-semites made under the authority in fact of the Vichy government (1940-1944)” and the monument inaugurated on this occasion mentions well that it is of the French, and not German soldiers, who have raid the Jews. The declaration of Jacques Chirac, the July 16th 1995 supplemented this recognition. The law of the February 29th 2000, voted unanimously by the National Assembly, will conclude the polemic while beginning again this official recognition and solemn of the crimes of the French State .
After the publication of a French youth of Pierre Péan and the revelations on the friendship of François Mitterrand with Rene Bousquet, former general secretary with police force of Vichy, the Nobel Prize of peace Elie Wiesel had declared that “the president had to spend much nights without sleep. ”

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