Georges Beaufils

Georges Beaufils born in 1913 with Crouin, close to Cognac, deceased after 1994. Communist militant especially known, under the pseudonym of Joseph to have been the interlocutor of Rémy at the time of the first contacts between the free France and the French Communist party clandestine.

Biography

Prewar years

The father of Georges Beaufils was locomotive engineer and his mother, waitress in a hotel. Good pupil, Geoges Beaufils finds himself, after his certificate of studies, in training in an automobile workshop of electricity where its owner gives him the taste of the studies and pushes it to follow courses of mathematics and electricity by correspondence.

In 1931 Georges Beaufils goes up to Paris, Marie and he will become father of two little girls. He carries out in Limoges his military service which he finishes as warrant officer. When it returns to the civil life, it is named foreman. Friends then propose to him to adhere to the Communist party, it towards what directed it rather naturally the family traditions. It takes small responsabilities as well with the Party as in CGT. It takes an active part in the events of 1936 by organizing the supply of meal for the workmen strikers of the 19th district.

It leaves its community activity then and becomes permanent Party, in the section of the executives and collaborates with Arthur Dallidet and Maurice Tréand.

The Second world war

In August 1939, after the signature of the pact germano-Soviet, it accompanies in Moscow its owner Arthur Dallidet that Maurice Thorez had sent to be informed near the Soviet authorities of the exact significance of the pact. Repatriated in urgency by the embassy of France after the declaration of war, it takes part in the engagements in the East of France to the head of a section. It is made prisoner on June 10th, 40 and manages to escape in the first days from captivity in France. Its first task is to go to recover in the Maine-et-Loire of the small notebooks which he had entrusted to his family. These notebooks, made up with Dallidet, were in fact a file of militants and frameworks of the Party on which one could count. Georges returns to Paris in November 1940 and renews contact with Dallidet.

In agreement with Dallidet, Georges Beaufils takes the statute of " légal" , i.e. he lives with his family under his true identity. He repurchases a garage with a former owner. This garage, at the same time as it made it possible Beaufils to make live its family, became a clandestine workshop where were manufactured, for example, of the cords of detonators for explosive devices. For these activities, Georges Beaufils was in contact with Jean Jerome and Georges Beyer, the brother-in-law of Charles Tillon.

The membership of Beaufils to the section of the executives pre-war period, its voyage to Moscow with Dallidet leave think that it has been integrated for several years in the clandestine apparatus and that it with the confidence of Soviet. Starting from the end 1940, one can say that within OS (Special Organization) installation by Dallidet, it is more or less placed at the disposal of Jean Jerome.

Georges Beaufils will be in any case, during several months, from April in September 1942, the unexpected interlocutor of Rémy, the secret agent of the free France representing the de Gaulle general. Beaufils represents the Clandestine Communist party. It is Jean Jerome which indicated it to hold this role. Between Rémy the royalist very Old France , and Beaufils that Rémy knew under its pseudo Joseph , the communist workman, it created for itself a sincere friendship. These first contacts between the free France and the Communists lead to a first delivery of weapons for the Communists, to broad of Guilvinec, on August 15th, 42, and especially, at the end of August, the sending of Fernand Grenier to represent the Party in London.

At the beginning of summer 42, Georges Beaufils has a long conversation with Charles Tillon. Until April 12th, 1943, it is him which will be brought to represent FTPF in meetings held in Paris with the other military organizations of Resistance under the presidency of Passy and Brossolette. As from May 43, it yields its place to Marcel Prenant. Nevertheless, on December 29th, 43, it is Beaufils which signs in the name of Charles Tillon, the birth certificate of FFI. Within the staff of the FFI, it is known like the colonel Drumont .

June 1st, 44, Georges Beaufils is sent by COMAC in the West as regional inspector of the FFI. In August 44, it will have very bad relations with the colonel Pierre de Chevigné, military commander of the released zones named by De Gaulle. It takes part in the liquidation of the German pockets of resistance.

After war

Post-war period, Geoges Beaufils will be integrated into the army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1946, it follows the courses of the University of war, but it is well quickly relegated to the DCI (Central Deposit of Isolated) of Versailles, in company of the other communist officers. It was there sometimes in position of competition with respect to Rol-Tanguy which had a position plus legalist that his.

It leaves definitively the army in 1963, settles in Royan and takes again civil activities, in particular within the Bérim. It has contacts with Soviet agents, which one does not know the exact importance, but which will be worth to him to be stopped by the DST in 1977, condemned at 8 years of prison. It will profit in 1981 from a presidential pardon.

Sources

Pierre Durand, Joseph and men of London , the time of Cherries, 1994 (authorized Biography of Georges Beaufils)
Roger Faligot, Remi Kauffer, Service B , Beech, 1985
Roger Faligot, Remi Kauffer, Resistant the , Beech, 1989
colonel Rémy, Memories of a Secret agent of Free France (June 40 - June 42) , Raoul Solar, 1946
colonel Rémy, the book of Courage and Fear (June 42 - November 43) , Raoul Solar, 1947
Roger Bourderon, Rol-Tanguy , Taillandier, 2004

See too

History of the French Communist party

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