RAIDS AND ARRESTS IN THE UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS
ON MARCH 8, 1944: ARRESTS IN THE HOSPITAL
These doctors had been reported to the Gestapo as "particularly active resisters" by the Hospital director, called Maucour.
That day, at around 5 pm, Dr Louis Gery, Professor of Pathological anatomy in the Strasbourg Faculty of Medicine, was arrested in his laboratory, inside the hospital, with a dozen other people like Dr Albert, Francis Rohmer, senior registrar to the Faculty, Drs Chaumerliac and Limousin, both Professors at the Medical school of Clermont-Ferrand and M. Forester, general manager of the Old people's home.
Professor Vles escaped from the Gestapo, but 2 days later he voluntarily presented himself, to prevent later reprisals on other people.
In the following days, other members of the medical profession were arrested individually for facts of Resistance in various places. Amongst them were
Doctors Lignerat, Fric, Thomas, Thabourin, Wurm and Roche. They were imprisoned in the 92ème RI barracks before being sent to concentration camps.
March 8, 1944 : Grenades rue Montlosier - firing squads: 3 shot Students
 "la Poterne"
|
On 8 March, 1944, nearly at the time when people were arrested in the Hospital, three grenades were thrown against a detachment of German soldiers in rue Montlosiert, close to the place de la Poterne. One person was killed and 4 seriously wounded. As an immediate response, the surrounding cafés, place de Jaude and near the station, were raided. This led to further arrests, notably the arrest of Claude Thomas, a law teacher. |
Another consequence of this attack was that the German authorities ordered their Military Justice, which sat in Lyon, to proceed urgently to the trials of "50 enemies of the Reich" and to ensure immediately execution of the judgements. Thus were sentenced to death and shot:
- Law student and school teacher Alfred Klein, a member of the Ardents, on March 24, 1944,
- Law student Henri Weilbacher, a member of the ORA, on March 25, 1944,
- Law student François Marzolf, a member of the ORA, on May 10, 1944,
- Lieutenant-Colonel Jacques Boutet, regional Chief of the ORA, on May 10, 1944. During his questioning, he was tortured by George Mathieu himself.
The last member of the Strasbourg French University to be arrested was Professor Jean Lassus, of Faculty of literature. He was caught on June 5, 1944, the day before D-Day.