Probably the most famous bicycle road race is the annual Tour de France. It is a grueling endurance test with 21 stages over twenty-three days. While it is considered the world’s premier cycling event each year, other countries host their own versions. For Italy, their premier event is the Giro d’Italia or Tour of Italy. Along with the Tour de France, the Giro is one of cycling’s “Grand Tours.” Don’t confuse the Giro with the Greek gyro—too many gyros and one would find it difficult to cycle up those hills.
The subject of our blog today is a two-time winner of the Tour de France (1938 and 1948) and a three-time winner of the Giro (1936,1937, and 1946). Remarkably, Gino Bartali won his races before and after World War II. While he was a popular and revered national hero and will be remembered in the cycling world for his many achievements, Bartali’s most enduring and humane accomplishments came during the war. However, it was not until after his death in 2000 that his resistance efforts became public knowledge.
The two top Italian cyclists before and after World War II: Gino Bartali (center left) and Fausto Coppi (center right). Photo by anonymous (c. 1940−1943). Private Collection. PD-Expired Copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Did You Know?
Did you know we have set up a Pinterest site with a lot of interesting images. We hope you’ll visit the site often as Sandy is continuously updating it with new and interesting photographs.
Let’s Meet Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali (1914−2000) was born in Ponte a Ema, Florence, Italy into a poor farming family. Gino grew up to be a physically strong young man with a boxer’s face. He was a devout Catholic throughout his life and earned the nickname, “Gino the Pious.” At the age of thirteen, Gino got a job in a bicycle shop. Shortly afterwards, he began racing and quickly gained an excellent reputation as an amateur. At the age of twenty-one, Gino turned professional and the next year, he became the Italian champion by winning the Giro for the first time. Watch a memorial about Gino here. Read More Cycling To Save Jews
I previously introduced you to some of the brave women who served as foreign agents for the British led Special Operations Executive (SOE).(Click here to read Women Agents of the SOE and click here to read The White Mouse). Today, you’ll meet another female agent of the SOE. Only this time, you’ll see that her exploits don’t quite measure up to the other agents. In fact, you could probably say she was a triple agent and her betrayals shut down the first SOE network in France and cost the lives of many people. The nom de guerre (codename) for SOE agent Mathilde Carré was VICTOIRE. However, she acquired the nickname, La Chatte (The Cat) because some said she walked as quiet as a cat while others said it was her habit of curling up in large armchairs and scratching the arms with her long sharp nails. Mathilde liked her nickname so well that all of her messages to London were signed “La Chatte.”
Did You Know?
We will soon lose the last eyewitnesses to the tragic events of World War II. The soldiers, sailors, men and women who served in the Army Air Corp., Marines, doctors, nurses, and all who supported them will be gone shortly. Survivors of the Nazis’ atrocities, such as Gena Turgel (the “Bride of Belsen” read her story here) and Elie Wiesel, are gone (read about Elie here). The last surviving member of the French Resistance and Companion of the Liberation will soon pass away and be buried with sixteen other combatants, résistants, and deportees in the crypt of the Mémorial de la France combattante at Fort Mont-Valérien in the western suburbs of Paris.
Fortunately, the world has access to written, verbal, and film which document the war and its atrocities. The amount of material available is unprecedented. The Library of Congress began a program called “Veterans History Project” (learn more here) to provide World War II veterans the opportunity to record their individual stories in writing as well as verbal accounts (hear Violet Gordon’s story here). The number of books written by military participants, former resistance members, and other survivors documenting their first-hand experiences are plentiful. As former classified documents become available, professional historians are able to update and fill-in the history that perhaps wasn’t complete when the first round of books was written between the end of the war and the 1960s. Thousands of images, both still and moving, are available as the U.S. Government provided men and women the opportunity to capture the war in real time.
Today, there are many memorials across Europe honoring the men and women who fought the Nazis and other fascist regimes. One example is the preservation of Fort Mont-Valérien. Today, it stands as a memorial to those who were executed in the hollow depression on its grounds. Another memorial is the privately funded center located on the site of the former Drancy Deportation Center. Elementary school students and others can view and learn the story of Nazi crimes. The director was ten-years-old during the Occupation and he volunteers for the same reason Mont-Valérien’s young director has dedicated his career: to make sure people don’t forget. Then there are the camp survivors such as Gena Turgel who passed away on 7 June 2018 at the age of ninety-five. Most of the survivors dedicated their lives to telling their stories so others would become aware of the horrors and brutality perpetrated by the Nazis. Their primary goal was to ensure people don’t forget. The many Holocaust memorials around the world serve the purpose of reminding us of the Jewish victims who represented approximately ten percent of the war’s total casualties (it is estimated that more than sixty million perished during World War II).
The Holocaust memorials are there to tell us to forgive but never forget. It’s also an opportunity for us to remember the approximately five million others who perished in the death camps alongside the Jews.
Let’s Meet Mathilde Carré
Mathilde Carré (1908−1970) was born in the small town of Le Creusot, a commune (i.e., an administrative division similar to our incorporated municipalities) in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne—eastern France. Her family was middle class and she was able to attend Sorbonne University, graduating with a teaching degree. In love with a fellow named Marc, Mathilde knew he couldn’t provide the lifestyle she was accustomed to. So, while sitting on the top step of the grand staircase of the Palais de Justice, Mathilde flipped a coin between Marc (“heads”) and another school teacher, Maurice Carré (“tails”). Tails it was and Mathilde and Maurice were married in 1933 but lived apart until they moved to North Africa. By 1939 the marriage had disintegrated and the couple divorced in 1940. The declassified British MI5 file on Mathilde indicates her treatment towards Maurice was indicative of her personality defects which came into play later on during her espionage activities—one of which was operating with unbounded carelessness.
Mathilde Carré in London. Photo by anonymous (c. 1942).
For those of you who have had a cat as a pet (over the years, we’ve had many) know that cats play by their own rules. They are independent and do as they please. A cat is loyal only to themselves and no one else. A cat comes and goes, returning when they want to. Perhaps this should be the real reason why Mathilde Carré was appropriately given the nickname “The Cat.”
Mathilde was in her early 30s and described as attractive but not beautiful. Her face was pale with thin lips and animated green eyes. Mathilde was described as extremely intelligent but very high strung. She always wore a black fur coat, a red hat, and small flat red shoes. Just what every spy should be—conspicuous. Mathilde’s nails were long and sharp, like a cat. Fortunately for her, this cat had many lives. Read More La Chatte
Lavishly illustrated, gripping guide to the Paris that existed under Nazi rule.
This is a fantastic new book that provides extensive information for both those planning a trip and for armchair historians. While there are are walks that take you past famous places made infamous by Nazi rule, there is also a lot of detailed information. Stew Ross provides details about many topics that are not necessarily popular, including anti-semitism and collaboration. Photos add poignancy. Paris is haunted by its past, and these pages show you exactly why. The days of the Occupation and the Resistance are not that distant.
Jane Gabin, Amazon customer
Paris Occupation History and Guide Book
This book presents three detailed walking tours and numerous metro station oriented short walks that identified significant occupation locations. Each location on the walk is fully explained. In addition, the author uses many sidebars to provide additional supporting information. The appendix provides a wealth of additional information and pictures that the novice and well read Occupation scholar will find helpful. Whether your first exposure to the Occupation or one of many books you have read, this book is a must read prior to visiting Paris. The format and size of the book make it easy to carry in your carry-on luggage. The book is the first of a three volume set. I can’t wait to see the information to be presented in Volumes 2 & 3.
Patrick from Albuquerque.
