Grenoble's Saint-Bartholomew
Massacre in Grenoble during WWII / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grenoble's Saint-Bartholomew's (a term used by historian François Boulet in his book Les Alpes françaises, 1940-1944)[1] was a series of assassinations and arrests of the main leaders of Grenoble's resistance to German occupation, between November 25 and 30, 1943. It was carried out by a team of collaborationists under the orders of Doriot and the Lyon PPF led by Francis André. It was named after the Protestant massacre of 1572.
Date | November 25–30, 1943 (1943-11-25 – 1943-11-30) |
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Location | Grenoble, France |
Type | Massacre |
Perpetrator | Nazi Germany, and French collaborators during World War II |
Participants | 157th Infantry Division (Germany) |
Deaths | 19 + René Gosse and his son in December. |
Missing | 5 |
During the Second World War, while the north of France had been occupied by German troops since June 1940, the southern or free zone was also invaded in November 1942, except for the Alps region, which found itself under a much less violent Italian occupation. This situation attracted many persecuted refugees and academics to Grenoble. The city's proximity to imposing mountain ranges and the ease with which Maquis fighters could hide made it an ideal location for the development of resistance to the occupying forces. But on September 8, 1943, the French Alps were in turn invaded by the Germans, who quickly decided to eliminate this resistance in a vast operation.
In addition to five people who were deported but returned alive, Grenoble's Saint-Bartholomew's toll was eleven murders and eight deaths during deportation, with the future Prefect of Isère, Albert Reynier [fr], narrowly avoiding capture.