On the occasion of the 80 years of the appeal of 18 June, Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette and Mary Dewavrin, granddaughters of Pierre Brossolette and André Dewavrin, said colonel Passy, are at the initiative of a documentary produced by Capa and released 18 June on France 3. The Spies of the General come back on the birth of the central Office of information and action (BCRA) in July 1940, the forerunner of the current DGSE. It tells above all a episode heroic and little-known of the Second world War : the mission Arquebuse-Brumaire, which has contributed to the preparation of the Landing area and to the creation of the national Council of Resistance, which was to shape France after the war. The current crisis where everyone is looking for cues reminds us of how important it is to promote universal values of commitment, must be at the heart of the world-after.
It is a story of yesterday, of course, but also of today. The tale of the secret services of free France speaks to us of courage, of heroism, of freedom and risk-taking. All values which must mark the world of tomorrow, as they have been able to guide a duo of resistance fighters as different as complementary, a military graduate of 30 years old and a journalist graduate of 40, whose friendship and intellectual complicity and personal were unwavering.
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The colonel Passy, who created of all parts in 1940, the central Office of information and action (BCRA), the forerunner of the current DGSE, and Pierre Brossolette, brilliant militant of the resistance to nazism, who gave his life for not speaking, are examples of the commitment that is necessary in the face of the enemy, whether it is visible or invisible, military, sanitary, moral or economic. The incredible “mission accomplished” in early 1943 by the two heads of the BCRA, colonel Passy and Pierre Brossolette, in an occupied Paris to a thousand dangers, remains legendary in the history of the Resistance by the magnitude of the results obtained in a few weeks, both political and military. For the historian Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac, ” the sharpness polytechnique de Passy and his talent pragmatic improvisation combine with the rigor of analysis and the warmth of conviction of Brossolette. Never, probably, in the history of the clandestine war, spirits also clear not have been as efficiently paired.”
general de Gaulle was able to return to his country head-high
While that Passy was of the military component by identifying the information networks and putting in place power transmission, Brossolette was in charge of the political aspect in making contact with the leaders of the major resistance movements in the northern zone. Both, at the peril of their lives, have led to a general de Gaulle in difficulty to legitimize its action vis-à-vis the allies in unifying the autonomous movements and rebels in the north zone, leading them to support the leader of the free French and in persuading them to accept the presence of the old parties that they rejected at the beginning but whose involvement was necessary in the eyes of the allies. After the work done by Jean Mill in the southern zone, unifying the northern zone occupied was a critical issue. The success of this dangerous mission paved the way for the creation of the national Council of the Resistance, including the program was the base of France after the war.
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The mission Arquebuse-Brumaire, named after the nicknames of our two grandfathers, has contributed to a recovery of France in the place of honour. General de Gaulle was able to return to his country with head high. He had appointed the two men companions of the Liberation and praised for their courage and decisive action. As said by de Gaulle in the documentary : “The mission that I have entrusted to Passy and Brossolette was vital and it was dangerous. They are paid with brio and with a total disregard of the danger. Thanks to them, the union of the French in the face of the invaders has made a great step forward. “
Act and not submit
The colonel Passy (André Dewavrin, continued just after the Liberation the animation of the secret service, which still work according to the design he had conceived and directed during the war, strongly supported by his second and friend Brossolette. The latter is, alas, fallen into the hands of the enemy during a previous mission, and now rests in the Pantheon.
Passy and Brossolette, are part of the handful of scouts who have created the secret services of free France, whose role has been instrumental in the liberation of France. William Donovan, head of the u.s. secret service, wrote to Franklin Roosevelt, April 6, 1945 : “The BCRA has provided to the armed forces american and british 80 % of the information, which allowed the landing in Normandy. “
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We, their granddaughters, are very proud to talk about their memory of copy and hope their commitment will inspire our contemporaries. The Face of misfortune, one can always object values. Act and not suffer. Questioning the established order, or habits of another age. Be bold, creativity, combativeness. In short, resilience. A lesson for the younger generations, as much as for their elders. You should never give up in the face of the enemy, but rather to come together, and face in a fighting spirit. In the end, it imposes its values !
Read our dossier : response to the crisis, De Gaulle.
writing will advise you
It is 18 hours on June 18, 1940 in studio 4B of the BBC ! Fifth Republic : tell me who you “panthéonises”, I’ll tell you who you are Jean Moulin, a leader challenged ! Unpublished archives of the Second world War unveiled
