After the German attack on the USSR, the underground activities of the Communist Party sharply intensified. The ambivalence was over. Putting aside questions of the social structure, the Communist Party launched, above all, patriotic propaganda, appealing to the traditions and exploits of Joan of Arc, the heroes of the French Revolution and the Franco-Prussian War. to expel the enemy from the sacred land of our Motherland! Now is the right moment, because our brothers from the Red Army are holding the main forces of the Nazis in the USSR. To arms, citizens! ". Since the summer of 1941, the Communist Party has intensified organizational work to create the National Front. Home the task of the National Front should be "in anti-German actions with the aim of liberating the Motherland from foreign oppression and treason," L'Humanité pointed out. Its ranks could unite "Gaullists, communists, atheists, believers, workers, peasants, intellectuals; Frenchmen belonging to any social strata - in general, all patriots in the aggregate. "The leadership of the Communist Party about negotiated with former leaders of the Socialist Party, Christian trade unions, and influential intellectuals. In early July 1941, the founding meeting of the Organizing Committee of the National Front was held. The organizing committee refused to recognize the Vichy government, condemned the policy of attantism (waiting) and called on all the French to immediately begin the fight against the invaders and traitors. “It's not just about waiting for the liberation of the country from the victories of Russia or England. Yes, these victories will ensure our freedom, but every Frenchman should strive to bring this hour closer in the interests of France," the Committee's appeal stated. In the summer and autumn of 1941, local committees and professional sections of the National Front (student, youth, railway workers, etc.) began to arise in the localities. During 1942, organizations under the auspices of the National Front continued to develop actively. One of the leaders of the National Front was an outstanding scientist, Nobel Prize winner F. Joliot-Curie.
Frederic Joliot-Curie (1900-1958), physicist, Nobel laureate, one of the leaders of the National Front during the war years, since 1942 a member of the PCF. Retaining posts at the Radium Institute and at the Collège de France, he used the facilities of his laboratory to manufacture explosives and radio equipment for the Resistance fighters until 1944, when he himself had to go into hiding.
Non-communist resistance groups also began to strive for unity in the struggle. On September 21, 1941, the Liberation-Nor newspaper wrote: “The only basic issue on which no compromise is possible is the question of the independence of the Motherland and, consequently, the liberation of the territory ... For this liberation, the cooperation of all is necessary: England, the USSR, the United States, the Democrats , communists, all who are threatened by the hegemony of Nazi Germany, and who intend to resist it; finally, all those who still retained a sense of honor.
On July 14, 1942, the day of the national holiday, the National Front, together with other resistance groups, organized mass demonstrations in several major cities.
In the second half of 1941, the first acts of armed struggle took place in France, mainly organized by the communists and resistance structures created under the auspices of the communists. The communists began to expand the scope of their sabotage groups (whose number by the summer of 1941 amounted to several hundred people). At the same time, under the auspices of the PCF, international sabotage groups of anti-fascist emigrants were created, along with the French communists, representatives of various nationalities fought in them: Spaniards, Germans, Italians, Poles, Armenians, Jewish refugees from different countries. In August 1941, the communists organized a series of assassination attempts on the Germans in order to give the armed struggle a wide political resonance. August 21, 1941 in Paris at the metro station "Barbes-Rochechouart" Communist Pierre Georges ("Colonel Fabien") shot dead a German officer.
Pierre Georges (1919-1944), known under the pseudonym "Colonel Fabien", French communist, international brigade member, organizer and executor of the first successful assassination attempt on a Nazi officer in France. Killed at the end of the war under unclear circumstances
In October 1941, battle groups organized new successful assassination attempts on German officers in the cities of Nantes and Bordeaux. The communist attacks were used as a pretext for intensifying repression. The system of hostages responsible for the safety of German soldiers and officers was officially introduced. In October 1941, 50 hostages were shot near Nantes (in a concentration camp near Chateaubriand) and two days later another 50 hostages were shot in Bordeaux. Most of those shot were communists, arrested and extradited by the Vichy police. The executions at Chateaubriand and Bordeaux deeply shocked all of France. In total, during the years of occupation in France, about 30,000 hostages were shot, of which about 11,000 were in Paris and its environs.
Order of the German military commandant on the execution of hostages in response to assassination attempts on German soldiers. October 1941
After the first assassination attempts and the first executions of hostages, the question of armed struggle became especially acute. The execution of the hostages caused an explosion of indignation and a desire to take revenge on the executioners. Indignation at the position of the Vichy government, which "covered itself with shame and cowardice," was expressed by the entire illegal press. However, many underground organizations opposed individual terror. So, one of the newspapers wrote: “We consider isolated assassination attempts absolutely useless ... the murder of a German soldier somewhere at a crossroads at night cannot in any way affect the fate of the war. This act can in no way be compared with the necessary sabotage of technology, transport, and especially military production. The leadership of the Free French made an appeal - on the one hand, it admitted that it was “absolutely justified that the French were killing the Germans,” but still gave advice to wait and not risk people needlessly. Ethical problems arose before the communists. Many accused them of shedding the blood of their own comrades in vain. One of the leaders of the Communist Party recalled: “Not all the guys have yet understood well that war consists in destroying the enemy. And that, before being able to destroy it with whole regiments, it was necessary to act on our own and deal with enemies one by one. The leadership of the PCF either called on its supporters to carry out terrorist attacks, or renounced them, which put ordinary communists in a difficult position.
At the beginning of 1942, the militant organizations of the Communist Party were reorganized into a single military organization, called the French Francoirs and Partisans (FTP). In order to give the partisan movement a more massive character, it was decided to accept not only communists, but also patriots of various persuasions into the FTP detachments.
Already in the spring of 1942, the leadership of the Communist Party began to call for the organization of a mass armed uprising against the invaders. “Let the earth burn everywhere under the feet of the invaders, let their patrols on the demarcation line feel unsafe, let their sentries hear how elusive enemies roam around them at night; let the factories burn, let the cars explode, let the trains derail, let the blood of the bosses flow, let the punishment of traitors begin,” called the underground “Humanite”. The main sabotage detachments of the FTP were organized on railways and canals, trying to paralyze German military transportation. Since there was a catastrophic shortage of weapons, most often the freelancers used the simplest means of sabotage: they unscrewed the nuts on the railways, spoiled arrows, brakes and other details. In June 1942, the first partisan camp was created in the Paris region - the prototype of the future "maki" camps. Initially, there were only about a dozen partisans in it.
In the summer of 1942, the Komba group, which already had small "volunteer groups", set about organizing the so-called "Secret Army". Initially, it was assumed that the members of the "Secret Army" would not participate in current military operations, they only promised to take up arms at the right time.
By this time, the leadership of the Free French also began to advocate the intensification of armed methods of struggle. “The duty of every Frenchman and every Frenchwoman is to actively fight with all the means at their disposal, both against the enemy himself and against the Vichy, who are accomplices of the enemies,” said de Gaulle in April 1942, “National liberation is not can be separated from the national uprising." However, the leadership of the Free French postponed the start of a broad armed struggle until the landing of allied troops in Europe, fearing otherwise an excessive number of victims. Until that time, the Patriots had been advised to limit themselves to sabotage, to maintain "methodical, deliberate, disciplined patience", expecting that "weapons would arrive in time on the day we needed them" along with the appropriate orders.
By this time, the "Free France" under the leadership of de Gaulle had also achieved some success. Already in the summer of 1941, she had significant territories in Africa and the Pacific Ocean, had a small army, and conducted successful propaganda. On September 26, 1941, the British government recognized the Free French National Committee as "the representative of all free French people, wherever they may be." At the same time, a message was published on the recognition of General de Gaulle and his movement by the Soviet government. This was followed by confessions from the London-based exile governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Greece, Yugoslavia and Holland. The US government did not officially recognize the Free French National Committee, but maintained unofficial contacts with it; the Free French were subject to the Lend-Lease Act. However, de Gaulle's relations with the allies did not develop easily and conflicts arose from time to time. This showed de Gaulle the need to look for more active contacts within the country. The first information about the internal resistance movement began to penetrate London in the summer of 1941. In his speech on October 2, 1941, de Gaulle already said: "Little by little, a broad French Resistance is being created, and we have the right to believe that it will have an ever greater influence on military operations." At the same time, wanting to put the Resistance under his control, de Gaulle emphasized that "the National Committee must unite all the French Resistance inside and outside the country." Back in the spring of 1941, on the basis of de Gaulle's headquarters, the "Central Bureau of Awareness and Action" (BSRA) was created. His task was to "develop the resistance of the French people" with the aim in the future to carry out "general sabotage of the enemy's rear in order to facilitate the landing of the allies on the continent." From July 1941, the BSRA began to transfer "action groups" to France, one of their tasks was to establish communication and control over local Resistance organizations. However, the first "action groups" failed: local organizations, which at that time had complete independence, were not eager to obey orders from London. In addition, the development of a single political program was required, which could serve as a unifying basis. In a speech dated November 15, 1941, de Gaulle for the first time officially used the traditional slogan of the French revolutions: “We say “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” because we want to remain true to the democratic principles that the genius of our nation gave our ancestors and which are the stake in this war not for life, but for death.
To begin the unification of the various Resistance groups under the leadership of the Free French, de Gaulle sent special "political missions" to France. The first of these was the mission of Morand, a former Christian trade unionist who, after the defeat of France, made his way to London and joined de Gaulle. On November 5, 1941, Moranda was parachuted into the southern zone. He was instructed to find out the views and intentions of the Resistance groups in order to prepare their unification and accession to General de Gaulle. Moranda managed to establish contact with former leaders of the socialist party and part of the trade unions, but failed to achieve the main Resistance groups joining de Gaulle, whose leaders were wary of the intentions of the head of the Free French. The solution to this problem fell to the lot of the outstanding figure of the French Resistance Jean Moulin (the story of Jean Moulin can be read in more detail here: and further on the links)
Moulin, a former prefect and leader of the Popular Front, in the spring of 1941 established contacts with a number of resistance figures in the southern zone and decided to get to London in order to personally report to de Gaulle on the situation in the country. On October 20, 1941, Moulin arrived in London and presented his report on the state of the French Resistance to the British authorities and personally to de Gaulle. Moulin considered the decisive condition for the further success of the Resistance to be immediate and comprehensive assistance from the British government and the Free French. He asked to provide resistance organizations with moral, political and financial support, provide them with means of communication and start supplying weapons. Moulin's report and his personality made a strong impression both on the British authorities and on General de Gaulle. He was the first representative of the internal Resistance to arrive in London. On December 24, 1941, de Gaulle handed Moulin an order: “I am appointing Prefect J. Moulin as my representative and representative of the National Committee in the unoccupied ... zone of the metropolis. Moulin is instructed to carry out in this zone the unity of action of all persons resisting the enemy ... In carrying out his task, Moulin reports personally to me. Thus, having arrived in London as a representative of the internal Resistance, Moulin returned to France as an official delegate of de Gaulle with the task of uniting all Resistance groups and ensuring their submission to the leadership of the Free French. Moulin received at his disposal significant financial resources, a radio station, communications agents and was subordinate only to de Gaulle. On January 1, 1942, Moulin parachuted into southern France.
Jean Moulin (1899-1943), legendary hero and unifier of the French Resistance, de Gaulle's emissary, founder and first leader of the National Council of the Resistance. Died under torture by the Gestapo
Jean Moulin quickly made contact with the figures of the Resistance of the southern zone already familiar to him, to whom he promised financial support and a connection with London. Most of the leaders of the Resistance did not immediately agree with Moulin's demands. Sympathizing with the Free French, they were still not going to "stand at attention", following other people's orders. Nevertheless, Moulin showed a rare perseverance. Meeting with the leaders of various organizations, he urged them "to direct the activities of their groups in accordance with the plan of military operations on X-day, which will be developed in London by agreement between the headquarters of General de Gaulle and the headquarters of the Allies." He tried to ensure that certain serious operations were undertaken only with the consent of London. Moulin promised to arm the members of the Resistance, but on the condition that only half of the weapons received from London be used to arm the fighting groups and immediate action; the other half were to remain in reserve for the preparation of extensive operations at X-hour.
Moulin created several specialized organizations that served the entire Resistance but reported directly to Moulin as de Gaulle's delegate. Chief among them - the Air and Maritime Operations Service - was in charge of communications with London. She had radio stations and secret airfields at her disposal, she was engaged in sending, receiving and distributing all cargo arriving from London. The second organization was the Information and Press Bureau. The tasks of this service included the distribution of propaganda materials received from London, as well as the collection of information of interest to the Free French. Staffed with experienced journalists, the Bureau quickly grew into a large illegal press agency with ties to all Resistance organizations. The third specialized organization was the so-called General Research Committee. Its main purpose was to recruit personnel and develop plans for the seizure of power and the post-war organization of France.
Moulin established connections with the leaders of the trade union movement. Now many prominent figures of the Resistance from various groups sought to secretly get to London in order to personally get to know de Gaulle. In February 1942, the underground newspaper Liberation-Sud announced for the first time that "at present there is only one leader - General de Gaulle, the symbol of French unity and will." Underground newspapers wrote that de Gaulle "represents the will of the French people and symbolizes their resistance to the oppressors." During meetings with the leaders of the Resistance, many emphasized that unification was possible only on the basis of a clear political program, because not all participants in the Resistance were satisfied with de Gaulle's vague declarations and they did not agree "without sufficient guarantees to entrust their future to a person with an unknown political past." In response, de Gaulle presented a draft Manifesto addressed to all the forces of the Resistance, which was published in the summer of 1942 in the underground press and then announced on the radio. The manifesto assumed that “the age-old French ideal of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity would henceforth find such a realization in our country that every person at the beginning of his social activity would have an equal chance of success with others; so that everyone enjoys the respect of everyone, and, if necessary, help from them. The manifesto largely dispelled doubts about the relativity of de Gaulle's personality and plans.
In June 1942, the leaders of the Free French handed over to the allies (England, the USSR and the USA) an official proposal to rename the Free France to Fighting France, proposing to attribute to the movement all French citizens "leading the liberation struggle, wherever they are" .
Some prominent figures from the Third Republic began to join Fighting France. On May 5, 1942, Leon Blum, who was in Riom prison, illegally sent a letter to London, arguing that de Gaulle "was the first to awaken the will to Resistance in France and continues to personify it," and therefore should lead the future "transitional government" of France. Blum defended de Gaulle against accusations of dictatorial aspirations. At the same time, support for the "Fighting France" was expressed by a number of leaders of the right-wing nationalist group "Battle Crosses".
The practical unification of the Resistance organizations took place under the leadership of Jean Moulin. At the beginning of August 1942, Moulin received a directive from London to create a Coordinating Committee to unite the organizations of the Resistance in the southern zone.
By the fall of 1942, Moulin had obtained the consent of the leaders of Combat, Franc-Thirer and Liberation-Sud to unite. Arriving in London, the leaders of all groups signed a protocol in which they recognized the power of de Gaulle "as the political and military leader of the Fighting France" and expressed their readiness to coordinate their actions. It was agreed that each of the three main organizations of the southern zone would create its own paramilitary groups and merge them into the "Secret Army", the head of which would be appointed by General de Gaulle. General Delestren, who had not previously participated in the Resistance movement, but was known for his patriotic sentiments, was appointed to the post of commander of the "Secret Army". The leadership of the "Fighting France" undertook to finance all organizations of the Resistance, supply them with communications equipment, instructors and weapons. The unification of the resistance forces of the southern zone took place on the basis of the recognition of de Gaulle's authority and on the basis of the policy of attantism. The "Secret Army" was supposed to start hostilities only on the day of the Allied landings ("Day X") and act on assignments from London.
Throughout 1942, the prestige of the Vichy government, and of Petain personally, steadily declined. The cooperation of the Vichy authorities with the Germans caused increasing discontent. In July 1942, General Oberg issued an order for the execution of relatives of members of the Resistance. In August-October 1942, the Gestapo and the Vichy police jointly developed and carried out a number of operations against the Resistance forces. The head of the German military administration officially expressed gratitude to the Vichy government "for the assistance provided by the French police in the arrest of terrorists." Mass roundups of Jews and members of the Resistance, as well as Laval's frank admission that he wanted a German victory, caused serious murmuring even in those sections of the population that had previously supported Vichy.
After the occupation of the southern zone, the masses of the population began to emerge from their state of stupor. Even part of the Vichy administration began to tacitly go over to the side of the Resistance. The halo of "patriot" and "father of the nation" created around Petain began to dissipate. The deportation of French workers and youth to Germany dealt a particularly heavy blow to the prestige of the authorities, which affected hundreds of thousands and then millions of families.
Export of French workers to work in Germany. Historical photo, 1942
Those who evaded mobilization enjoyed the support and sympathy of the entire population. Workers staged strikes and protest demonstrations. The peasants supplied the deviationists with food. Patriotic entrepreneurs submitted incorrect lists of available personnel to the police. Even Vichy officials sometimes obtained forged documents for deviators. At this time, many deviationists began to run away from the cities and hide in the countryside. In the language of that time, it was called "to go into the poppies" (from the Corsican word "maquis" - a dense bush in which in former times the Corsicans fled from the police). From the end of 1942 to the beginning of 1943, the first Maqui camps appeared in the sparsely populated forest and mountainous regions, created mainly by young workers and students hiding from deportation. Those who had gone into the maquis (makizars) found themselves in an illegal or semi-legal position. They willingly established links with the Resistance, and sometimes even formed their own armed detachments. Changes in the mood of the population led to the rapid growth of all organizations of the Resistance, new illegal organizations appeared. The new situation contributed to the rapid growth of the armed struggle. The partisan movement began to actively develop in the southern zone, where it had previously been very weak. In April 1943, the underground communist newspaper L'Humanite published the General Directives for the Preparation of an Armed Insurrection. Based on the assumption that the uprising "would take place simultaneously with the landing of the Allies on the continent" (which at that moment was expected in the summer of 1943), the Communist Party proposed to prepare in advance a mass popular uprising. The “General Directives” advised all organizations of the Resistance, upon news of the landing of the Allies, “to immediately mobilize their members, declare a general strike, arm the population, arrest or destroy gendarmes and policemen, occupy public buildings - prefectures, city halls, post offices, radio, etc., remove representatives Vichy authorities and replace them with delegations of patriotic groups." From the beginning of 1943, "Humanite" came out under the slogan: "Unite, Arm, Fight!" Under the auspices of the Communist Party, the National Front, FTP detachments, the Union of Communist Youth and other organizations operated. Calls for armed struggle began to appear in the press of various organizations of the Resistance. “We are fighting and will fight with weapons in our hands,” said, for example, the program of action “Liberation-Sud”, published on January 10, 1943. By the beginning of 1943, almost all the main groups of the Resistance had their own military organizations and "were ready to immediately arm the already existing groups." In February 1943, the Communist Party, the National Front, the FTP, Komba, Liberation and several other resistance groups signed a joint appeal in which they promised to "combine their efforts to support the workers in their resistance, whatever form it takes" . They recommended that the workers "join the ranks of militant patriotic organizations in order to fight against the invaders and prepare to support the actions of the landing troops when a second front is created in Europe."
On November 27, 1942, the Coordinating Committee of the Southern Zone met for the first time in Lyon. Combat, Fran Tirere, and Liberation-Sud soon merged into one organization: the United Resistance Movement (MUR). Moulin remained chairman, Fresnet became commissar for military affairs, d'Astier became commissar for political affairs, Levy became commissar for intelligence, security and technical means. Delestren and Fresnay took up the organization of the "Secret Army". At the same time, Delestren, being an ardent supporter of the unification of all patriotic forces, established regular contacts with the leadership of the communist detachments of francoirs and partisans (FTP) and agreed on coordination of actions between the military committee of the FTP and the "Secret Army" in the southern zone.
General Charles Delestren (1879-1945), the first commander of the "Secret Army" - one of the main military organizations of the French Resistance. Died in the Dachau concentration camp
In the northern zone, unification proceeded at a slower pace. In the spring of 1943, de Gaulle sent his representatives to the northern zone, instructing them to form the Coordinating Committee and headquarters of the "Secret Army" on the model of the southern zone. After lengthy negotiations with the leaders of the Resistance, de Gaulle's delegates achieved a decision to unite the paramilitary groups of the Resistance in the northern zone into the "Secret Army" with its subordination to General Delestren. The FTP representatives who participated in these negotiations agreed to join the "Secret Army", but objected to the imposed Attantism tactics.
Political conflicts with the allies forced de Gaulle to unite all the forces of the Resistance as quickly as possible in order to have support within the country. To ensure wider support for Fighting France, politicians and trade unionists from various parties who had authority in France and abroad were invited to London. Soberly assessing the influence of the Communist Party, de Gaulle wanted to win this powerful force over to his side, while retaining the overall leadership. De Gaulle himself wrote about it this way: “I believed that their participation would be a significant contribution to that kind of war that was waged under the conditions of occupation. But it was necessary to ensure that they act as part of a single organization and, I will say frankly, under my leadership. In January 1943, a representative of the Communist Party, Fernand Grenier, arrived in England, authorized by the Central Committee of the PCF "to represent the party in the Fighting France movement led by General de Gaulle in order to cooperate in strengthening the struggle for the liberation of France." In London, Grenier was officially appointed adviser to the Commissariat of the Interior and Labor in the "Fighting France". He got the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Communists on English radio, although his speeches were censored by the services of the BSRA.
According to one of the leaders of the PCF, J. Duclos, “the agreement made between the party and General de Gaulle regarding the program of joint actions contained two main points: the need for a national uprising with the aim of liberating France; the full right of the people to decide their own fate after victory.
Underground meeting of the secretariat of the French Communist Party, 1943. From left to right: Benoît Franchon, Auguste Lecoeur, Jacques Duclos and Charles Tillon. historical drawing
On June 3, 1943, the French Committee of National Liberation (FCNL) was established in Algiers and its founding declaration was adopted. The tasks of the FKNO were defined as follows: “In close cooperation with all allies, the Committee will continue the joint struggle in order to completely liberate the French territories and the territories of the allies until victory over all hostile powers. The Committee solemnly undertakes to restore all French freedoms, the laws of the republic and the republican regime, completely destroying the regime of arbitrariness and personal power currently imposed on the country. In essence, the FKNO assumed the functions of the Provisional Government, although it did not officially call itself that. On August 27, 1943, England, the USA and the USSR simultaneously published statements recognizing the FKNO; within a few weeks the Committee was recognized by 19 more governments. On September 3, 1943, the FKNO, at the initiative of de Gaulle, made a decision in principle "to bring to justice Marshal Petain, as well as members or former members of the so-called government of the French state." Having become the sole leader of the FKNO, de Gaulle sought to rally the Resistance under his leadership and rely on him. In order to give the FKNO a more democratic appearance, it was decided to include representatives of the resistance movement and political parties in its composition, as well as to create a Provisional Consultative Assembly in Algeria, in which, among others, representatives of the Communist, Socialist and Radical parties, prominent leaders of the resistance movement met. However, de Gaulle did not allow M. Thorez, General Secretary of the PCF, who was then in the USSR, to enter Algeria.
At the beginning of 1943, the leadership of the "Fighting France" returned to the previous idea: to create something like a "Resistance parliament", which would include representatives of all its organizations and could support de Gaulle in the struggle for power. An exceptionally important political mission was assigned to Moulin: to unite all the organizations of the Resistance and the parties that opposed the invaders and Vichy in a single National Council of the Resistance (NCC) under the auspices of de Gaulle. To give the NSS the necessary authority, it was supposed to include in it all the main political parties, the main organizations of the Resistance and trade unions. De Gaulle's instructions to Moulin stated: "Unification must be carried out on the basis of the following principles:
Against the Germans, their allies and accomplices, by all means, and especially with weapons in their hands;
Against all dictatorships, especially against the Vichy dictatorship, whatever form it takes;
For freedom;
Together with de Gaulle in the battle that he is leading for the liberation of the territory for the restoration of the rights of the French people.
Returning to France, Moulin, together with de Gaulle's delegates in the northern zone, began consultations with the leaders of the Resistance organizations, parties and trade unions, proposing that they unite on the basis of these principles. As a result, the National Council of the Resistance included 16 groups: among them 8 organizations of the Resistance ("National Front", OSM, "Sae de la Resistance", "Sae de la Liberation", "Liberation-Nor", "Comba", "Fran-Thirer ”, “Liberation-Sud”), 6 political parties (Communist, Socialist, Republican Federation, Democratic Alliance, etc.), as well as 2 trade union associations: the General Confederation of Labor and the French Confederation of Christian Trade Unions. Each faction, regardless of its influence, had one vote. On May 27, 1943, the first meeting of the National Council of the Resistance took place in Paris. Moulin read out a prepared message from General de Gaulle stating that the NSS "is an integral part of the Fighting France" (and therefore must be subordinate to its leadership).
The first underground meeting of the National Council of Resistance (NRC). May 27, 1943. historical photo
The further process of unification of the Resistance was temporarily interrupted due to the arrest and tragic death of Jean Moulin and General Delestren. Despite the torture, Moulin, who knew all the secrets of the Resistance, did not betray his comrades and was tortured to death by the Gestapo. General Delestren was deported to a German concentration camp, where he also soon died. After a break, the National Council of the Resistance (of which J. Bidault has now become chairman) resumed its activities. In the summer of 1943, the NSS issued a "Call to the Nation", speaking in favor of immediate action to prepare "an uprising of the whole nation, which, together with the general offensive of the Allies, will liberate the Motherland." Since that time, the political role of the National Council of the Resistance began to grow. Gradually, local NSS bodies began to organize, which usually bore the name of Liberation Committees.
The growing influence of the NSS and its local organs worried the leaders of the Fighting France. Fearing that the internal resistance movement would get out of control, they quickly began to create their own special apparatus to control the Resistance and ensure the seizure of power at the moment of the liberation of France. The main link was de Gaulle's General Delegation in France. The General Delegation considered financial subsidies to be the main means of influencing the Resistance organizations. Financial resources were distributed primarily among those organizations of the Resistance that were considered loyal to de Gaulle. The problem of arms supplies also became acute. While the armed struggle was carried on by relatively few FTP detachments and "volunteer groups", they mainly used homemade weapons or weapons seized from the enemy. In the context of the rise of guerrilla warfare, this became insufficient. The armament of significant partisan forces could only be provided with the help of arms supplies from London or Algiers. However, the services of de Gaulle, who were in charge of the delivery of weapons, carefully armed the internal detachments of the Resistance. As a rule, they supplied weapons (and even then in insufficient quantities) only to the organizations of the "Secret Army", which stored these weapons in warehouses in anticipation of "Day X" (that is, the proposed landing of the Allies). The General Delegation feared the growing influence of the Communists in the local organs of the Resistance, especially in the Paris region.
On July 10, 1940, the Third Republic in France was destroyed and the Vichy government was established. The French Republic sent to be called the "French State".
The economic policy of the Vichy government was aimed at turning France into an appendage of the German war economy. In October 1940, Petain, at a meeting with Hitler in Montoir, formally proclaimed a policy of cooperation with Germany.
The German authorities exported to Germany up to 3/4 of France's raw materials. Forced deportation of the French to Germany began to be practiced, and in France itself forced labor was introduced in factories and construction sites. Over 2.5 million Frenchmen, including prisoners of war, were forced to work in Germany.
In France, the working day was extended to 10-12 hours, wages were “frozen”, while the prices of essential items issued by cards increased several times.
In order to "release" workers to be sent to Germany, small and medium-sized enterprises were forcibly liquidated. In 1942 alone, about 10,000 small enterprises were closed, employing up to 150,000 workers. Similar measures were taken in the summer of 1943 in the retail trade. As a result of such a "concentration" of industry and trade in 1943, up to 50% of small industrial and commercial enterprises were closed in France. Significant sections of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs went bankrupt.
No less difficult was the situation of the peasants. The Germans pumped out of France more than a third of agricultural products. The people of the country were starving.
The resistance movement began from the first days of the occupation of the country. The first major performance was a large demonstration of students and working youth in Paris on November 11, 1940, on the anniversary of the victorious end of the First World War for France.
In April-May 1941, a powerful strike took place, involving over 100,000 miners in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. It lasted until June 10, 1941. The Germans threw their troops and tanks against the strikers, set up up to two thousand workers in all areas.
Representatives of the intelligentsia also took part in the struggle for the liberation of France. An underground committee of mental workers was formed. He launched the work of editing and distributing numerous leaflets and appeals calling on French teachers to participate in the Resistance. The writer Louis Argon, the world famous scientist Joliot-Curie and others fought against the occupying authorities. In the autumn of 1942, many French writers united around the newspaper Lettre Francaise. Among them were Paul Eluard, Elsa Triolet, Georges Sadoul.
In May 1941, the anti-fascist National Front was created, which united the bulk of French patriots, representatives of various social strata and views. Local committees of the National Front were created throughout the country along territorial and professional lines.
Until September 1941, there were three main groups of combat organizations in France: partisans, youth battalions and a group of emigrants. In October 1941, these organizations were merged into one under the name "Special Organization", and then it was renamed the organization "Frantieres and Partisans".
"Frantiers and Partisans" was an armed organization of the National Front, workers, Catholics, socialists, petty employees, as well as representatives of the intelligentsia, the small and middle bourgeoisie of the city and countryside, fought in its ranks. For a long time, “Frantiers and Partisans” was in fact the only organization that waged an armed struggle against the invaders; it won universal sympathy in France.
By the end of the summer of 1942, the fighting activity of the franchisors and partisans reached a large scale. Every day, several train wrecks were arranged, enemy warehouses with various military materials were set on fire. In October 1942, major strikes took place in many factories against the call of French workers to Germany. The workers hiding from being sent to Germany went to the forests (in the so-called poppies). During the occupation of France, the name "poppies" was given to the French, hiding in hard-to-reach places from being sent to work in Germany. In the literature, the name "poppies" often refers to partisan detachments, the overwhelming majority of which joined the ranks of the frantires and partisans.
Along with the national front, other organizations of resistance arose in France, different in composition and size. The largest of them were: in the southern zone - “Komba” (“Fight”), “Frantirere” (“Free shooter”), “Liberation” (“Liberation”) and in the northern zone - “Liberation Nor” (“Liberation of the northern zone"), "Se da la Liberation" ("People of Liberation"), "Se de la resistance" ("People of Resistance"), "Organizacion civil e militer" ("Civil and military organization"). At the head of these organizations were representatives of the intelligentsia, socialists, democratic figures, some figures of clerical circles and representatives of the French big bourgeoisie. These organizations printed and distributed underground newspapers and magazines, carried out anti-fascist propaganda, collected intelligence data for the Anglo-American troops, created their own armed detachments, united at the beginning of 1943 into a "secret army".
Until the beginning of 1944, the detachments of the "secret army" did not conduct an active armed struggle. They had to wait for D-Day when the order to march would follow. This tactic, called attantism (wait, wait), was carried out by de Gaulle and his representatives in the resistance movement. It was believed that D-Day would be the moment when the Allied armies landed in France and the Germans left it.
The most anti-fascist positions were occupied by the Liberation group. This organization included lawyers, politicians, journalists, professors. And subsequently, on the basis of the anti-fascist platform, underground trade unions, socialists and communists participated in it.
The Komba group arose at the end of 1941. It consisted mainly of Catholics and officers of the French army.
The Frantirere group originated in the southern zone of France.
These three largest organizations in the southern zone of France - "Liberation", "Combat", "Frantirere" - in the fall of 1942 merged and formed one large organization - the "United Resistance Movement". During the liberation, this organization became known as the National Liberation Movement. After the National Front, "The United Resistance Movement was the largest."
In the northern zone of France, along with the national front, several groups arose and operated. Of these, the most significant were the Liberation Nor and the Organization civil e militaire.
Along with the popular resistance movement that had unfolded in France, the center of the anti-Hitler movement of the French who found themselves outside the country was formed in London. At the head of the movement, called "Free France", and from July 1942 - "Fighting France", was the little-known General Charles de Gaulle. On June 23, 1940, the government of England announced that it would renounce relations with the Petain government, and on June 28, 1940, recognized de Gaulle as the head of the "Free French". On August 7, 1940, an agreement was concluded between the British Prime Minister W. Churchill and de Gaulle, which determined the right and nature of the Free French movement and provided for financial and material support for this movement from Britain. Some French colonies went over to the side of de Gaulle, declaring a break with Petain. In occupying France, most of the leaders of the Resistance organization were guided by him.
During 1943, partisans on the railways carried out 2009 attacks and sabotage. The operations of the freelancers and partisans to destroy power plants and electrical lines have become widespread. Two main power lines from the Alps and the Massif Central, which supplied electricity to the enterprises of the Paris region, were put out of action for a total of 320 days. In September, the Chalon-Sur Son electric line was seriously damaged, as a result of which 31 plants in the Creusot industrial region with 70,000 workers were out of order for a week.
Frantires and partisans of the northern zone from April 1 to September 30, 1943, carried out 270 operations on the railways. 183 trains were derailed, 357 steam locomotives were wrecked, and 1,689 wagons were put out of action. In the same zone, from October 1 to December 31, 1943, partisans blew up 21 locks, disrupted river navigation, and carried out continuous sabotage at military enterprises.
In September 1943, with the active support of the entire population, the freemen and partisans liberated the island of Corsica.
The largest centers of the partisan movement were Savoy, Haute-Savoie, Corrèze, Dordogne and other departments, where the patriots, starting in 1943, dealt serious blows and eventually liberated these departments on their own.
In order to achieve the involvement in the active struggle of all organizations of the Resistance, it was necessary to unite and coordinate their actions. A major event that completed the unification of the resistance movement in France was the creation on May 27, 1943 of the National Council of the Resistance (NCR). The NSS became the highest governing body of the resistance movement: Comba, Liberation, Front National and its organization Frantieres et Partisans, the reunited General Confederation of Labor and the Christian trade unions, as well as representatives of six parties: communist, socialist, radical, party the People's Democrats (Catholic), the Democratic Alliance and the Republican Federation.
The creation of the NSS and the adoption of a single program for the entire Resistance movement made it possible to unite the combat units of all Resistance organizations into a single centralized army (FFI). The unified anti-fascist army of the French Internal Forces numbered up to 500 thousand people in its ranks.
The most powerful areas of the armed struggle of the resistance movement were Brittany, Normandy, the departments of the center, south and southeast of the country. The French patriots were especially active in the areas approached by the allied troops. Only on the Brittany peninsula, 45 thousand Frenchmen fought with weapons in their hands. Many areas on the path of the Anglo-American offensive were liberated by detachments of French partisans.
Outside of France, two French centers were created and existed separately: in London - the French National Committee, headed by de Gaulle; in North Africa, an administration supported by the military authorities of the Allies, headed by General Giraud. De Gaulle was supported by the organizations of the Resistance movement that fought in France and some French colonies that joined his movement.
The national interests of France required the creation of a single French government body and the unification of the armed forces of de Gaulle and Giraud, the mobilization of all the human and material resources of France.
Giraud and de Gaulle reached an agreement on June 3, 1943. As a result of this agreement, the French Committee of National Liberation (FKNL) was created. Its representatives were alternately de Gaulle and Giraud. There was not a single representative of the organization of the resistance movement from the metropolis in it.
In November 1943, de Gaulle, relying on the support of the NSS, reorganized and headed the FKNO, removing Giraud from it. Representatives of various parties and groups of the Resistance movement were introduced to the committee.
On June 6, 1944, the United States and England began the landing of their troops on the Normandy coast of France. The struggle of the French resistance movement, which had been widely unfolded even before the opening of the second front, now acquired an even greater scope.
In mid-July 1944, the center of France and Brittany were actually liberated from German troops, and the rear of the invaders was paralyzed. The central French massif, the Limousin, the Alps, the Upper Garonne, the Dordogne, the Drome, the Jura, as well as Brittany, were at the disposal of the FFI. In many other departments, the Germans actually lost power. Railways, canals, highways, telegraph, telephone were almost completely disabled.
On September 3, 1944, Lyon was liberated mainly by internal resistance forces, and on September 11, French and American troops moving from the south joined in the Dijon area with the right flank of the 3rd American army.
As early as June 2, 1944, the French Committee of National Liberation declared itself the Provisional Government of France. As the American-British troops advanced into the territory of France, the areas liberated by him came under the control and management of the administration of the headquarters of the main command of the expeditionary forces. Over time, management functions in France were transferred to French authorities. But the US and British governments did not recognize the Provisional Government of France. De Gaulle could not achieve full recognition even during a visit to Washington in July 1944, although Roosevelt stated that the US had decided to consider the French National Liberation Committee as the main political authority in France. From mid-August 1944, with the flight of Petain and Laval to Germany, the Vichy government ceased to exist.
On August 26, 1944, the United States and England recognized the French National Liberation Committee as the French de facto authority. In an agreement concluded with de Gaulle on civil administration, the liberated part of France was divided into an advanced zone, which was under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the allied expeditionary forces, and an inland zone, which was in the hands of the French authorities.
On August 30, de Gaulle announced the creation of the government of the French Republic in Paris. Two weeks later, he announced that a referendum to decide on the form of government would take place as soon as French sovereignty was restored, its territories were liberated and French prisoners of war and persons expelled from the country returned to their homeland. On October 23, the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and five other European states recognized the Provisional Government of France headed by de Gaulle.
The government of General de Gaulle was coalition. It included representatives of three parties: the People's Republican Movement, the French Communist Party and the French Socialist Party (SFIO).
On August 28, de Gaulle issued a decree dissolving the FFI and all their headquarters and announced the dissolution of the militia. The procedure for the implementation of this decree was determined by a special instruction that provided for the use of force. The issuance of a decree dissolving the FFI meant that de Gaulle decided to immediately disarm and demobilize 500 thousand resistance members, despite the fact that the interests of the country required the creation of a large army to speed up the liberation from German troops.
According to many prominent figures of the Resistance, the signing of the decree on the dissolution of the FFI in that situation was premature also because the German troops, which remained surrounded in some cities on the Atlantic coast of France, were held mostly by almost unarmed detachments of the French internal forces. In the south-east of France, the FFI from August to the end of September 1944 provided protection for the Franco-Italian and Franco-Spanish borders. The decree was condemned and rejected. De Gaulle was unable to carry it out by force.
Formed with the assistance of the United States and England, the personnel French army by the fall of 1944 included eight divisions. In mid-November, the French government asked the Allies to create eight more divisions. This proposal was approved, however, it was supposed to use new formations not at the front, but to protect communications and maintain internal security.
At the end of October 1944, the Soviet government sent a memorandum to the British Foreign Office and the US State Department proposing to include a French representative in the European Advisory Commission as a fourth permanent member. This was seen as the first official recognition of France's right to participate in all European affairs on an equal footing with the three great powers.
On December 10, 1944, a Soviet-French treaty of alliance and mutual assistance was signed. It was an agreement that the Provisional Government of France concluded with another great power on an equal footing.
Similar information.
The movement was led by General Charles de Gaulle from headquarters in London (French National Committee, until 1943). It set itself the goal of restoring the independence of France from the Nazi occupiers and the Vichy collaborators who collaborated with them. Adjoined the anti-Hitler coalition.
The movement had weaponry and participated in a number of World War II operations. The success of the movement was greatly aided by the support of the resistance movement within France.
Approximately 300,000 fighters of Fighting France participated in the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. In the same year, on August 24, de Gaulle returned in triumph to Paris and set about restoring the French state.
Normandie-Niemen
Renaming
On June 2, 1944, the committee renamed itself the provisional government of the French Republic, headed by General Charles de Gaulle.
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- (“Free France”) the official name (until July 1942) of the movement that took shape during World War II 1939 45 at the call of General Charles de Gaulle (See Gaulle), whose goal was to fight for the liberation of France from German fascist ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (La France libre) official. name (until July 1942) formed during the 2nd World War at the call of General. Charles de Gaulle movement, which aimed to fight for the liberation of France from him. fash. invaders and their henchmen. In July 1942, in connection with ... ...
- (French Republic), a state in Western Europe, in the west and north it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean (the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel), in the south by the Mediterranean Sea (the Gulf of Lyon and the Ligurian Sea). The area is 551 thousand km2. Population… … Modern Encyclopedia
- (France) state in the West. Europe. Area 551,601 km2. Us. 52,300 thousand people (as of Jan. 1, 1974). St. 90% of the population are French. The capital is Paris. The vast majority of believers are Catholics. According to the constitution of 1958, in addition to the metropolis, F. includes: ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia
- (France), the French Republic (République Française), a state in Western Europe, in the west and north it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, in the south by the Mediterranean Sea. 551 thousand km2. Population 58.4 million people (1996), ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
France- Chateau d'If. Marseille, France. FRANCE (French Republic), a state in Western Europe, in the west and north is washed by the Atlantic Ocean (the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel), in the south by the Mediterranean Sea (the Gulf of Lyon and the Ligurian ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
France- >) /> June uprising 1848. Lithography () June uprising 1848. Lithography () France () a state in Western Europe. Area 551 thousand square meters. km. The population is 57.7 million people. Capital Paris. In ancient times, the territory of France was inhabited by the Gauls (), ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"
FRANCE- (France) General The official name of the French Republic (French La République Française, English French Republic). Located in the western part of Europe. The area is 547 thousand km2, the population is 59.7 million people. (2002). State ... ... Encyclopedia of the countries of the world
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- Save Paris and die, Sergei Zverev. On August 18, 1944, the "Free France" led an uprising against the Nazi occupation, and a few days later Paris was liberated, the Nazi troops capitulated. Charles de…
Political history of France in the 20th century Arzakanyan Marina Tsolakovna
"Free France"
"Free France"
Simultaneously with the defeat of France, the history of her resistance to the invaders began. It is connected, first of all, with the name of the outstanding French military, political and statesman of the 20th century. General Charles de Gaulle.
De Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into an aristocratic family and brought up in the spirit of patriotism and Catholicism. After graduating from the Saint-Cyr Higher Military School, he fought on the fields of the First World War and graduated with the rank of captain. During the interwar period, de Gaulle continued his military career. However, since the mid-1920s, his activities went far beyond the scope of military service. He wrote extensively and made presentations. In four books by de Gaulle - "Discord in the camp of the enemy" (1924), "On the edge of the sword" (1932), "For a professional army" (1934) and "France and its army" (1938) ) - reflected the author's own military doctrine and his life credo. He was essentially the first in France to predict the decisive role of tank troops in a future war and presented himself as an adherent of French nationalism and a supporter of strong executive power.
De Gaulle was a staunch opponent of the defensive tactics developed at the General Staff of the French Army, which was based on the idea of the impregnability of the Maginot Line. He warned of the destructiveness of such views and called for strengthening the country's defense capability. De Gaulle considered it necessary, first of all, to form additional tank corps in France, equipped with the latest vehicles. He sought supporters in military and political circles. In 1934, he even managed to get acquainted with Paul Reynaud, but de Gaulle did not achieve effective support for his ideas.
At the beginning of World War II, de Gaulle, who served with the rank of colonel, was appointed commander of tank forces in Alsace. When Germany launched a swift offensive on the Western Front in 1940, he was ordered to lead an urgently formed armored division. Throughout May, she fought selflessly, suffering heavy losses. The enemy had a huge advantage in tanks, artillery and aircraft. For military merit, de Gaulle was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
In Paris, Paul Reynaud, while reorganizing his cabinet, appointed de Gaulle deputy minister of war. The general immediately arrived in the capital. He stubbornly insisted on continuing the war and tried to convince Reino of this. De Gaulle suggested that the government move to the North African possessions of France and fight, relying on the country's huge colonial empire. However, the chairman of the council of ministers preferred to transfer power to Marshal Petain. Then de Gaulle made an unprecedented act. He resolutely refused to submit to the new French authorities, who took a course of surrender, and on June 17, 1940, he flew on a military plane to London.
In the British capital, the rebellious general immediately met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and assured him of his firm intention to continue the fight. On June 18, de Gaulle delivered a famous speech to his compatriots on London radio. In it, he argued that the position of France is far from hopeless, because the war that has begun has a global character and its outcome will not be decided only by the battle for France. The speech ended with the following words: “I, General de Gaulle, now in London, invite French officers and soldiers who are on British territory or can be there to establish contact with me. Whatever happens, the flame of the French Resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.” So already in June 1940 the flag of French resistance to the enemy was raised.
In London, de Gaulle founded the Free France organization, designed to fight against Nazi Germany on the side of Great Britain. The Vichy government sentenced de Gaulle to death in absentia for "desertion" and "treason". Nevertheless, both military and civilians of various political views and beliefs began to join the Free French. At the end of 1940 there were only 7,000 of them; in less than two years, this number had grown tenfold.
On August 7, 1940, de Gaulle and Churchill signed an agreement regarding the organization and use of French volunteer forces in England. De Gaulle undertook to form these forces and exercise supreme command over them in accordance with the general directives of the British Government. Great Britain did not recognize the rights of de Gaulle to exercise state power and considered the "free French" only as volunteers in their service. However, it provided de Gaulle with regular financial support and gave him the opportunity to create a civilian body in addition to the military. An English BBC radio station was also placed at de Gaulle's disposal. Through her, the "Free France" carried out propaganda broadcasting to France.
First of all, de Gaulle directed his efforts to mastering the French colonies, mainly African ones. With the help of his supporters, he began active propaganda there in favor of continuing the war and joining the Free French. The North African administration categorically rejected such proposals and remained loyal to the Vichy government. The colonies of French Equatorial Africa behaved differently. Already in August 1940, Chad joined de Gaulle. After some time, the Congo, Ubangi-Shari, Gabon, Cameroon went over to the side of the general. Several small French possessions in the Pacific announced his recognition. It was the first big success. True, in September 1940 the Gaullists also suffered a serious defeat. The expedition of the Anglo-French squadron, which had the goal of capturing the most important port of French West Africa - Dakar, ended in failure. The garrison of the city remained on the Vichy side. Yet the Free French now have their own territorial base on the African continent. This allowed de Gaulle to start creating his own "state apparatus" and decisively dissociate himself from the Vichy government.
On October 27, 1940, de Gaulle issued a Manifesto regarding the leadership of the French during the war. In it, he condemned the activities of the Petain cabinet, spoke of the illegality of its existence and called collaborators "accidental leaders" who submitted to the enemy. De Gaulle declared that on behalf of France he would exercise power for the sole purpose of protecting the country from the enemy.
At the very end of 1940, the Free French Political Affairs Office was created. Its work was supervised by de Gaulle himself. He also defined the tasks of the Office: “To create and use information services that collect materials on the political situation in France and the Empire. Organize and support the Free French movement in France and the Empire and try to extend its activities to old and new political, social, religious, economic, professional and intellectual organizations and convince them of the need at the moment to subordinate all personal interests to one - national " . The Directorate consisted of the General Staff and the Information Service. Three bureaus were subordinate to them. The first defined specific tasks. The second was to carry them out on the territory of France and the colonial empire. Subsequently, it developed into the well-known Central Bureau of Awareness and Action (BSRA). The third was engaged in establishing contacts with foreign countries. Its representatives were sent by de Gaulle to various regions of the world in order to achieve recognition of the "Free France" by the governments of foreign states.
In September 1941, de Gaulle issued an ordinance on the "Free France". He established the National Committee, which temporarily exercised the functions of state power. It was called upon to exist until "until a representation of the French people is created, capable of expressing the will of the nation independently of the enemy." The National Committee included commissioners appointed by its chairman, General de Gaulle: Rene Pleven (for coordinating the activities of the committee), Maurice Dejan (for foreign affairs), Rene Cassin (for justice and public education), General Legantiom (for military affairs), Admiral Muselier ( military and merchant fleet), General Valen (for aviation), Andre Dietelme (internal affairs). The commissars headed the national commissariats. Thus, within the framework of the Free French, some semblance of a government was created.
The cooperation of the "Free France" (since July 1942 - "Fighting France") with the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition was not easy at first. First of all, this concerned the development of de Gaulle's relations with the British government, before which he defended the French national interests. The head of the "Free French" sought to prevent the spread of British influence in the French colonial possessions.
In the summer of 1941, as a result of a joint British military operation with the "free French", the Vichy regime was overthrown in the French colonies in the Middle East - Syria and Lebanon. In the spring of 1942, Great Britain captured the island of Madagascar and eliminated the Vichy administration there. The British wanted to establish their power in these French possessions. De Gaulle categorically prevented this and, at the cost of great efforts and difficult diplomatic negotiations, joined Syria, Lebanon and Madagascar to the Free French movement.
Immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War, de Gaulle, on behalf of the "Free France", initiated cooperation with the USSR, which had previously maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy.
The events of June 22, 1941 found the general in Africa. On June 30, the Vichy government announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Plenipotentiary representative of the USSR under Vichy A.E. Bogomolov was immediately recalled from France. But already on July 1, the Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Great Britain, I. M. Maisky, telegraphed from London to Moscow that even before the break with Vichy, he was privately visited by the representative of de Gaulle Cassin, “who, on behalf of the general, conveyed the sympathies and best wishes of the USSR” and at the same time "raised the question of establishing certain relations between the Soviet government and de Gaulle's forces." In August, Cassin and Dejean posed the same question to IM Maisky for the second time. And on September 26, 1941, the USSR ambassador to Great Britain gave de Gaulle an official written response: “On behalf of my government, I have the honor to inform you that it recognizes you as the leader of all free French, wherever they are, who rallied around you supporting the allied cause.
Both sides decided to exchange official representatives. In early November 1941, A.E. Bogomolov was sent to Great Britain with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to the allied governments in London. The Soviet government entrusted him with the functions of maintaining communication with the Free France. Roger Garraud, Raymond Schmittlen, appointed by de Gaulle, and the military representative, General Ernest Petit, also left for Moscow.
The United States maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy prior to entering World War II. However, the Americans were interested in using the French island colonies in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, controlled by the Free French, as their military naval and air bases.
After the US entered the war on the side of the Allies in December 1941, de Gaulle approached the United States with a proposal to establish diplomatic relations. Official Washington did not give a positive answer to the head of the "Freedom of France" for a long time. Only in March 1942 did the United States recognize the authority of the de Gaulle National Committee in the Pacific Islands. In July 1942, the US government issued a communiqué recognizing the organization headed by de Gaulle.
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From the book Political History of France of the XX century author Arzakanyan Marina Tsolakovna"Free France" Simultaneously with the defeat of France began the history of its resistance to the invaders. It is connected, first of all, with the name of the outstanding French military, political and statesman of the 20th century. General Charles de Gaulle. De Gaulle was born on 22
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On June 3, 1943, in Algeria, after negotiations between the head of the French National Committee, General Charles de Gaulle, and the head of the French administration and army commander in North Africa, Henri Giraud, the central French authority, the French Committee of National Liberation (FKNO), was established.
The committee represented the state interests of the French Republic in the international arena and led the actions of the French in the fight against the Nazis and collaborators. On August 26, 1943, the French Committee recognized the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. The FKNO expressed its readiness to fight the fascist regimes until complete victory, and then restore the former republican system, legislative, executive and judicial system in France. In November 1943, the committee included representatives of some organizations of the internal Resistance Movement. The power of the FKNO was recognized by almost all French colonies and a significant part of the armed forces. On June 2, 1944, the FKNO was transformed into the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
From France during World War II
France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, after Germany attacked Poland on September 1. However, France and England, believing that Berlin would start a war with Moscow, did not conduct real hostilities on the Western Front - the so-called Strange War was going on. The German military-political leadership initially justified the hopes of the allies - all their main forces were occupied with the occupation of Poland, and the German troops did not take any decisive action on the Western Front. However, Hitler was not going to fight with the USSR, leaving behind the Anglo-French group mobilized and ready to strike.
Responsibility for the defeat of France in World War II lies with the French ruling elite, including the governments of Edouard Daladier (French Prime Minister in 1933, 1934, 1938-1940). France had significant military, economic, economic resources (including a colonial empire) to prevent or nip war in the bud. France had many allies in Europe - Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece and other states, relying on which it was possible to prevent Germany's aggression. However, France, together with England, consistently "pacified" (contributed to) the aggressor, surrendering one position after another, giving entire countries to the sphere of influence of Germany. Even when the Second World War began, England and France had the strength to defeat Germany, as long as she was tied up in a war with Poland. And the rapid defeat of the allies in the French campaign on May 10 - June 22, 1940 raises a number of questions. With more competent and decisive resistance, France, England, Belgium and the Netherlands had all the resources to at least drag out the war, to make it not a walk for the Germans, but a difficult and bloody conflict. Therefore, it is quite possible that part of the French elite simply “leaked” the country, what was more in this - stupidity, or betrayal of national interests, for the sake of the interests of international (cosmopolitan) elite groups, this is another matter.
The cabinets of Daladier and Paul Reynaud (headed the government March 21 - June 16, 1940), referring to the wartime situation, gradually eliminated democratic freedoms. In September 1939, martial law was introduced on the territory of the French state. Demonstrations, meetings, rallies and strikes were banned. The media were heavily censored. Holidays and the 40-hour work week were abolished. Wages were "frozen" at pre-war levels.
It must be said that Paul Reynaud was one of the rare sensible politicians in the pre-war history of France who called for rearmament and warned of the threat of strengthening Nazi Germany. He supported Charles de Gaulle's theory of mechanized warfare as opposed to the doctrine of passive defense, which was supported by most politicians and the military, influenced by the successes of the army in the First World War. He offered to improve relations with the USSR as opposed to Germany. Reynaud also opposed the German appeasement policy. As Minister of Finance in 1938-1940. he carried out successful transformations that led to significant industrial growth and an increase in the country's cash reserves. The battle for France began less than two months after Reynaud took office, so he no longer had the opportunity to change the situation. Everything that could be done to ensure that France was defeated and ceased to be a threat to Nazi Germany, had already been done.
On May 10, 1940, German troops crossed the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. Then the main forces of the Wehrmacht struck in the Sedan area, where the main fortifications of the Maginot Line ended. The front was broken through and the German troops went to the rear of the Anglo-French grouping and surrounded it near Dunkirk. But Hitler did not destroy the British troops, allowing them to evacuate, leaving behind heavy weapons. The German military-political leadership hoped for a political agreement with England; there was a powerful English party in the German elite. In general, Great Britain with its colonial empire was an example, a model of the "New World Order" that the Nazis planned to build. And England was to become part of the "Eternal Reich".
The French troops, having lost the support of the British Expeditionary Force, hastily retreated. On May 25, the commander-in-chief of the French armed forces, General Maxime Weygand, informed the government that it was necessary to capitulate. On June 10, German troops occupied Paris without a fight, and the French government moved to Bordeaux.
Prime Minister Paul Reynaud and Interior Minister Georges Mandel offered to fight to the end - to take the government and parliament to Algeria, to fight the Germans in Brittany, southern France and the colonies. But neither the President of the French Republic, nor the absolute majority of deputies wanted to go to North Africa. Weygand and Marshal Pétain were against the fight. Thus, France, not having exhausted all possibilities for resistance, went to a separate agreement with Germany. Reynaud refused to participate in the betrayal of the country and resigned on June 16. Until the end of the war, he was in a concentration camp, Mendel also ended up in a concentration camp and was killed by collaborators.
The new government was headed by Henri Philippe Pétain. He finished the First World War with the rank of marshal, was considered one of the heroes of this war. In the 1930s, he was proposed by the right as the leader of France. On June 17, the new French government asked Germany for an armistice. On June 22, 1940, the Second Compiegne Armistice was concluded, France capitulated to Germany. On June 25 hostilities officially ended. Approximately 60% of the territory of France, including the north and west of the country, Paris and the entire Atlantic coast, was occupied by German troops. The French army was disarmed, handing over heavy weapons to the Wehrmacht, and minimal formations were maintained to maintain order, the number of which was determined by Germany and Italy. French prisoners of war (about 1.5 million people) were to remain in the camps until the end of hostilities in Western Europe. France paid a large indemnity. In the south, a puppet state was created - the Vichy Regime (official name - the French State). In the resort town of Vichy, in July 1940, the National Assembly was assembled, which transferred dictatorial power to Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain. This led to the official end of the Third Republic. The posts of President of the Republic and Chairman of the Council of Ministers were abolished. The sittings of Parliament have been suspended.
The Pétain government in domestic policy was guided by traditional conservative values, and in foreign policy - by an alliance with Germany. The "National Revolution" was announced, the motto "Freedom, Equality, Fraternity" was replaced by "Labour, Family, Fatherland". Repressions were carried out against Jews, Gypsies, Communists, Masons. Both the German punitive structures - the SS and the Gestapo, and their own - the "Militia" operated in the "Free Zone". There was a supply of labor to Germany (a total of about 1 million people), in exchange, Berlin freed some of the prisoners. Almost the entire economy served the interests of the Third Reich. Up to 80% of all French enterprises carried out military orders from Germany. Up to three-quarters of French raw materials and 50-100% of finished products from enterprises in the main industries were exported to the Reich. All political parties and major trade unions were disbanded. All meetings, demonstrations, rallies and strikes were strictly prohibited. All the fullness of the executive and legislative power was transferred to the head of state - Pétain. The senior leadership included Admiral Francois Darlan, Pierre Laval, Pierre-Etienne Flandin and Charles-Leon-Clement Huntziger.
The Vichy regime was initially able to retain most of its overseas possessions. True, some of them were later captured by Britain, others came under the control of the pro-British "Free (Fighting) France" of General de Gaulle. Insignificant French military formations, as well as volunteers, fought on the side of Germany on the Eastern Front against the USSR.
Formally, the Pétain government also received the entire fleet. Part of it was destroyed and captured by the British (Operation Catapult). In England itself, two old battleships, two destroyers, several torpedo boats and submarines were captured. On July 3, 1940, the British attacked the French squadron at Mers-el-Kebir, but could not destroy it. Most of the ships broke through to France. The main body of the French navy was scuttled at Toulon on November 27, 1942, with the sanction of the Vichy government, so that they would not fall into Germany.
"Free France"
Simultaneously with the existence of Vichy collaborators, the history of its Resistance Movement began. It was associated with the name of an outstanding French military, political and statesman, "the last great Frenchman" - General Charles de Gaulle. Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into a noble family. He was brought up in the spirit of faith and patriotism. Participated in the First World War, in the rank of captain was seriously wounded and taken prisoner, where he remained until the end of the war. After captivity, he taught the theory of tactics in Poland, and even took part in the Soviet-Polish war a little. In the 1930s, lieutenant colonel and then colonel de Gaulle became famous as a military theorist, author of a number of works where he pointed out the need for the comprehensive development of mechanized troops as the main tool in a future war. He was a resolute opponent of the defensive tactics developed at the General Staff of the French Army, which was based on the idea of the impregnability of the "Maginot Line" and warned of the destructiveness of such views. According to his ideas, P. Reino prepared a military reform plan, but it was rejected. By the beginning of World War II, he was the commander of tank troops. On May 14, 1940, de Gaulle was given command of the emerging 4th Panzer Division, and from June 1, he temporarily acted as a brigadier general. On June 6, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed de Gaulle as deputy minister of war. The general was an active supporter of the idea of continuing the war, based on the colonies, the evacuation of the government to Africa. However, Reynaud and de Gaulle lost to the defeatist party.
At the time of Reynaud's resignation de Gaulle was in England. He didn't admit defeat. On June 18, his speech was broadcast, in which the general called for resistance. He accused the Pétain regime of betrayal and declared that "with a full sense of duty he speaks on behalf of France." He asked all the French to unite around him "in the name of action, self-sacrifice and hope." This is how the "Free France" appeared - an organization that was supposed to resist the invaders and the Vichy collaborationist regime, to recreate the republic. The collaborationist regime sentenced the general to death in absentia for "desertion" and "treason."
At first, de Gaulle had to face enormous difficulties. In fact, he was alone and had no financial means, no name, no legitimacy. Churchill's support played a decisive role. This determined the pro-British nature of the organization. De Gaulle was forced to take this step because there was no choice. The British sought to create an alternative to the Vichy government. This center was a military tool - it attracted French officers, soldiers, specialists who were ready to continue the fight. It also became a political solution to the problem - on June 28, 1940, de Gaulle was recognized as "the head of all free French." It should be noted that de Gaulle did not become an obedient tool in the hands of London, he was a real patriot who tried to defend the interests of France.
If at the end of 1940 there were only 7 thousand people in the movement, then in less than two years this number increased tenfold. On August 7, 1940, de Gaulle and Churchill signed an agreement that dealt with the organization and use of French volunteer units in England. Their supreme commander was a French general, and they had to act in accordance with the general directives of the British government. The British provided de Gaulle with regular financial support, allowed him to create a civil and military organization, and also through the BBC radio station to carry out propaganda broadcasts to France.
Initially, de Gaulle directed his main efforts to establishing control over the French colonies, primarily in Africa. The general began active campaigning in favor of continuing the struggle and joining the Free French. But the civil administration in North Africa categorically refused to join the Free French, supporting the Vichy regime. The colonies of French Equatorial Africa were set up differently. Already in 1940, Chad, Congo, Ubangi-Shari, Gabon, Cameroon crossed over to the Free French side. Also supported several small holdings in the Pacific. This was de Gaulle's first great success. True, in September 1940 there was a big failure - the expedition to capture Dakar failed. Nevertheless, General de Gaulle received his own territorial base in Africa and was able to start creating a state apparatus.
On October 27, 1940, de Gaulle issued a Manifesto regarding the leadership of the French during the war, where he criticized the cabinet, where he criticized the Pétain cabinet. At the end of 1940, the Department of Political Affairs was created. It consisted of the General Staff and the Information Service. Three bureaus were subordinate to them: the first determined the current tasks; the second was the executive body (Central Bureau of Information and Action); the third - to establish ties with foreign countries. In September 1941, the general established a body temporarily exercising the functions of state power - the National Committee. It became a provisional government. The committee included: Rene Pleven - coordinated the activities of the committee, Maurice Dejan - was responsible for relations with other states, Paul Legantiom - military affairs, etc.
In the summer of 1941, the British occupied Syria and Lebanon, previously controlled by France. In the spring of 1942, England captured Madagascar. London planned to establish its power in these French possessions. But de Gaulle showed great perseverance and, at the cost of enormous efforts, joined Syria, Lebanon and Madagascar to the Free French movement. Gradually, de Gaulle was recognized as a leader by many organizations and groups of the internal Resistance. The general went to cooperate with the French communists.
The German attack on the USSR and the rupture of diplomatic relations between the Vichy regime and the Soviet Union led to another victory for de Gaulle. On September 26, 1941, Moscow recognized de Gaulle as the leader of all free French. A. E. Bogomolov, who was the plenipotentiary representative of the USSR under Vichy, in early November 1941 received the status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Soviet Union to the allied governments in London. He began to maintain ties with the Free French. De Gaulle was represented in Moscow by Roger Garrot, Raymond Schmittlen and the military representative, General Ernest Petit. The United States recognized the authority of the National Committee in the Pacific Islands only in March 1942. And in July 1942, the American government published a communiqué recognizing the organization headed by General de Gaulle.
French Committee of National Liberation
Britain and the United States promised the USSR to land troops in Western Europe, but instead they decided to land landing forces in Algiers and Morocco, which were controlled by the Vichy troops. The Americans did not want to get involved in the conflict and were looking for a person who could solve the matter peacefully. For this role, they had two candidates - Admiral Francois Darlan and Henri Giraud. The Americans were ready to put this or that military man in the place of de Gaulle, who was too intractable and ambitious.
On November 8, 1942, Operation Torch began - Anglo-American forces landed on the territory of Algeria and Morocco. Vichy troops put up minimal resistance. Darlan ordered the French troops to cease hostilities and received the post of High Representative of France in North and West Africa. However, on December 24, he was assassinated by a monarchist. His post was taken by Giraud. Thus, some of the high-ranking Vichy went over to the side of the Allies. Most of the French forces in Africa supported Darlan (Giraud), but some joined the German forces in Tunisia. The Germans, in response to this operation, occupied the southern part of France and an effort to have a military presence in Africa (occupied Tunisia).
Giraud was a protege of the United States and supported by Roosevelt. Giraud was not opposed to uniting with the "Fighting France", but having the support of the Americans behind him, a large military group in Africa and surpassing Brigadier General de Gaulle in rank, he believed that he should head the provisional government. In January 1943, a conference of great powers was held in Casablanca, and the "French question" was also raised at it. The United States and Great Britain decided to unite the groups led by de Gaulle and Giraud. But they ran into difficulties. De Gaulle refused to allow the National Committee he headed to be in a subordinate position.
De Gaulle began a new struggle for recognition. De Gaulle wanted to visit Moscow, enlist the support of his most important ally in the anti-Hitler coalition. However, Moscow did not accept him, although it made it clear that it preferred de Gaulle over Giraud. In May 1943, he managed to unite in the National Council of the Resistance representatives of the 16 main organizations that fought for the liberation of France. It included the Communist and Socialist parties, the General Confederation of Labor, Christian trade unions, and the main right-wing patriotic movements. Jean Moulin became the first chairman of the council, and after his death, Georges Bidault. The Internal Resistance had a negative attitude towards Giraud and refused to obey him.
Having learned the support of the internal Resistance, de Gaulle was able to continue negotiations on unification with Giraud. The Americans and the British invited Giraud to agree to de Gaulle's proposal. De Gaulle and his supporters announced a compromise solution - to create a government institution to be headed by two chairmen. The leaders of the United States and Great Britain, as well as General Giraud, agreed to such a proposal. On June 3, 1943, in Algiers, de Gaulle and Giraud signed a document that created the French Committee of National Liberation (FKNO). It included de Gaulle and Giraud as chairmen, as well as 5 more people - Generals Catrou and Georges, André Philip, Rene Massigli and Jean Monnet. The French committee set the task of complete liberation of French lands, war until victory over all hostile powers and the restoration of the republic. In 1943, they created a kind of parliament - the Provisional Consultative Assembly. At the end of August 1943, the FKNO was simultaneously recognized by the USSR, England, the USA, and over the next weeks about 20 more states.
