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The dark side of the French Resistance: four graves in the forest

Even those on the right side of history can commit atrocities, and revealing them is no longer considered unpatriotic or harmful

French police officers and resistance fighters with a German captive during the liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944.Print Collector (Print Collector/Getty Images)

Guillermo Altares

Mar 06, 2024 - 00:05CET

European history has seen significant changes in the narrative of the French Resistance’s battle against the Nazis. Charles de Gaulle, a prominent post-World War II figure, crafted a patriotic story where thousands of men and women defended France and freedom itself. The real story is about the clash between Vichy supporters and all the Nazi opponents — communists, nationalists, Jews and Spanish Republicans fighting for freedom and survival.

Thanks to historians, survivors and films like Lacombe, Lucien (1974), The Two of Us (1967), and Goodbye, Children (1987), France is confronting its uncomfortable past. Acknowledging that French police — not just the SS and Gestapo — were involved in large-scale deportations of Jews was a significant step. On February 21, foreign resistance fighters executed by the Nazis, including Missak Manouchian of Armenia and Celestino Alfonso of Spain, were honored at the Panthéon in Paris, acknowledging the global citizens who fought for freedom in France.

Four graves of people executed by the French Resistance during World War II, in the Maquis du Durestal forest near Cendrieux (southwestern France).Guillermo Altares Lucendo

Robert Gildea’s excellent Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance (2015) reveals that Spanish Republicans played an important role in the liberation of Toulouse, and describes how they participated in a parade wearing German helmets painted blue. “What are all those Spaniards doing marching with the Free French Forces?” exclaimed de Gaulle when he saw so many Republicans. In that area, Jean-Pierre Vernant, a French historian and anthropologist, served as the rural guerrilla commander and was later hailed as a hero. Despite being awarded Companion of Liberation honors, Vernant never boasted about his role in war and believed the true heroes were the ones who didn’t survive. He also wasn’t comfortable with the official narrative that emerged after the war.

However, France has bravely confronted its darkest past. Even those on the right side of history can commit atrocities, and revealing them is no longer considered unpatriotic or harmful. The same applies to those who deny Franco’s repression in Spain or people who view the colonization of America as a blessing for indigenous peoples.

A reconstructed French Resistance camp with a prisoner holding area in the Maquis de Durestal forest, near Cendrieux (southwestern France).guillermo altares

In Perigord, a region in central France known for foie gras and prehistoric caves, a French Resistance camp has been reconstructed in the Maquis of Durestal forest, near Cendrieux. The historically accurate camp with explanatory posters was a hideout used by André Malraux, the well-known Resistance leader. The camp includes a command center, training grounds for guerrillas, basic sleeping quarters, guard posts, an improvised prison, and a prisoner execution site. Four graves of executed prisoners can be seen there — real ones, not reconstructions.

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