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La Perception Des Volontaires Britanniques De La Guerre D’Espagne

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La Perception Des Volontaires Britanniques De La Guerre D’Espagne Université Paris Sorbonne – Paris IV UFR d’Histoire – UFR d’Anglais La perception des volontaires britanniques de la guerre d’Espagne, de la surveillance à la redécouverte Bertrand LARGEAUD Mémoire présenté en vue de la validation du Master 2 d’Histoire-Anglais Sous la direction de M. Fabrice BENSIMON Professeur de civilisation britannique à Paris Sorbonne – Paris IV M. Jean-Noël LUC Professeur d’histoire contemporaine à Paris Sorbonne – Paris IV Septembre 2013 La perception des volontaires britanniques de la Guerre d’Espagne, de la surveillance à la redécouverte Remerciements Je veux avant tout remercier Messieurs les professeurs Jean-Noël Luc et Fabrice Bensimon pour leurs conseils avisés et leur suivi, sans lesquels ce travail aurait été bien moins complet et pertinent. Je les remercie également, ainsi que l’Université Paris Sorbonne Paris-IV et le département d’Histoire, pour m’avoir donné la possibilité matérielle de me rendre aux Archives Nationales de Kew, étape indispensable pour mener à bien cette recherche. Le personnel de la Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine de Nanterre, des Archives nationales de Kew et de l’Institut d’Histoire Sociale d’Amsterdam ont été admirables de patience et de gentillesse, et ont su me guider utilement dans les méandres des archives. Je les en remercie. Je tiens à remercier tout particulièrement Anne et Manon pour leur travail inlassable de relecture et d’aide à la mise en page, leur soutien indéfectible, leurs conseils ou critiques pertinents et leur pugnacité dans l’épreuve de la rédaction, et plus spécialement Manon pour sa présence à mes côtés tout au long de cette longue année. Il m’est également indispensable de remercier : Édouard Sill, pour avoir pris le temps de s’intéresser au sujet et avoir fait part de ses conclusions, Mes parents, qui ont su me soutenir, me conseiller et m’aider efficacement, M. Watson, pour ses encouragements répétés, Pour leur présence amicale, leur soutien, leurs avis et les échanges que nous avons eus, Gabriel, Lise et Luca, Loris, Nicolas, Niki, Noémie, Pierre, Romain, Tiphaine et les autres. Liste des abréviations APCF : Anti Parliamentary Communist Federation AIT : Association Internationale des Travailleurs BUF : British Union of Fascists CPGB : Communist Party of Great Britain FAF : Fédération Anarchiste Française FRS : Friends of Republican Spain IBA : International Brigade Association IBMT : International Brigade Memorial Trust ILP : Independent Labour Party MI5 : Military Inteligence Service, Section 5 MI6 : Military Inteligence Service, Section 6 MP : Member of Parliament NKVD : Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del, commissariat populaire des affaires intérieures, police secrète soviétique. POUM : Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, parti des Travailleurs d’unification marxiste SIA : Solidarité Internationale Antifasciste SIM : Servicio de Inteligencia Militar, services secrets de la République espagnole. TUC : Trade Union Congress, confédération des syndicats britanniques USM : United Socialist Movement YCL : Young Communist League Sigles utilisés pour les archives BDIC : Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine (Nanterre) IISH : International Institute of Social History (Amsterdam) TNA : The National Archives (Kew) TNA KV5 117-131 : Fiches tenues par le MI5 sur les personnes suspectées de s’être rendues en Espagne (Kew) WDL : Warwick Digital Library (en ligne) Sommaire Table des annexes.................................................................................. Table des illustrations............................................................................ Introduction.........................................................................................1 Partie I - La surveillance des volontaires.............................................9 CHAPITRE 1 : ÉTAT DE LA SURVEILLANCE ......................................10 A) La mise en place de la surveillance des volontaires...............................12 1) La constitution des Brigadistes comme ennemis intérieurs (1936-1938)................12 a) La surveillance des communistes, une vieille priorité........................................................ 12 b) Historique des services de surveillance............................................................................... 14 c) Les services secrets, instrument des Tories ?...................................................................... 19 d) « Moscou veut dépêcher le plus de volontaires possible » : La surveillance des volontaires (1936-1939) ..................................................................... 20 2) L'archive policière dans son contexte (1947-1953)................................................24 a) Britanniques, guerre froide et défense de l’Ouest (1947-1953)........................................ 24 b) La pénétration du parti communiste par les services secrets ............................................. 28 c- Les chiffres réels du fichage (1952-1954)........................................................................... 29 d) Soutiens, visiteurs, combattants........................................................................................... 30 B) Quels moyens de fichage ? La collecte des renseignements ..................32 1) L'implication de différents services.......................................................................33 a) La mise à contribution des polices locales .......................................................................... 33 b) La présence policière dans des secteurs-clés ...................................................................... 36 c) La mise à contribution du personnel.................................................................................... 37 d) Le rôle de la police française ............................................................................................... 38 2) Méthodes d'enquête et techniques de surveillance.................................................39 a) « Ils vont à nos réunions […] Il y a des espions partout ! » : Le travail de terrain.......... 40 b) Sources écrites, interceptions, écoutes ................................................................................ 41 c) Des recoupements ultérieurs ................................................................................................ 44 CHAPITRE 2 : LES VOLONTAIRES VUS PAR LE MI5..........................46 A) Une archive inégale...............................................................................46 1) Faiblesses, inexactitudes et incertitudes de l'évaluation policière..........................46 a) Une vision déformée ? Le poids de l’effet de source ......................................................... 46 b) Une archive incomplète voire censurée .............................................................................. 48 2) Des informations fiables .......................................................................................50 a) État civil ................................................................................................................................ 50 b) Signalements anthropométriques......................................................................................... 53 c) Appartenance géographique................................................................................................. 55 d) L’Espagne ............................................................................................................................. 56 B) Des éléments d'inquiétude.....................................................................57 1) Des trajectoires problématiques ............................................................................57 a) Degré de politisation............................................................................................................. 57 b) Expériences militaires .......................................................................................................... 60 c) Les volontaires et la justice .................................................................................................. 61 2) Clandestinité et soupçons......................................................................................62 a) Les pseudonymes.................................................................................................................. 62 b) L’évaluation de la dangerosité............................................................................................. 63 c) Degrés de suspicion .............................................................................................................. 64 3) L'aspect international (1936-1953)........................................................................66 a) Les étrangers ......................................................................................................................... 66 b) Agents et espions.................................................................................................................. 71 C) Une dangerosité relative........................................................................73 1) L’importance relative des combattants..................................................................73 2) Désertions et démotivation....................................................................................75 a) Désertions.............................................................................................................................. 75 b) Démotivations......................................................................................................................
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