2 - The Repression of the Republic’s “Francs-Tireurs”

Summary

Armed citizens attempted to resist the invasion by apprehending downed enemy airmen. Their story, however, is largely unknown and extremely difficult to study. Not only was the phenomenon in question very short-lived but, in cases in which an airman was apprehended in brutal fashion, efforts were immediately made to conceal it for fear of reprisal on the part of the occupying power. The far more traumatic nature of the events that were to follow under the Occupation only further contributed to burying this memory. What we know about the behavior of civilians during these few days or weeks thus for the most part comes to us from the archives of the victorious power, particularly those of its military tribunals. The document that follows, which comes from a French source, is an exception. It offers an alternative, on-the-ground perspective on the sequence of events.