192 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF MATHIEU, A FRENCH SONDERKOMMANDO
After the Great Raid, Mathieu and his fiancée stayed at the Majestic hotel. She was pregnant, so Hugo Geissler, chief of the Vichy KDS granted them the authorisation to marry. The wedding ceremony took place on December 19, 1943 in Clermont-Ferrand, with Paul Blumenkampf and Ursula Brandt as Best man and woman. The bride wore white.
This same month, Mathieu went with Blumenkampf and a detachment of the Luftwaffe for a raid in the district of the Vic-le-Comte (Saint-Maurice), which ended in the arrests of many Resisters and the burning of many houses. Mathieu distinguished himself so particularly that a conquered Blumemkampf hired him as a civil servant in charge of creating and directing a French Sonderkommando working for the Gestapo.
In the official report for his trial, Mathieu described how he recruited the other French members of the Sonderkommando :
"Around 4 March, a man called Vernières Jean contacted Miss Brandt in the Gestapo office. He told her he was working in Germany* ,that he was presently on leave, and that in Germany he worked for the Gestapo. He said he would be happy to do the same in Clermont. He had discovered something interesting: an intelligence organisation extending on the whole area. One of the members of this organisation was not other than his college mate Bresson Louis. He had learned details by exploiting the man's confidence. Brandt replied that prior to arresting Bresson other names should be given. She suggested that he pretend to be unwilling to return to Germany and to be looking for forged identity papers. He would come back when he had something new to tell her.
Brandt then came to visit me in my bedroom, for I was sick, and he enquired about Vernières and Bresson, showing me a photograph of the latter. I replied that, with regard to Vernières, he was an enthusiastic collaborator, but that Bresson's activites I did not know, although I knew him by sight. Vernières returned to her a few days later and declared that the radio was about to broadcast a message announcing the dropping of goods by parachutes. The code was : "It is not far from the cup to the lips". In addition, Vernières had learned the names of two of Bresson's comrades, Maxime Alliot and Guitet. He declared that Bresson was their chief.
Miss Brandt asked me to listen to the messages on the radio. When I heard the one we expected, I returned to Miss Brandt to inform her, but then she told me that the Militia had just arrested Bresson, a move which infuriated Blumenkampf , who feared it would make the whole business fail. He suspected Vernière's own brother, Gerard, to have reported Bresson to the Militia, only to have a personal success. Anyway, Blumenkampf called Jean Achon, the local chief of the Militia, and Bresson was released. Two days later or so, on March 8 or 9, Blumenkampf decided to launch an action against the alleged organisation reported by Vernières. The whole Bresson family was arrested, so were Guite, Alliot and his brother Marcel, and Louisette Lecher, Guitet's mistress. Later Paul Sautarel, Bresson's brother-in-law, and his girlfriend Alice Murat were arrested too."
The arrested people were part of the "Jade Fitzroy" network , which specialised in the transmission of military information. The official report further mentions how, following questionings, various members of another organisation, the "Alibi" network, were in turn arrested.
In his deposition, Mathieu concludes:
"All members of the two organisations were sent to concentration camps except for Louisette Lecher, Guitet's mistress, and Alliot whom I had questioned and who hadn't had much of a role. He was released, as well as Bresson's parents, then his brother, his wife and his brother-in-law Sautarel.
As for Bresson, Miss Brandt thought initially of sending him to a concentration camp. For reasons I coulan't find, Bresson was employed as a driver and his parents car was seized. He was not however set free. He and his wife stayed in a place on 2bis, avenue de Royat for a fortnight, then finally went to live with his parents-in-law.
Thereafter, Sautarel entered our service, I do not know in which circumstances and whether it was on Bresson's insistence. As for Vernières Jean, he got a 5 000 F reward for this business, then Miss Brandt offered him to enter the Gestapo, which he accepted. Apart from his functions as an interpreter, he went on giving information. At this stage, the Sonderkommando included, in addition to those I already knew, Bresson, Sautarel and Vernières."
Thus was formed, in March 1944, Mathieu's French Sonderkommando, There were 4 members: Mathieu as the boss, Vernières, Bresson and Sautarel, all of them approximately 23 years old. The benevolent Gestapo housed them in a house located 8, avenue de Royat, in Chamalières, very close to their place of work, which was 2 bis, avenue de Royat. Very soon after, Jeanne, Bresson's wife, got a job as a shorthand typist in the Gestapo head office. They all lived as a family. Their new friend Kaltseiss, who had illustrated himself during the Great Raid by killing Professor Collomp and wounding Professor Eppel, sometimes joined their parties.
The 4 members of the French Sonderkommando made themselves obvious as they noisily drove through Clermont-Ferrand in Bresson's father's car. They took an active part in all the operations carried out by the Gestapo. They inquired and searched, while plundering on their way, they arrested and proceeded to the wildest questioning sessions in their house, avenue de Royat.
Mathieu, particularly, took part in the tracking and then the arrests and the interrogation of Resisters of national importance, sent by the London Resistance on a mission in France. The victims were Jacques Bingen (Cléante), Délégué General for the South, arrested on May 13, 1944 in Clermont-Ferrand railway station, and Antoine Courson de Villeneuve (Pyramide) military Deputy of the Area, arrested at his home, rue du College on July 2, 1944.
Mathieu and his Sonderkommando also showed great pugnacity at the sides of the Gestapo and the Wehrmacht in their campaigns against the maquis. Their behaviour in an operation in Champeix appeared so exemplary to Blumenkampf, that he required them to take part to all the following operations against the maquis, and their car to come next to his. So was it with the maquis of Gerzat, Lempdes, Billom, and Besse en Chandesse. During these actions, many resisters were arrested, many men were shot down and many houses burned to the ground.
By displaying all that zeal, Mathieu certainly intended to be appreciated by his superiors, but one may also presume that his status as a member of the Gestapo brought him personal advantages.
With the Gestapo, every day was a feast, quite an agreeable change to the food shortage other people daily experienced. This was far indeed from the minute menus we had in the Students canteen, place Gaillard, in exchange for which Jourde, the bald, seal-moustachioed manager, took all our supply tickets.
Mathieu enjoyed dominating others in a very tough way, as he had shown on several occasions, notably as the military instructor of young people in the maquis of Gelles-Prondine. One may think he took pleasure in letting his base instincts free during arrests and questionings, with the full powers he held as a member of the Gestapo.
Mathieu was also cold and calculating. He had considered almost simultaneously to manage himself an issue in case Germany would lose the war. This is the reason why he thought of his wife's former employer, Captain Emile Burcez.
When Mathieu had met Christiane Cuirot, she was the secretary of Captain Burcez, who was stationed at the 4th office of the Vichy Headquarters. Captain Burcez was a member of the "Albert-Armand" resistance network, led by Commander Auber de Peyrelongue, which was geared on the Vichy governmental bodies and which provided information directly to Algiers. Mathieu knew this, but he never took any action against Captain Burcez. In June 1944, during a series of arrests in the Saint-Gabriel Hospital, he came across Commander de Peyrelongue, but he pretended to ignore him and he let him go. Above all, Mathieu wished to make contacts and provide some information, which would allow him to claim that he was a double crossing agent.
In March 1944, at the same time as he was constituting his Sonderkommando, Mathieu sent Captain Burcez several letters, enquiring how they could resume their relationship ; later, with his wife as an intermediate, he sent notes inserted in books.
Finally, Mrs Mathieu got 2 appointments with Burcez, during which she gave some information and tried to negotiate her husband's fate.
Mathieu , who was increasingly worried with the advance of the Allies, decided to defect the Gestapo and to join Captain Burcez, to whom he wrote a letter setting an appointment on August 13, 1944 at 4 pm, in front of the swan's basin, in Vichy. Bresson was in the confidence, they would leave Clermont together in his father's car.
On August 13, Mathieu and Bresson went with Kaltseiss for some investigation in the Rustic Bar, rue Ramon. At midday, they took leave of their dear friend, saying : "We are going for lunch to Mother-in-law Sautarel." But they did not return. They collected some documents and bags prepared in advance in the Gestapo office, then, with their wives, they hit the road toVichy. They carried both Ausweiss to their real names and forged identity cards. In Vichy, Mrs. Mathieu was sent as a scout to try an persuade Captain Burcez to meet her husband, which took place after some difficulties. Mathieu gave Captain Burcez items of information on the future movements of the Wehrmacht and informed him of the impending actions in the district of Mauriac planned t by the Gestapo.
He also delivered him various documents and the flag of the Resistance in the Puy-de-Dôme, which he had secured during this same action in Saint-Maurice when Blumenkampf had promoted him an appointed him an agent of the Gestapo.
In exchange for these gifts, Mathieu insisted that Burcez kept him with him, because, he said, the things he knew could be of very effective help.
Burcez answered he would inform Algiers of his departure from the Gestapo, but that he found it impossible to keep him. He suggested that he gained Lyon and enroled in the French Army when the allied troops would arrive. Thus, in spite of a very long talk, Mathieu had not succeeded in convincing Burcez, and he had to take the road again with his companions.
After some incidents, they were arrested and brought to the maquis du Pilon, near Tarare. Mathieu was questioned by lieutenant Brouillard, to whom he declared his name was Malval, adding: "We are officers of Army's Headquarters. We have been working 2 years for London. Captain Burcez, from the Vichy Headquarters, will confirm it to you"
After a fortnight, they were transferred for new enquiries to the command of the Rhone Sector III, lead by Louis Challeat (Commandant Berthier), a member of Combat.
There Mathieu was recognized, and the two couples were brought back to Clermont-Ferrand and jailed, on September 13, 1944, one month after their hasty departure from the Gestapo.
NOVEMBER 17, 1944 - DECEMBER 12, 1944 : THE MATHIEU LAWSUIT - JUDGEMENT - EXECUTION
RETURN TO CHAPTER THREE