Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi 10.1163/9789004265233_001 History of Warfare Editors Kelly DeVries (Loyola University Maryland) John France (University of Wales, Swansea) Michael S. Neiberg (United States Army War College, Pennsylvania) Frederick Schneid (High Point University, North Carolina) VOLUME 95 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/hw Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 By Simon Kitson LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Marseille, 1943: evacuation of the Vieux Port district (Référence Reportage: DAT 591 L12) © ECPAD/France/GEBAUER. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kitson, Simon. Police and politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 / by Simon Kitson. pages cm. -- (History of warfare, ISSN 1385-7827 ; volume 95) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-24835-9 (hardback : acid-free paper) -- ISBN 978-90-04-26523-3 (e-book) 1. Police--France- -Marseille--History--20th century. 2. Police--Political activity--France--Marseille--History--20th century. 3. World War, 1939-1945--France--Marseille. 4. Marseille (France)--Politics and government--20th century. 5. Marseille (France)--History, Military--20th century. 6. Marseille (France)--Social conditions--20th century. 7. Front populaire--History. 8. France--Politics and government--1940-1945. I. Title. HV8206.M36K58 2014 363.209449’1209044--dc23 2014002467 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1385-7827 isbn 978-90-04-24835-9 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-26523-3 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents Acknowledgements vi List of Abbreviations viii A Note on Sources x A Note on the Organisation of the Police xi Introduction 1 1 From Hope to Disappointment: The Police Experience of the Popular Front 8 2 Marseille Chicago 38 3 Enthusiasm and Co-operation: The Start of the Vichy Government 65 4 Policing Opposition 86 5 Anti-Semitic Policing 107 6 The Hunt for German Spies 125 7 Ripping the Heart out of Marseille 149 8 Disaffection and Unreliability 163 9 The New Slave Trade 186 10 New Rivals 209 11 Towards Liberation 229 12 A New Police for a New France? 244 Conclusion 269 Bibliography 291 303 Index Contents Contents—v Acknowledgements—vi List of Abbreviations—viii A Note on Sources—x A Note on the Organisation of the Police—xi Introduction—1 From Hope to Disappointment: The Police Experience of the Popular Front—8 Marseille Chicago—38 Enthusiasm and Co-operation: The Start of the Vichy Government—65 Policing Opposition—86 Anti-Semitic Policing —107 The Hunt for German Spies—125 Ripping the Heart Out of Marseille—149 Disaffection and Unreliability—163 The New Slave Trade—186 New Rivals—209 Towards Liberation—229 A New Police for a New France?—244 Conclusion—269 Bibliography—291 Index—303 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to Brill publishers for bringing this book out. I have really enjoyed working with them and I wish, in particular, to thank Julian Deahl and Marcella Mulder. The research for this book, spread over 22 years, would have been impossi- ble without the financial support offered by the British Academy and subse- quently by the Society for the Study of French History. My interest in this period was first developed at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, where the atmo- sphere and attention of tutors, especially Graham Gargett, was invaluable. The exceptional enthusiasm and intelligence of Rod Kedward, my supervisor at Sussex, kept alive this interest and helped stimulate it further. I have trouble imagining a better thesis supervisor. I would also like to thank Professors Mark Mazower and Clive Emsley for their helpful input as examiners of the thesis. Like all Marseille scholars of my generation I acknowledge the unfloundering support of Christian Oppetit in the contemporary section of the departmental archives. Oppetit combined not only a sensitive concern to the needs of the historian, but also an exhaustive knowledge both of the archives he directed and of the history of Marseille. The active help and encouragement of local historians was of particular importance to me. In this vein I would like to thank: Jean-Marie Guillon, Robert Mencherini, Pierre Guiral (U), Madeleine Baudoin(U), Grégoire Georges-Picot, Giovanni Paris, Paul Jankowski and David Levy, all of whom were ready to discuss my project and to offer advice. All of those whom I interviewed or who agreed to send me their written evi- dence deserve a special thank you. On a national level, the Archives Nationales made a large number of documents available to me and in this respect I should particularly like to thank Chantal Bonazzi, Jean Favier and Anita Maison. The Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale et Contemporaine let me use their facilities as did the Centre de Documentation Juive et Contemporaine where I am especially grateful to Vidar Jacobsen. The Institut d’Histoire du Temps Présent allowed me access to their documentation centre, but also actively encouraged my work and gave me the opportunity to present some of my ideas in the framework of their seminars on Justice and Repression. I am especially indebted to Denis Peschanski. With regard to the Police, the support offered by the Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Sécurité Intérieure was invalu- able. Their regular seminars gave me the opportunity to meet other Police scholars whilst their documentation centre allowed me to peruse a vast litera- ture on all matters relating to the Police. Particular thanks are due to Catherine Gorgeon, Jean-Claude Salomon and in particular to Jean-Marc Berlière, Acknowledgements vii France’s leading specialist on questions related to Police history. The help of the IHESI was particularly useful in gaining me access to the archives of the Commissariat Central in Marseille where I was aided by M. Ottavi, Mme Paul and Inspecteur d’Al Colletto. Mme Paul also helped me gain access to the resource centre of the Ecole Nationale de la Police near Lyon, where I should like to thank Mme Thomas. Thanks to René Levy I was able to make use of the documentation centre at the Centre d’Etudes Sociologiques sur le Droit et les Instances Pénales. Xavier Rousseaux kindly made a couple of articles known to me. Marie-Thérèse Vogel introduced me to the rich archives of the Inspection Générale des Services Administratifs. For useful discussions, suggestions or contacts I am grateful to Jacques Delarue, Alain Pinel and Alain Guyomarch. For offering me accommodation in Marseille and showing me the complex- ities of the city, I am grateful to Françoise Petit, Jacqueline and Annie-Paule Djian. For making the archives a fun place to work in, I owe a special mention to Peter Jackson, Talbot Imlay, Martin Thomas, Becky Pulju and Shannon FOGG. For many fruitful discussions I am indebted to Jackie Clarke, Joan Tum- blety and Hanna Diamond. A particular note of gratitude must be offered to Mark Ledbury who I spent 11 years at school with in Bath and 4 years at Univer- sity with in Sussex. I was best man at his wedding and he was best man at mine. His constant revelations about the relationship between Sedaine and David were a source of amusement. Mark and Cathou Mehta are also long standing sources of support. I am sure that all academics will be acutely aware of the importance of hav- ing good colleagues and good managers working together in a collegiate atmo- sphere. Superb colleagues at the University of Birmingham and the University of Auckland created a fertile environment in which to be an academic and in these institutions I especially wish to thank Martyn Cornick, Christine Arkin- stall and Jean-Jacques Courtine. Miles Taylor at the Institute of Historical Research is owed a special thank you for allowing me to become a Senior Research Fellow of that wonderful Institute. The world class ‘Queen Mary team’ of Julian Jackson, Colin Jones, Jeremy Jennings and Miri Rubin were invaluable sources of support during my time at the University of London’s Institute in Paris (ULIP). A final word of thanks is extended to my family: my mother Ann, my sisters Debbie and Nicci and my brother Jem, my nieces Saskia and Freya, my neph- ews William and Timmy, my cousin Jenny and of course my wife Kate for her consistent support and help. I’d like to dedicate this book to my son, Laurie, and daughter, Gaby. Simon Kitson Auckland, New Zealand, August 2013 viii List of Abbreviations used in this ManuscriptList of Abbreviations List of Abbreviations AD Archives Départementales AN Archives Nationales BCRA Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action (Militaire) BDIC Bibliothèque