European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Before the film itself they showed news/information edited by the Nazis, the French police, the French government.

That was when we intervened. We occupied the projectionists´ cabin and the directors’ office,

so that he couldn’t call the police, and one of our comrades, usually Louis Meunier, would get up and speak.

Our task was to ensure his safety.

While distributing leaflets, there was always an armed squadron to protect the comrades from the police.

Slowly the population itself started doing the protecting.

We had a certain amount of support in the population. In the beginning there was mostly fear.

When we handed out leaflets, the people would scatter. Later on things changed.

When the police arrived, they would form groups to hinder the police from passing. It made it possible for us to escape.

In Nanterre, at the place of the current university, there was a camp called “aviation camp”,

that had been occupied by the Germans.

It was used to recuperate material, like pieces of downed airplanes. Soviet prisoners worked there.

One day a comrade went to visit his wife in the hospital

and was approached for a cigarette by a young POW speaking no French.

Our comrade told him to come back the next day with other clothes and we helped him escape.

It was risky, but we took risks every day.

The young man is on that picture I showed you, along with Louis Meunier and me.

He joined a ‘maquis’. To our great regret we never found out what happened to him.

We had the possibility to help him escape, so we did.

Organization, structure, persecution