Category: French Resistance

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Something Must Be Done

I briefly introduced you to Suzanne Spaak in March (The French Anne Frank; click here to read). She and Hélène Berr worked together to save the lives of hundreds of Jewish children. Like most of the résistants during the Occupation, Suzanne and Hélène did what they thought was the right thing to do. As Suzanne told people, “Something must be done.”

Do you ever wonder how rather obscure stories are resurrected from history’s dust bins? In the case of today’s blog, we have Anne Nelson to thank for uncovering the story of Suzanne Spaak’s resistance activities. Anne is the author of Suzanne’s Children (refer to the recommended reading section at the end of this blog for a link to her book). Anne came across Suzanne while researching her excellent book, Red Orchestra (again, refer to the recommended reading section). A haunting photo of Suzanne found in Leopold Trepper’s memoirs piqued Anne’s interest and initiated her nine-year journey. She was able to locate Suzanne’s daughter, Pilette, in Maryland and a series of three dozen interviews spread out over seven years formed the backbone of Anne’s research. There isn’t much out there regarding Suzanne’s story, so we owe many thanks to Anne for finding and “bird-dogging” the facts surrounding Suzanne’s activities. I’m quite sure she went down many rabbit holes while researching and writing the book. I have read both books and I look forward to Anne’s next book.

Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Read her story at "Something Must Be Done" - Stew Ross Discovers
Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Did You Know?

Did you know that the international art world was undergoing new movements during the interwar period (1918 – 1939)? Picasso, Dalí, and Magritte would each create styles of painting that today we call cubist and surrealism, among others. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hitler (a frustrated artist in his youth), declared the work of these artists along with dozens more (including many German artists) as degenerate. René Magritte (1898-1967) was a starving Belgium artist whom Claude Spaak befriended while artistic director of the Brussels Palais des Beaux-Arts. Magritte supported himself by designing wallpaper and sheet music. Spaak began suggesting topics and themes for Magritte to paint. Soon, the Spaak family’s walls were covered with surrealistic images, the likes no one had ever seen. By 1936, Claude convinced his friend to paint family portraits. Probably the most disturbing was L’Esprit de Géométrie or, “Spirit of Geometry.” It is a creepy painting of a mother holding an infant. The problem: the head of the mother was Claude’s four-year-old son, Bazou and the infant’s head was Claude’s wife, Suzanne ⏤ Dalí would be proud. In 1937, Claude moved his family to Paris, but Magritte remained in Belgium where he continued to struggle. At one point, Magritte requested stipends from his patrons. Only Suzanne Spaak stepped up to the plate with a monthly stipend in exchange for paintings. The Spaaks would go on to collect forty-four paintings by Magritte. Five days after the Nazis invaded Belgium, Magritte fled to France where he immediately went to the Spaak’s country home. He requested to “borrow back” several paintings hanging on their wall. When Magritte left for Paris, he was carrying with him a dozen paintings. Magritte had been introduced to an American art collector to whom he would sell his “borrowed” paintings. The collector’s name was Peggy Guggenheim and the Spaak family’s paintings would ultimately end up hanging in her museum.

L’Esprit de Géométrie. Gouche on paper by René Magritte (1937). Tate Collection.
L’Esprit de Géométrie. Gouche on paper by René Magritte (1937). Tate Collection.
René Magritte. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
René Magritte. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Let’s Meet Suzanne Spaak

Suzanne Lorge Spaak (1905-1944) or “Suzette” as her family and friends called her, was born into an affluent Belgian family. Her father was a prominent banker and she married Claude Spaak (1904-1990) in 1925. Claude’s family included his brothers Paul-Henri who would become a well-known Belgian politician (Prime Minister and Foreign Minister among other positions) and Charles, a famous movie script writer. Suzanne and Claude had two children: Lucie (“Pilette”) and Paul-Louis (“Bazou”) but life together as husband and wife was not happy. Read More Something Must Be Done

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Memorial of Fighting France

I am delighted to have Mr. Paul McCue as our guest blogger today. Paul is an accomplished author and expert on the British-led Special Operations Executive (SOE). He is a trustee of the non-profit organization, The Secret WW2 Learning Network which is dedicated to making better known the activities of clandestine warfare during World War II. His organization works closely with the Paris-based Libre Résistance which exclusively covers SOE’s French Section and its agents. Paul recently attended a memorial ceremony for the French Resistance of World War II. It was held at Fort Mont-Valérien in a suburb of Paris and like the annual 18 June memorial event, it was a very solemn event and attended by many dignitaries. The ceremony carries a significant message to all of us concerning the brave men and women who actively fought the Nazis and those who paid the ultimate price.

Did You Know?

Did you know the image I’ve included here of the four resistance members being executed was one of three photos discovered in December 2009? These are members of the Manouchian group named after its leader, Missak Manouchian. It was one of the deadliest and more successful resistance groups which made up the FTP-MOI, a resistance réseau (network) comprised of European immigrants, principally Jews. Manouchian’s group specialized in assassinations, bombings, and general disruption of the German occupation forces (the Nazis called them “The Army of Crime”). The group was betrayed, and the Gestapo arrested twenty-three members. A public trial was held and twenty-two were executed by firing squad at Fort Mont-Valérien on 21 February 1944 (the only woman was taken to Germany where she was beheaded in May). No photographs were allowed of any executions. However, Clemens Rüter, a German soldier, stood on the crest of the hill overlooking the clearing where the four men were tied to stakes in front of the firing squad and he took three snapshots. Rüter went back to Germany after the war and the camera, with the film still in it, was left untouched for forty years. Shortly before he died, Rüter told someone about the camera and the three images. The person he told his story to worked for the Franz Stock Association. The camera and film were turned over to the association which had the film developed. Serge Klarsfeld identified the four victims as members of the Manouchian group. Franz Stock was the German priest assigned to Fort Mont-Valérien to administer to the condemned men. He was known as the L’Archange de enfer or, “The archangel in hell.” Franz Stock will be the subject of our 2 March 2019 blog post.

Before Paul talks about his first-hand experience in late September, allow me to give you a brief background on the Mémorial de la France combattante or, Memorial of Fighting France, it’s annual ceremony, the Companions of the Liberation, and Fort Mont-Valérien. By tying these together, you will have a better appreciation for Paul’s blog.

 Mémorial de la France Combattante

Almost immediately after the liberation of France in August 1944, General Charles de Gaulle decided to formally pay tribute to the members of the French Resistance who had died. He visited Fort Mont-Valérien where resistance members were executed by firing squad, Fort Neuf de Vincennes where other executions took place, and finally, Cimetière Ivry-sur-Seine (aka Cimetière Parisien d’Ivry) where many of the victims were buried including Missak Manouchian.

Missak Manouchian two days after his arrest by the Gestapo. Photo by anonymous (18 November 1943). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Missak Manouchian two days after his arrest by the Gestapo. Photo by anonymous (18 November 1943). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Execution of four members of the Manouchian Group. Marcel Rayman is on far right. Photo by Clemens Rüter (21 February 1944). Courtesy of Friends of Franz Stock Association.
Execution of four members of the Manouchian Group. Marcel Rayman is on far right. Photo by Clemens Rüter (21 February 1944). Courtesy of Friends of Franz Stock Association.

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