Perished Gabriel
Gabriel Péri is a Politician French (Toulon, February 9th 1902 - Paris, December 15th 1941). Journalist of profession, he was member of the Central committee of the French Communist party, writer of the service politics foreign of Humanity and appointed Seine-et-Oise. Resisting, it was stopped then shot by the Germans, with the Mont Valérien.
Biography
Child and youth
Born on February 9th, 1902 with Toulon in a family of Corsican origin, a directing father of the engineering services of the docks of Marseilles of socialist sensitivity and from a very pious mother which devotes itself to raise her two children. Raise shining, the Gabriel young person follows his schooling to the college of Marseilles where it obtains many prices. Of a traditional solid formation, it prepares the entrance examination to the National university but of the family problems will prevent it from going further.
The engagement of Perished in policy is very early. It adheres to the socialist Jeunesses in 1917 whereas it is only fifteen years old. Three years later, it adheres to the III {{E}} international Communist and becomes the regional secretary of the Communist youths. It is less than one year later, at the time of the first national congress of the French Section of the international Communist that Péri, in the name of Communist youths, is noticed by the direction of the PCF young person. He is then literally aspired by the direction of the PCF, which charges it, to twenty years, of the National federation of the JC, and names it responsible for its newspaper, the Avant-garde. As delegated to the international congress of Communist youth, it makes its first voyage to Moscow in 1922.
After two years in province, it settles with Paris in November 1924 and deals with the international heading of the communist daily newspaper Humanity, function which it until August 25th, 1939 exerts without discontinuity. During this period, it proves like virulent opposing the modes fascist and to Nazi. Candidate of PCF to the legislative elections of 1932, it is elected appointed 1st district of Versailles (Argenteuil). Gabriel Péri took the defense of the pedagog and Communist militant Célestin Freinet, then in the middle of a violent national polemic, at the National Assembly, then in audience near the Minister for education Anatole de Monzie. It could not however prevent the displacement of office of Freinet. Maurice Wullens, present during this maintenance, in made the account in the review “the Humble ones”.
The Second world war
Resistance
Like good number of communist members of Parliament, Péri is surprised by the advertisement of the Pacte germano-Soviet, on August 23rd 1939. According to the testimonys collected by Middle-class the Guillaume historian: Gabriel Péri was very affected by the signature of the pact . Deeply trustful in the Soviet policy, but as savagely antifascist since years, it had, more as very other the impression to suddenly find itself in the center of an insurmountable conflict. By spirit of abnegation, and by betting that it had made the good choice in any case, it refuses to be disunited of PCF, by supposing that it even considered this solution. Always according to the research undertaken by Middle-class Guillaume: Perished is locked up in a certain dumbness although it chose to continue to militate .
Its choices are clearer at the end of September 1939, when he asks to be built-in, in spite of a serious pulmonary attack which had made it reform in 1922. It is while waiting for its mobilization which is accepted, that it takes knowledge of the addressed letter on October 1st 1939 by the reconstituted communist parliamentary group, with the president of the room, Edouard Herriot; this letter, according to the new Soviet policy required that peace overtures be made in Hitler. If, according to Middle-class Guillaume, Perished undoubtedly does not express dissension with its contents , Amilcare Rossi gives very an other version. Indeed, it announces that Péri would have protested with vehemence while declaring: We provide to the government an excellent pretext to send to us to the post of Vincennes . The missive, written by Jacques Duclos and Florimond Kindness, breaks its engagement and its patriotic choices, whereas at the same time, the direction of PCF have since weeks broken the line antifascist, to launch the fight against the war which returns back-to-back English and French capitalists, and German Fascism .
Without any doubt Péri, even if it remains faithful to PCF, tests difficulties of accepting this political new line which runs up against its convictions antifascists and patriotic. Its independence of mind does not fail to cause certain concerns for cacic Komintern. It is what Roger Bourderon in an addressed missive of Moscow by André Marty notices, on January 20th 1940 It is necessary to draw aside Péri of the station entrusted drafting of the documents because of all its past/journalistic, its support with the elements trotskists in the area border of the Eastern Pyrenees/French Catalogne . This vindicatory and police telegram does not have seems T it not modified the relationship between the clandestine direction of PCF and Péri.
Thus, during all the funny one of war, it is one of the executives of the team charged of the drafting of clandestine Humanity. Perished is besides one of the rare leaders of PCF clandestine to remain in the capital at the time when the Wehrmacht ravels under the Triumphal arch and which the team Benoît Frachon - Arthur Dallidet followed the exodus of the Parisian ones. When Maurice Tréand, the person in charge of the commission of the executives of the party, is of return with Jacques Duclos on June 15th 1940, Péri is opposed with virulence to the attempts legalists of the two men. It does not have, seems T it, not lost its attachment with the line antifascist of the years of Popular front. It is in constant dissension with Tréand which transmits negative telegrams to its opposition in Moscow.
Folded up in an apartment of the 19 {{E}} district, it continues the publication of articles in clandestine Humanity. It places later at a militant, André Chaintron. It is there that he undertakes the writing of a booklet entitled Non the Nazism, it is not socialism! , which will be published in March 1942.
Arrest and execution
Two months later, on May 18th, Péri is stopped in circumstances which remain mysterious affirm Guillaume Bourgeois. Indeed, in the collective work Histoire of the French Communist party , it is announced that Perished was denounced by Hermann Bertelé, called “Armand”, associated of the person in charge to the executives chosen by Duclos, Maurice Tréand, that which had organized the steps at occupying Führer, for the republication of Humanity with imprimatur Nazi . In fact, called Armand is Edmond Foeglin, assistant of Maurice Tréand at the commission of the executives since 1938 where it manages the “black lists” of PCF. He would seem to be the initiator of the removal of Perished with the door of the Villette, at André Chaintron. This removal, at a known Communist militant of the police services and brother of Jean Chaintron, chief communist of the southern zone already stopped and condemned to death, is one serious fault taking into consideration measurement aiming to the safety of Perished. Thus, ensuring part of the connections since the setting with the wall cupboard of Tréand the autumn 1941, Foeglin which knows the majority of the addresses of the Parisian communist executives is stopped, whereas it goes to Jean Catelas which had just been denounced. Foeglin would then have proposed to the police superintendent to exchange his release against information concerning the clandestine operation of the Communist party and the cushy job of one of its leaders: Perished Gabriel , the biography of the biographical Dictionnaire of the labor movement French announces.
The report/ratio of the general informations confirms some elements: Gabriel Péri is stopped with the door of Champerret, probably denounced by a comrade. Although having taken its distances with the PC since the pact germano-Soviet . However, “the business of the arrest of Perished” took a turning polemical post-war period, Pierre Teruel-Handled showing Jacques Duclos to have delivered Péri to the police force. Duclos was strongly defended some in its Memories. The historian of Communism Stephan Courtois adds in his thesis on PCF in the war: it is a fact that the joint arrest of Perished and Jean Catelas, deprived the “nationalist” tendency of its spokesperson in the person of Perished and made disappear a witness very with the current from the negociations of June 1940 between the Party and the Germans in the person of Catelas. It is true that she deprived the Party of two frameworks of very great value. But it would not have been the first time that a Communist party would have sacrificed for the needs of the aforesaid the “cause” of the too brilliant persons in charge, too independent or too not compromised. However, it seems proven that Péri and Catelas “fell” on denunciation from an assistant from Tréand which would never have had to undergo the avenger lightnings of the Party what very appears surprising for a similar fault or treason (except if it were in “ordered service”) . It is still difficult to today know if famous Armand acted only or on order but it appears, on the other hand, more certain than heavy faults in the security measures were made and than Péri is the main victim.
Condemned by defect at five years of prison, 5.000 francs of fine and five years of deprivation of civic rights by military IIIe tribunal of Paris, on April 3rd 1940 to have taken part in the constitution of the working and country Group French and to have propagated watchwords of IIIe International , Péri is interned with the Prison of Health.
It seems that a certain emanating number of attempts of the Vichy government and the collaborationnists mediums tried to withdraw Péri from the German authorities but under certain conditions. Pierre Pucheu, the Minister of Interior Department, would have proposed in Péri to help it in exchange of the disavowal of the terrorist acts carried out by PCF clandestine. The lawyer of Perished, Me Berthon, would have made known this request with the interested party. Perished, with the dires of Berthon, would have been favorable to this request while asking to reflect before deciding. It is in fact that these steps did not lead whereas to the same moment, in October 1941, the historical leader of PCF, Marcel Cachin, stopped by the Gestapo, received the authorization of the direction to sign a long declaration where it pointed out his combat for the Franco-German friendship and where he condemned the communist attacks against the occupants.
Whatever the responsibilities for the direction of PCF and the attempts of the minister of Vichy, Péri is transferred to the Prison from Seek-midday, placed under German control. Regarded as hostage by the Germans who intend to answer the individual attacks that PCF carries out since the entry in war of the USSR, Péri thus forms part of the 92 shot hostages on December 15th 1941 with the Mont Valérien.
Posthumous homages
Its autobiography, entitled the following days which sing, was published after its death in 1947. Paul Éluard in particular paid homage to him in its poetry To go German . Louis Aragon dedicated to him, with three other resistant (Honore d' Estienne d' Orves, Gilbert Dru and Guy Môquet, is two Christians and two Communists), its poem " The pink and the réséda" , which contains the famous ones towards: " That which believed in the Sky/That which did not believe pas" in it;.
Heroes of resistance, of very many streets (for example in Toulouse), schools, colleges and colleges as well as a subway station, Perished Gabriel - Asnières - Gennevilliers, are baptized with its name after the Release, in particular in the communes won over to the Communist party.
In addition a foundation close to PCF bears the name of Gabriel Péri, the Fondation Gabriel Peri, founded by Robert Hue.
Sources
- Files of the police headquarter, file Situation of Paris
- Jean-Pierre Azéma, Antoine Prost, Jean-Pierre Rioux, French Communists of Munich with Châteaubriant , national Foundation of political sciences, Paris, 1983.
- Roger Bourderon, “what says the files. Clandestine Gabriel Perished”, in Book of history of the Research institute Marxists , n° 26 (1986), p. 9.
- Middle-class Guillaume, Communist and anticommunists during the Funny one of war , University of Paris X-Nanterre (thesis of doctorate), Paris, 1983.
- Courteous Stephan, PCF in the war , Ramsay, Paris, 1980.
- Jean Jolly (to dir.), Dictionary of the French members of Parliament , T. VII, university Presses of France, pp. 2644-45.
- Jacques Duclos, Memories , T. 3 Beech, pp. 138-141.
- Perished Gabriel, a large French: Perished Gabriel, a life of combat for peace and the safety of France , Editions social, Paris, 1947,128 p.
- Henri Noguères, History of Resistance in France , Paris, T.I, p. 356, T. II, and T.V.
- Pierre Teruel-Handled, De Lénine with panzer-Communism , Maspero, Paris, 1971.
- max Lagarrigue, “Gabriel Péri”, in Dictionnaire of resistant of Ile-de-France , AERI, 2002.
External bonds
- Photographs and texts on the site of his/her adopted girl who published in 2005 a book of memories: " Me, Pauline, girl of Perished Gabriel, the bastard one of PC" with unseen photos of Perished Gabriel
- Perished Gabriel Foundation
- Texts of Perished Gabriel