The HORRORS Of Captured French Resistance Executions JJ

They were some of the most feared resistance fighters of World War II and they were ruthless in their actions. The French Resistance fought alongside the Allied Forces following D-Day and contributed significantly to the liberation of their own country. But when they were under German occupation, they faced brutal treatment including torture and execution if they were captured by their enemies.

The Resistance didn’t just have to worry about the Germans. They had internal French enemies such as the Milice and other collaborators to worry about who were involved in telling the authorities of them and they sometimes feared these French enemies more than the Germans. But during World War II, there were actually scores of French Resistance members who were shot and executed by the Germans as they felt this was the best way to deal with them.

But why were these executions so brutal and horrific? French Resistance members were executed by German occupation forces for a combination of military, political, and also ideological reasons. From the German perspective, Resistance fighters were considered unlawful soldiers, bandits or guerrillas who were fighting illegally.

They were also categorized as saboteurs and this classification meant in the eyes of the German occupiers that these men and women were not worthy of the protections normally given to captured prisoners of war. One of the Resistance’s primary roles was sabotaging the German war effort. They blew up railway lines carrying troops and supplies, destroyed bridges and telephone lines, damaged factories producing equipment for Germany, and also cut electrical cables and communication networks.

The Germans viewed these acts as an attack on their operational capability and captured saboteurs were quickly sentenced to death or were executed even without trial. Resistance groups also carried out assassinations and ambushes against German soldiers, military police, SS personnel, Gestapo offices, and French collaborators who were working with the occupation authorities.

Whenever a German serviceman was killed, occupation authorities frequently ordered swift reprisals, and this led to resistance members being executed. They also carried out other actions, such as helping the Allies preparing for their invasion that would take place in June 1944 by passing information and stockpiling weapons, explosives, and other items useful for the Normandy landings.

But, the German military doctrine had always been heavily influenced by what they’d seen already in World War II. Hitler hated the idea of resistance and what he called irregular warfare. And as a result of this, resistance members were often tortured ruthlessly and were then shot. Hostages with links to the resistance were also executed after hits upon Germans, and entire villages would face punishment if they were said to have been supporting the resistance.

But, the Germans were horrific in their executions, and they didn’t spare many people, even regardless of their age. At the age of just 17, Guy Môquet, a young French communist activist, was taken hostage during the occupation of his country. He was locked up inside of Fresnes prison, but following a high-ranking assassination, Môquet, despite being just a teenager, was selected for execution.

Inside of a camp at Châteaubriant, Guy Môquet was led out to a firing range in a group of nine, and he refused a blindfold. Stood opposite him was a firing squad made up of German soldiers who all had their rifles raised, and he was then ruthlessly shot. But, many prominent resistance members were also killed by their treatment rather than their execution.

Their torture sessions, which were intense, turned into execution and death itself. Jean Moulin, who was involved in unifying resistance networks, was seized by the Germans and was specifically tortured by notorious German officer Klaus Barbie. Barbie was known for being the butcher of Lyon and was known for his terrifying ways of dealing with resistance fighters.

Moulin’s fate in prison was terrifying. According to witnesses, he and his men had their fingernails removed using hot needles and spatulas. Moulin’s fingers were then placed in a door frame inside his torture cell and the door was repeatedly slammed shut on them. His handcuffs cut into his skin and broke both his wrists.

He was also so badly beaten by Gestapo agents that his face became unrecognizable. After each torture session, Moulin would be paraded broken and battered in front of other prisoners suspected of being resistance members. The last time he was seen alive was when he was wheeled out in a coma. His head had swollen significantly and it was yellow and wrapped in bandages.

But Moulin never woke up from his coma and was killed and executed by his torture ordeal. The favorite method of execution for suspected French resistance members though was firing squad. The Germans often carried this out in public, but many more were shot in secret places and in forests and clearings. The executions were not planned at that time and they were highly routine and organized.

Strangely, despite dispatching many people during the war in a pit with one single shot to the neck, the German execution squads carried out resistance executions in a very formal manner. The condemned was led out by German officials to wooden stakes, which were secured to the ground. They were then fastened to these with rope so they could not move.

There were also some examples of victims being shot next to walls without being tied up. Many of the condemned were not given a blindfold and were forced to witness their final seconds and were faced down by the executioners. Regarding the number of executioners, often there were dozens of soldiers depending on the amount of men to be executed.

Then the firing squad were given the order to raise their rifles and they were normally stood just a matter of yards away from their victims. Then when the order to shoot was given, they fired into their motionless targets. After this, many of the victims were buried in graves and some still remain inside these pits because the location of the executions was very remote and hidden.

Also often priests were not permitted to accompany the condemned to the execution sites, but sometimes German military priests were present. The Germans also had a habit of disposing of the corpses anonymously in various different places to prevent the remains of executed resisters becoming a shrine. Some executions were also carried out so swiftly that families of resistance members only found out their loved ones were dead when their names were published in local notices.

One of the most prominent places where the Germans executed French resistance members during World War II was inside a Fort Mont Valérien. Inside this fort in a Paris suburb, 1,008 people were executed by German army firing squads. They were led over to an embankment near a wall and they were dispatched in rapid succession.

Many days each week, there were executions taking place and locals often complained about the crash of gunshots. But one thing to mention is that these executions did not stop the resistance at all. They were utterly relentless in their pursuit to rid France of German occupation. Although the executions terrorized the civilian population and destroyed many resistance cells and networks, they ultimately failed to eliminate the movements.

As the war progressed, especially after Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad and the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944, resistance organizations grew larger and also more coordinated. Thousands of new volunteers joined despite the risk of execution, playing a significant role in disrupting German communications, gathering intelligence, and also supporting the liberation of France.

The executions were therefore intended both as a punishment and a deterrent. German authorities hoped that by swiftly killing captured resistance members and often innocent hostages, they would discourage further attacks. In practice, the brutality of these shootings and executions strengthened public support for the resistance and also deepened opposition to the German occupation.

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