August 28th, 1943
HQ of the German occupation forces in France, Hotel Majestic, Paris - This morning various German and French personalities meet in the office of General Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, head of the Militärbefehlshaber Frankreich (MBF). Present at the meeting are seven Germans and four French.
For the Germans, in addition to General von Stülpnagel, they are
- the head of the MBF Südfrankreich (sub-division of the MBF), General Fritz Brodowski ;
- Brigadeführer Carl Oberg, the "superior chief" of the SS and police;
- the police and law enforcement officers for the Frankreich and Südfrankreich areas, Generals Paul Scheer and Helmut Mascus;
- the heads of the Security Police (Sipo) and the SD for the Frankreich and Südfrankreich areas, the SS Sturmbannführer Helmut Knochen and Herbert Hagen.
As for the French, they form a rather fine team:
- the President of the Council, Minister of the Interior and State Security of the NEF, Jacques Doriot himself;
- the head of the Secret State Police, Paul Touvier ;
- the director of the Department of Religious Sects, Paul Chack;
- the General Commissioner for Jewish Questions, Louis Darquier de Pellepoix.
In fact, this meeting was initiated by Jacques Doriot, whose militant enthusiasm is still alive: the order of the day is the destruction of Jewish places of worship!
A real French Kristallnacht! Tired of Pierre Laval's supposed anti-Jewish lukewarmness, Jacques Doriot wants to do it quickly and well. No half measures. A policy that goes to the end of his ideas. Thus, France would be able to integrate as well as possible into the New Europe that would soon put down the Old. Certainly, for the moment the Bolsheviks are advancing in the East and the plutocrats in Italy, but now that Mussolini has got rid of the royalist relics, the country of the ancient Romans will soon rise again, and once the next allied landing is thrown into the sea, wherever it takes place, we can go and crush the Red Bear once and for all!
To awaken the New French State and give it its full place in the New Europe, Doriot finds it natural to start by attacking the synagogues. And although the NEF is (or pretends to be) a sovereign state, the President insisted on having the authorization - excuse me, the assistance of the German forces stationed in France. However, these forces are not entirely convinced of the value of this dazzling action. Indeed, if Oberg, as a worthy representative of Himmler, appreciates the fact that the new President is trying to make himself a friend the Reich, the German generals do not see the point of using human and technical resources for this action, which would take several days to organize.
Tracking down the Jews to send them "to the East", why not? But the New French State has often organized such operations since its first months of existence, first against immigrant Jews, then against recently naturalized Jews, then against long-time French Jews, who had to be stripped of their nationality...so why attack places of worship that have been deserted for three years anyway?
One of the first arguments put forward by Doriot is copper, the copper that had caused a few days earlier the elite of the NEF's henchmen to the assault of the French bell towers. In answer, Stülpnagel points out that, as far as he knows, there are no bells in synagogues - unless President Doriot has some particular insights on the subject... Doriot blushes but does not let himself be put off: everyone knows that Jewish objects of worship made of non-ferrous and sometimes precious metals are numerous!
Stülpnagel pouts: perhaps, but isn't there a risk of damaging historical buildings, doesn't it risk feeding the discontent of a French population already irritated by the affair of the bells?
Chack answers: "Our compatriots are already suffering enough from the consequences of the war waged on us by the Africans and the Anglo-Saxons, they will not move a finger to protect buildings abandoned by yokels who have already found refuge in the City, New York or Algiers! Moreover, our plans provide that apart from the synagogues, we will take care of the stores, community centers and all Jewish buildings in general, which will be returned to their rightful owners, the French people!
General Brodowski sighs: "Mr. President of the Council, I understand your desire to conform to the policy pursued by the Reich for the past ten years, and that is all to your credit. But such an operation requires means. Do you have them? Your police and our troops are doing their best to maintain order throughout your country. And you know as well as I do that this is a task made difficult by the support given to the Partisans by our enemies from outside. Therefore, burn down, destroy or take over buildings and... recover their contents, is it really a priority at this time?" he articulates in good French, albeit with a heavy accent.
- Come on, Brodowski! Since when is solving the Jewish problem not a priority?" Oberg (in German) is indignant.
- Oh, the operation is not so heavy. Well organized, it could be finished by this time next Saturday", Knochen diplomatically advances. The Sturmbannführer wants to avoid the traditional tensions between the Wehrmacht and the SS taking hold over the discussion and not appear too divided to the French.
But Stülpnagel wants to support his subordinate in the southern sector: "Of course, we are not questioning the Führer's policy and the willingness of our... French partners to follow in his footsteps. But as General Brodowski stated, it is rather a question of means. The troops stationed in France are made up of brave soldiers resting after the violent battles in Russia, Italy or the Balkans. Now, these men have to consolidate the defenses of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts while fighting against terrorist gangs, who are only a minor, but tiresome nuisance. It does not seem worthwhile to me to assign them an additional effort.
The MBF chief then turns slightly to General Scheer, who continues:
"But we will gladly support all good people working to build a New Europe free of Jewish and Communist spoilers [a glance at Oberg to see if the text he is reciting has any effect]. That is why we will be happy to provide logistical and material support for a short-term operation [glance at Knochen to see if he is aware of it] carried out by the forces that the New French State will decide to engage."
- The Secret State Police will of course be on the front line," Touvier proudly proclaims, while Doriot looks on, embarrassed to see the discussion slipping away from him.
- A good thing!" exclaims Oberg, looking delighted as he observes with an almost paternal benevolence how these poor Frenchmen are trying to copy the Gestapo.
Brodowski smiles amiably: "We are reassured and happy to see that your new Police, which has already shown its good spirit since its recent creation will lead the operations. But wouldn't it be useful to be able to count also on the men of the Territorial Security Force?"
Doriot, who for some moments now had been observing everyone from the right and from the left, like a spectator at a tennis match, frowns. He has the feeling that this is what the MBF had in mind all along: to involve the FST to avoid committing German troops... So he intervenes: "General Oleris' troops will obviously participate in the operation. As well as the French Guard of General Misserey and the the Tricolor Legion of General Bridoux!" he says, perhaps thinking that he would impress his audience with the display of his different armies.
The deal is struck: on Monday morning (the 30th), all these French generals are to contact the competent German services for an operation to "suppress" the various synagogues and other Jewish buildings in France, operation to be carried out as quickly as possible by the French forces, with the logistical support of the German forces. "It will be operation Armageddon!" decides Doriot, satisfied with his biblical reference - he had first thought of "operation Goliath", but after all, Goliath had lost, and Darquier de Pellepoix had pointed out to him that operation "Goliath's Revenge" would have been a bit ridiculous. The date already envisaged for Armageddon is September 6th.
Rare enough to be mentioned, the conference seems to have satisfied everyone, but not for the same reasons. Doriot thought he had dealt with the Reich's representatives in France and hoped that the planned operation would help him to get the Führer's goodwill for future projects. The SS are delighted to see Doriot and his government eager to satisfy their every wish and even ahead of them. And the MBF is happy to entrust the matter to the Guard, the Tricolor Legion and the FST.
Indeed, for Stülpnagel, letting the French lead this spectacular operation has a double advantage. On the one hand, if there were to be popular discontent and terrorist reactions, it will be mainly against the people of the NEF, which will leave perhaps the German troops a few weeks of relative tranquility. On the other hand, its intelligence services will be able to take advantage of this to find out what they can of the NEF's various armed forces in terms of their capabilities and reliability. The Guard is a kind of French Waffen-SS in the personal service of Doriot - well, Stülpnagel understands that Doriot, after Laval, felt the need for it... The Tricolor Legion is a toy for Minister Benoist-Méchin - according to the services of Stülpnagel, a band of proud men just good at parading in front of the film propaganda cameras. But the very existence of the FST has always annoyed the head of the MBF Frankreich to the core. Why did his predecessors (including his cousin Otto) allowed a sort of "Army of Armistice" to continue? It is true that his units were moved away from the borders, the coasts and the urban centers, but as a result, they were grouped together in places that were suitable for defense, such as the Morvan! And if one day the enemy landed on the France's coasts, what would be the attitude of the FST? The stab in the back, the valiant troops of the Reich have already received one in 1918... At least that's what the Führer told the German nation think. This never convinced the general, who was at that time a staff captain, a good observation post, however.
Briefly, Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel thought that Germany would fare better in this war if it were led differently... Or by different people. It is not the first time that this sacrilegious hypothesis has crossed his mind. But he is now alone in his office and no one can guess his thoughts.
