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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Resisting a bit in France, being sent

by minodemarou

Contributed by 
minodemarou
People in story: 
Marguerite Drion and others
Location of story: 
St Dié (Vosges)
Background to story: 
Civilian
Article ID: 
A4408841
Contributed on: 
09 July 2005

Marie-Thérèse Capus, the children's grand-mother who looked after them while their mother was in Germany

The story below was written down by my great grand-mother on a diary, telling her life. All the dialogs have been translated from French by my cares.

The following story is an extract of it.
It happened on August 1944, as she was still living in the east-northern part of France that was one of the first parts to fall to nazi hands in 1940.
She was vaguely member of the interior resistance network by welcoming persecuted jewish to her house or getting some sent weapons she gave to other members. Her husband, when he had a furlough, was one of the rulers of the local network.

Once, he left to a non official operation. My great grand-mother was staying in the village with their 3 children, all of them below the age of 9. She left the children in her mother's care (named Marie-Thérèse Capus) while she was trying to do the most to hide her husband's leave.
But some German soldiers once arrived to interrogate M. Drion they thought suspicious. As she was asked to tell where he had gone, she lied by saying he had left to see a cousin with the children to a land close to Normandy. She was asked an evidence to show he was there, since they could not go and check there as the land was already the allies'. She lied again and said she had received a letter from him, mentionning everything was fine.

She was asked this letter she hadn't, and went with both soldiers to go and get it back from her mother, as she had added.

When they entered, the children were there. Marguerite prayed they wouldn't call her mum or anything, as her cover would be spoilt. She asked :
-"Mum, what have you done with the letter from Charles I gave you from Normandy with the children ?".
The grandmother was quite smart and answered almost immediately :
-"I burnt it".
-"Alright, Mademoiselle Drion, you will be asked to follow us to sign your testimony".
They left the village, and as she understood, her house was to be rummaged through, like the village probably.

About one hour later, they had been through the German frontier. The car kept following the road for about two hours before stopping to a kind of police station.
Her testimony was typed down and was asked to sign, as she did. She was imprisonned then for a few days as their investigation kept going on.

The few minutes before she climbed in the car to drive her home, a young pro-nazi Belgium soldier praised her the welfare of nazism. As he saw she didn't agree that much with him, he asked her an explanation.
"I'm French, and as my country was invaded, I can only oppose myself to the invader".

When she came back home, the village was messy, and the corpse of her neighbour being a resistant too was remaining on the ground. His head was opened as it had been holed by a fire gun. All houses had been pillaged, or some pieces of furniture were found to other houses and so on. Lots of things were to rebuild again.

Since this event to the allies arrival, she did a lot to resist, by welcoming weapons sent by the air and so on.

Fortunately, war was ended for them to the allies arrival.

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This story has been placed in the following categories.

Resistance and Occupation Category
France Category
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