Gun Control in Nazi Occupied-France Read online

  19. Warner, Pierre Laval, 280–81.

  20. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 111 (entry dated August 26, 1941).

  21. Humbert, Résistance, 87.

  22. Porter, Uncensored France, 240–41; Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 111, n. 164.

  23. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 111.

  24. Laub, After the Fall, 118–21; Berlière and Liaigre, Le Sang, 62.

  25. BA/MA, RW 35/9, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Anlagen zum Lagebericht für die Monate August/September 1941.

  26. BA/MA, RW 35/8, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Lagebericht für die Monate August/September 1941.

  27. BA/MA, RW 35/4, Lagebericht des Chefs der Militärverwaltung in Frankreich, Kommandostab, für den Monat August 1940 [sic 1941]. Notiz betreffend Ia/Stabs-Offiziere der Feldgendarmerie, S. 10.

  28. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Bekämpfung des Kommunismus. Hier: Verbot des Schusswaffenbesitzes, 15. September 1941.

  29. BA/MA, RW 35/1, Abdruck aus Pariser Zeitung vom 13. September 1941, Bekanntmachung; BA/MA, RW 35/544, Avis, Le Matin, 13. September 1941. See “La détention des armes dans la zone occupée,” Le Temps, September 14, 1941, 4.

  30. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 113.

  31. Michel, Shadow War, 218–20.

  32. de Bénouville, Unknown Warriors, 83.

  33. de Bénouville, Unknown Warriors, 83–84.

  34. de Bénouville, Unknown Warriors, 91–93.

  35. “Dix Otages Fusilles en zone occupée,” Le Figaro, September 18, 1941, 1; “Dix otages fusillés à Paris par les troupes d’occupation,” Le Temps, September 18, 1941, 2.

  36. “Les otages fusillés à Paris,” Le Figaro, September 19, 1941, 1.

  37. “Nazis Threaten People of Paris,” New York Times, September 18, 1941, 1, 8.

  38. “Les Attentats contre les troupes d’occupation,” Le Temps, September 20, 1941, 4.

  39. “Avis,” Le Matin, September 22, 1941, 1.

  40. “Le maréchal Pétain lance un appel radiodiffusé aux Français de la zone occupée,” Le Temps, September 23, 1941, 1.

  41. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Erlass einer Verordnung über Hieb- und Stosswaffen, 19. September 1941.

  42. Waffengesetz, Reichsgesetzblatt 1938, I, 265, § 3.

  43. Gesetz gegen Waffenmißbrauch, Reichsgesetzblatt 1931, I, 77, § 3; Vierte Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zur Sicherung von Wirtschaft und Finanzen und zum Schutze des inneren Friedens vom 8. Dezember 1931, Achter Teil, Kapitel I, Reichsgesetzblatt, I, S. 699, 742.

  44. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Reichssicherheitshauptamt an den Chef des Verwaltungsstabes beim Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Vorschriften über Hieb- und Stosswaffen, 29. September 1941.

  45. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, an den Kommandanten von Gross-Paris betreffend Umfang der Waffenablieferungspflicht, 22. September 1941.

  46. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber von Stülpnagel an den Generalbevollmächtigten der französischen Regierung beim Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, 22. September 1941.

  47. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Kdo.Stab Abt. V.O.V.F., Aufzeichnung über Besprechung Leutnant Dr. Rösch, Staatsrat Ingrand am 23.September 1941.

  48. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Ablieferung der Schusswaffen und Tätigkeit des Staatsgerichtshofes, 27. September 1941.

  49. “Avis,” Le Matin, September 29, 1941, 1.

  50. “Une exécution en zone occupée pour détention illégale d’armes,” Le Temps, October 2, 1941.

  51. “Arrestation d’une bande de propagandistes,” Le Temps, September 25, 1941, 2.

  52. “Une descente de police à Paris,” Le Temps, October 2, 1941, 3. An almost identical account was published in “Une vaste opération de police à Paris,” Le Figaro, October 3, 1941, 2. It was also covered in “More Frenchmen Shot,” New York Times, October 2, 1941, 6.

  53. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 3, 1941, 1. For another account, see “Une exécution en zone occupée pour détention d’armes prohibées,” Le Temps, October 6, 1941, 2.

  54. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 6, 1941, 1.

  55. BA/MA, RH 36/435, Brief des Militärbefehlshabers in Frankreich, Paris, an Verteiler, betreffend Ablieferung der Waffen im besetzten Gebiet, 9. Oktober 1941.

  56. “Avis,” Le Matin, Oct. 10, 1941, 1.

  57. BA/MA, RW 35/1211, Lage- und Tätigkeitsbericht für die Zeit vom 7. September bis 6. November 1941, Militärverwaltungsbezirk A, Tgb. Nr. 2476/41, 17. November 1941.

  58. New York Times, October 14, 1941, 12.

  59. Maurice Daguier, president, Ceux de la Libération, response to author’s questionnaire, February 27, 2002.

  60. Cobb, The Resistance, 92–94.

  61. Frenay, Night Will End, 100–2.

  62. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 14, 1941, 1.

  63. “Derniers Délais Pour La Remise Des Armes,” Le Matin, October 15, 1941, 1; “La remise des armes en zone occupée,” Le Temps, October 15, 1941, 2. For shorter versions, see BA/MA, RH 20-6/999, Veröffentlichung Pariser Zeitung, 15. Oktober 1941; BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Letzte Frist zur Ablieferung von Waffen, 1941.

  64. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 15, 1941, 1; “Avis,” Le Matin, October 16, 1941, 1.

  65. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 20, 1941, 1.

  66. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 21, 1941, 1.

  67. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 120.

  68. See Berlière and Liaigre, Le Sang, 127–47.

  69. Berlière and Liaigre, Le Sang, 130–31. See also Cobb, The Resistance, 78–79.

  70. Laub, After the Fall, 136–38. For a timeline of events following the assassination, see Umbreit, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, 129–33.

  71. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 22, 1941, 1.

  72. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 121.

  73. “Après l’attentat criminel de Nantes,” Le Matin, October 22, 1941, 1.

  74. Laub, After the Fall, 138–39.

  75. BA/MA, RW 35/1262, Chef des Militärverwaltungsbezirks B, 21. Oktober 1941, Besondere Anordnung Nr. 472.

  76. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 22, 1941, 1.

  77. Laub, After the Fall, 139.

  78. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 24, 1941, 1.

  79. Laub, After the Fall, 139.

  80. Robert Gildea, Marianne in Chains (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002), 235–36. For an account of the entire episode, see Lecornu, Préfet sous l’Occupation allemande, 48–100.

  81. La mer à l’aube (Calm at Sea), directed by Volker Schlöndorff (Strasbourg: Arte Éditions, 2012), DVD.

  82. Gildea, Marianne in Chains, 243, 375–76.

  83. “Le Pathétique Discours Du Chef De L’État,” Le Matin, October 23, 1941, 1.

  84. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 122.

  85. Laub, After the Fall, 141.

  86. “Le Message Due Vice-Président Du Conseil,” Le Matin, October 23, 1941, 1.

  87. “Le seul devoir des patriotes,” Le Matin, October 23, 1941, 1.

  88. Laub, After the Fall, 139, citing T-77/1624/55-7.

  89. Berlière and Franck Liaigre, Le Sang, 273–74 (full text in French); Charles de Gaulle, The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle, trans. Richard Howard (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1998), 263–64.

  90. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 24, 1941, 1.

  91. “Avis,” Le Matin, October 25, 1941, 1.

  92. “Le sort des cent derniers otages,” Le Temps, October 25–26, 1941, 1.

  93. “Les suites des attentats contre les armées d’occupation,” Le Temps, October 27, 1941, 2; “Les attentats de Nantes et de Bordeaux,” Le Temps, October 29, 1941, 1.

  94. “Après les attentats de Nantes et de Bordea
ux,” Le Figaro, October 28, 1941, 1; “Sur la piste des responsables des attentats de Nantes et de Bordeaux,” Le Temps, October 28, 1941, 2.

  95. “Les attentats de Nantes et de Bordeaux,” Le Temps, October 29, 1941, 1; “Le Sort des Otages de Nantes et de Bordeaux,” Le Temps, October 30, 1941, 1.

  96. BA/MA, RH 36/526, Tagesbefehl Nr. 40/41 der Kreiskommandantur I/594 in Luneville, 28. Oktober 1941.

  97. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, Jagdwaffen aus französischem und belgischem Privatbesitz, 28. Oktober 1941.

  98. “Une arme curieuse est remise à la police de Dijon,” Le Matin, October 31, 1941, 1. See also “A quoi pouvait servir ce fusil de 3 mètres 60 de long,” Le Figaro, November 1, 1941, 2.

  99. BA/MA, RW 35/10, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Lagebericht für die Monate Oktober/November 1941.

  100. BA/MA, RW 35/11, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Anlagen zum Lagebericht für die Monate Oktober/November 1941.

  101. “Après les attentats de Nantes et de Bordeaux,” Le Temps, November 1–2, 1941, 4.

  102. “Nouvelles diverses,” Le Temps, November 3, 1941, 4.

  103. “La Répression Des Menees Communistes,” Le Temps, November 3, 1941, 4.

  104. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Erlass einer Verordnung über Hieb- und Stosswaffen, 10. November 1941.

  105. BA/MA, RW 35/1264, Lagebericht des Militärverwaltungsbezirks B, Verwaltungsstab, Verwaltungsgruppe, für die Zeit vom 16. September bis 15. November 1941.

  106. BA/MA, RW 35/1264, Lagebericht des Militärverwaltungsbezirks B, Abt. Ic für die Zeit vom 16. September bis 15. November 1941.

  107. BA/MA, RW 35/1264, Lagebericht des Militärverwaltungsbezirks B, Kommandostab Abt. III, für die Zeit vom 15. November 1941 bis 15. Januar 1942, 17. Januar 1942.

  108. “Ni Allemands, ni Russes, ni Anglais,” Défense de la France, N° 3, 20 novembre 1941, reprinted in Le Journal Défense de la France (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1961), 13–14.

  109. “Arrestation de terroristes coupables de récents attentats,” Le Temps, November 20, 1941, 1.

  110. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 123 (entry dated December 3, 1941).

  111. BA/MA, RW 35/1276, Tagesbefehl Nr. 143 des Militärverwaltungsbezirks C, Nordostfrankreich, 5. Dezember 1941.

  112. BA/MA, RW 35/544, Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, Verwaltungsstab, Abteilung Verwaltung, Ablieferung der Waffen im besetzten Gebiet, 10. Dezember 1941.

  113. “Le recensement des armes de chasse,” in Le Saint-Hubert, organe officiel du Saint-Hubert-Club de France, n° 6, 40e année, novembre–décembre 1941, 65.

  114. Laub, After the Fall, 157.

  115. “Avis,” Le Matin, December 13–14, 1941, 1.

  116. “Les Mesures De Répression contre le Terrorisme,” Le Figaro, December 11, 1941, 1.

  117. “Un Appel à la population parisienne,” Le Figaro, December 12, 1941, 1.

  118. Guéhenno, Diary of the Dark Years, 134 (entry dated December 12, 1941).

  119. “Avis,” Le Matin, December 24–25, 1941, 1.

  120. “Avis,” Le Matin, December 30, 1941, 1; “Exécution capitale à Paris,” Le Temps, December 31, 1941, 4.

  121. Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal: Nuremberg January 22–February 4, 1946 (Buffalo, New York: William S. Hein & Co., 1995), 6:395 (January 31, 1946).

  122. BA/MA, RW 35/1213, Lagebericht für die Zeit vom 16. November 1941 bis 15. Januar 1942, Chef der Militärverwaltung Nordwestfrankreich (not dated).

  123. BA/MA, RW 35/1264, Lagebericht des Militärverwaltungsbezirks B, Südwestfrankreich, für die Zeit vom 16. November 1941 bis 15. Januar 1942, 19. Januar 1942.

  An anti-government demonstration in Paris on February 6, 1934, culminated in disorders at the Place de la Concord. Police and Mobile Guards opened fire on civilians, killing eighteen, while one policeman was killed. The resulting National Union government of rightists and Radical-Socialists reacted by restricting public assemblies and firearm possession. ERVL0016203 ©ROGER-VIOLLET / THE IMAGE WORKS

  French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval signs accord with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (standing, right), January 7, 1935. By mid-year, Laval became Prime Minister, and on October 23, he issued the decree-law (décret-loi) requiring the registration of firearms. KEYSTONE, ULLSTEIN BILDERDIENST, 01022355

  On May 10, 1940, Germany launched its blitzkrieg against France, Belgium, and Holland. In every town, as shown in this scene, posters were immediately nailed up ordering the surrender of firearms under the penalty of death. Die Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly News), May 15, 1940. BUNDESARCHIV, TRANSIT FILM GMBH

  This decree concerning the surrender of firearms and radio transmitters in the occupied territories was posted throughout Nazi-occupied France. See translation in sidebar. MUSÉE DE L’ORDRE DE LA LIBÉRATION, PARIS

  Decree Concerning the Possession of Arms and Radio Transmitters in the Occupied Territories

  1) All firearms and all sorts of munitions, hand grenades, explosives and other war materials must be surrendered immediately.

  Delivery must take place within 24 hours to the closest “Kommandantur” [German commander’s office] unless other arrangements have been made. Mayors will be held strictly responsible for the execution of this order. The [German] troop commanders may allow exceptions.

  2) Anyone found in possession of firearms, munitions, hand grenades, or other war materials will be sentenced to death or forced labor or in lesser cases prison.

  3) Anyone in possession of a radio or a radio transmitter must surrender it to the closest German military authority.

  4) All those who would disobey this order or would commit any act of violence in the occupied lands against the German army or against any of its troops will be condemned to death.

  The Commander in Chief of the Army

  French troops of the 14th regiment of Zouaves, after an honorable defense against overwhelming German forces, surrender their arms at Lille on May 31, 1940. BUNDESARCHIV, bild 101i-126-0311-14 / HEINZ FREMKE

  Citizens with hunting guns on their shoulders passing German soldiers to surrender their arms at the town hall. DOMINIQUE VENNER, LES ARMES DE LA RÉSISTANCE (PARIS: PENSÉE MODERNE, 1976), 146

  Wehrmacht troops march into Paris, June 14, 1940. The French army was ordered not to defend the city. BUNDESARCHIV, BILD 146-1994-036-09A / HORST STURM

  The carriage at Compiègne, June 22, 1940, Germans on the left, French on the right. The French government signed an armistice agreeing to enforce German occupation policy, which included the ban on possession of firearms. BUNDESARCHIV, BILD 146-1982-089-18 / HORST STURM

  Collaborators: Fernand de Brinon and General Otto von Stülpnagel, the German Commander (Militärbefehlshaber), in conversation on the left, General Eugène Bridoux and Colonel Hans Speidel on the right, November 1941. Stülpnagel ordered numerous executions of firearm owners. ervl0208506 ©LAPI/ROGER-VIOLLET/THE IMAGE WORKS

  “Firearms, Munitions, and Explosives: Very Important Notice” from the Préfet of Ardennes, June 5, 1941, repeating that all arms—“including hunting arms” is bolded—must be surrendered under threat of the death penalty. The re-issuance of such orders reflected the refusal of countless French to comply. ARMES A FEU, 1919–1946, 4MB, OCCUPATION ALLEMANDE. ARCHIVES DÉPARTEMENTALES, DÉPARTEMENT DES ARDENNES, CHARLEVILLE-MÉZIÈRES

  A German arms depot storing 60,000 hunting guns confiscated from French citizens. “La restitution des armes de chasse déposées aux Autorités Allemandes,” Le Saint-Hubert, Juillet-Août 1941, 37. LE SAINT HUBERT CLUB DE FRANCE

  Vichy France meets with the Führer on the Eastern Front at Winniza, Ukraine, December 18–20, 1942. Hitler demanded creation of supplemental French police to help the Germans maintain order. Left to right, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, an interpreter, Pierre Laval, Hitler, Italian Foreign Minister Ciano, and Hermann Göring. BILDAR
CHIV PREUSSISCHER KULTURBESITZ, ART RESOURCE, NY, ART540476 / HEINRICH HOFFMANN

  Laval with Karl Oberg, chief of the SS in France, May 1, 1943. Assuming his duties a year before, Oberg gave orders to the French police and took charge of reprisals and anti-Jewish measures. BUNDESARCHIV, BILD 183-h25719 / HORST STURM

  A Wehrmacht execution squad shoots members of the Manouchian resistance group at Fort Mont-Valérien on February 21, 1944. During the years of the occupation, many French were similarly executed for mere possession of firearms. LES AMIS DE FRANZ STOCK

  Rifle instruction for members of the Maquis, who operated from rural, mountainous areas like the Vercors in southeastern France, to harass and attack German forces. TRAINING YOUNG RESISTANCE FIGHTERS, 1944 / BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

  At the barricades with pistols and rifles in the liberation of Paris, August 25, 1944. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. NAVY, LOT 4568-4

  The execution of Pierre Laval, found guilty of treason after the Liberation, October 15, 1945. Laval decreed firearm registration in 1935 and was the chief collaborator with Germany, 1940–44. ASSOCIATED PRESS, 451015062

  6

  Amnesty or Execution

  THERE WERE NEVER more than 3,000 German policemen in France, but the gendarmerie numbered 47,000.1 Just as they served the occupation agendas on other issues, the French police continued to consult the registration records to track down registrants who failed to surrender their firearms. As an example, the prefect of Lot, which is in southwestern France, wrote on January 5, 1942, to the prefect of police of Paris that one Gabriel Léon Antoine Gautier left the area and was now residing at 32, rue Delambre, in Paris (14th arrondissement). He had registered three handguns on November 13, 1935, but had not turned them in: an 8 mm revolver, a 7.65 automatic pistol, and a 6.35 automatic pistol.2 This information was forwarded to the police commissioner of the quarter of Montparnasse in Paris.3