RAIDS AND ARRESTS IN THE UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS
JUNE 24, 1943: RAID IN GALLIA, STREET RABANESSE, HEARTH OF THE LORRAINE ALSATIAN STUDENTS
On June 24, 1943, two Gestapo agents were shot in the house of Professor Jean-Michel Flandin, who was the regional chief of the MUR Intelligence Service.
The following night, at 1.30 am, 100 men from the Gestapo and Feldgendarmerie stormed into Gallia, the Alsace-Lorraine students Centre - 22, rue Rabenesse. They arrested 37 students and transferred them, hardly dressed, to the prison located in the 92th RI* Headquarters.
We knew later that none of them had taken part to the coup : the killer was Fernoel, a man from the maquis of Lespinasse, who had come to see Professor Flandin. Flandin was not at home, but 2 Gestapo agents were waiting for him : Fernoel fired at them, and then managed to flee back to the maquis.
The University authorities engaged at once a procedure to have our comrades released. As for ourselves, we took our final exams : I had forged identity papers, like approximately a third of the candidates in the room.
During the whole summer, we hoped to save our comrades. Cauchi, who travelled extensively, was less and less often in Clermont-Ferrand. The same applied to Feuerstein, who was often in Lyon. As a consequence, Cauchi had Mathieu to replace him and supervise the whole activities of the Student section and its antenna Mithridate.
I met Cauchi at the beginning of October 1943. He was pessimistic on the future of our comrades and he believed that far from being released, they would be transferred to Moulins, then to Compiegne, from which trains for Germany left. He also told me that during the month of July, Mathieu had joined the maquis of Gelles-Prondines, where he had been training a section of young fighters with much authority and effectiveness.
As for himself, Cauchi told me, the Germans were searching for him. They held an accurate description of his silhouette and of the shape of his nose.
Cauchi left Clermont-Ferrand in mid-October 1943, telling me he would be back by the end of the year. I never saw him again.
NOVEMBER 25, 1943 : THE BIG RAID AGAINST THE FACULTIES
RETURN TO CHAPTER TWO