HISTOIRE LOCALE DE 1940 A 1942
LOCAL HISTORY FROM 1940 TO 1942
In this bicentenary year, we must first evoke the 150th anniversary of the Revolution.
The only ceremony of the canton, in the Square at St-Eloy on the 14th July, gathered together the school children, of which I was one. After a speech by André Michel, who had succeeded his father the year before, and a forceful speech by Alexandre Varenne: "At this hour, when the forces of destruction are preparing to annihilate the world…", and after the Marseillaise, the children sang the "Ode to Joy" to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. But the gravity of the international situation prevented us celebrating to the full.
The eerie silence of the "phoney war" was abruptly interrupted. The 9th and 10th April Hitler seized Denmark (in a single day) then Norway. The French and English retaliated by landing at Narvik. The old and glorious Warspite opened up the fjord, sinking ten German destroyers. After the landings of the 10th and 13th April, the French flag floated over Narnsos, conquered after violent battles by the Legion and three French Alpine Battalions (in one of which served Maurice Rochet). The Swedish iron ore road from Kiruma was cut and was to remain so until the beginning of June 1940. France was being attacked from all sides and the soldiers had to return.
"Friday 10th May 1940, arriving at the station at St-Eloy, I noticed worried faces. "They" had bombed Les Ancizes that night. I announced the bad news to Madame Caillot, the chemistry teacher, whose two year old son was at Les Ancizes, her husband having been mobilised. Very distressed, she sent George Camus to telephone the Mairie. He was able to reassure Madame Caillot, but announced; "since 5 o'clock this morning Hitler has been attacking Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg"."
Then followed disinformation and the lying communiqués: what happened at Sedan? A General, General Corap was said to have betrayed….. During three weeks there was a continual procession of Belgian refugees on the 142 (now the 144) at St-Eloy. They had left their country after the capitulation of the king (the traitor king, the perfidious king as our headlines called him).
Then
came coaches from the North, from Pas-de Calais, the Ardennes, from La
Somme, Paris, L'Eure, L'Eure et Loire, Loiret, the stream of coaches grew
from day to day, hour to hour.
The misfortune of two Air Force soldiers
On the 1st of June at nightfall, two soldiers asked for a drink at my house. The late hour, their wild looks, the persistent rumour of the presence of one or two German parachutists at La Bosse, the continued fighting at La Somme, everything combined to render them suspect. Were they deserters or spies? Questioned by Dr Pierre Gibert, who arrived in uniform at the house of Monsieur Boutin, they presented their papers, which were apparently in order, and were released.
The tragedy of June 1940
The exodus and the chaos reached a climax. That Friday the 14th June, I returned to Madame Caillot's classroom at the far side of the school, the youngest class. All the tables had been removed to the yard; straw was spread on the floorboards: the rooms were full of soldiers who slept on the straw. In the Square there were four canons, numerous boxes of munitions, the infernal din of tracked vehicles manoeuvring, incidents between soldiers and leaders, (insults, rebellious gestures, even assaults). Military lorries, often carrying women and children, surged out of Montaigut in two and even three columns; one crossed the road at one's peril. In the afternoon General Blanchard, the "hero" of Dunkerque, based at the castle at Montaigut, gave the order to the soldiers to make an about turn at St-Eloy. He wanted to mount a line of resistance between Evaux and St-Eloy. Towards evening there was total confusion.
At Lapeyrouse the influx of refugees arriving by train became intense. The Paris Chevrolet factory had divided up its lorries between Lapeyrouse and Evaux-Les-Bains. They were in every yard between the station and the Brunet Garage. When the rail traffic stopped there were several trains in the station at Lapeyrouse. There was a confusion of 3,000 civilians, hundreds of aviators and the 21st battalion of the 370 R.A.L. (Commander Govery).
Rationing began in July and August, not very restrictive at first. Sugar was often replaced by the saccharine which poured out of the pharmacies. Coffee began to be replaced by grilled barley. On the whole the distress was more moral than physical. The disunity of the French ended with the drama of Mers El-Kébir.
On the 30th June Youth Work Camps were created by decree. Young men of twenty served for eight months. A Camp existed at Montmarault, another at La Croix des Bois near Bellenaves. The youngsters made charcoal, cleared uncultivated areas and participated in the fight against forest fires (at Saulzets). Those at the camp at Rivalais came often to the Station. The year ended in some hardship; people were somewhat reassured about the fate of our soldiers, but terribly worried about the future.
Demography 1940: 24 deaths and 15 births.
The year 1941 began with the death on 1st January, of the priest Bacconnet. He was in his eighties and had practised at Lapeyrouse for decades.
The year 1941 broke up into two periods. Up to 22nd June there was a slacking off of activity and certainly a lot of hope. There were a few repatriations; men over 40 (including Marcel BUVAT), the sick and fathers of 4 children or more. One looked forward to a generalisation of these returns.
Winter 1940-41 was quite long with heavy snowfalls, but not too cold. The purchase of fuel was made possible by the sale of large amounts of wood, notably from Les Saulzets. In Spring of 1941 there circulated the incredible news: a factory at Lapeyrouse! Work began on the distillery; up to 140 labourers, often badly fed, worked on its construction (the firm of Bussière-Tabard). A canteen and accommodation came afterwards. The factory thus entered local history.
On Sunday 22nd June came surprising news: the germano-soviet war.
Hope decreased: no more possibility of a rapid return of prisoners. Obtaining supplies became difficult. Flour was sifted to 98%, string was of paper, and fat was tallow or lard. . It was also a time of ersatz such as wooden shoe soles. Everything was rationed: milk, tobacco, soap, wine, bread, pasta, the rare fuel, currency vouchers, craftsman's materials, iron, textiles, bicycle tyres, etc. The newspaper was reduced to half a page.
The construction of the factory lasted a year; the starting up was long and difficult. It was carried out by the managers of distillereies in Limousin and Aixe-sur-Vienne: Monsieur Maurice Sourdet and Monsieur Couzin.
The distillery manufactured alcohol-fuel from sugar beet, with an expected yield of 120 l the tonne, or Jerusalem artichokes, yielding 82 l the tonne. But production dropped rapidly when there was a delay in the distillation, which was the case in the winter of 1941-42 and the year's results were therefore poor. Nevertheless the factory improved the local economy and by employing 70 workers certainly saved some from being deported as slave workers. Next was the question of relief (exchange of one prisoner against three workers). We gained nothing from this enormous swindle. There was then S.T.O. (obligatory work service), in 1942 and 43. Then after Pearl Harbour (7th December 1941) and the entry of Japan and the United States into the war, there was no longer any question of exchange or return of prisoners.
The year 1941 ended with a war that had become world-wide (U.R.S.S. joined 22nd June 1941, Japan and America 7th December 1941).
Demography 1941: 15 deaths, 11 births and 4 marriages.
What would happen next? The year 1942 would be a turning point. The 18th April Laval became head of the government: from May to July deportations began and consequently organised resistance. Restrictions accumulated. The railway had to be kept open (railway workers as well as all able-bodied men in the canton were called up in turn). There was only one express a day in each direction, but of enormous length. Some weekends 1,000 people alighted at the station in search of food. In this regard, the potato proved to be the saviour during the famine.
On the 8th October, when Anglo-American troops were landing in North Africa, the Germans invaded the Free Zone (11th November 1942) and Lapeyrouse found itself in occupied territory like the rest of France. The army of 120,000 which remained at the Armistice was dissolved.
The year 1942 ended with the huge battle of Stalingrad. The roar of RAF planes going to bomb Italy was heard nearly every night at about 11pm, returning at 3am. Despite the jamming of radio programmes, everyone listened to the B.B.C. to learn the truth about the news. But the news was always late, so at the end of 1942, one did not yet know how the battle of Stalingrad would end.
Demography 1942: 14 deaths, 6 marriages and 14 births.
EVENTS OF 1942
Nearer home, the events of the years 1942 and 1943 have marked the memories of those who lived them.
In Europe, the German defeat at Stalingrad (15th Sept; 1942-2nd Feb. 1943) rang the death knell of the Third Reich. Hitler, who, the 30th January 1943, expected to celebrate his 10 years of power with a victory of his 6th army, had to resign himself to defeat.
After the American landing in North Africa the 8th November 1942, the Germans occupied the South Zone, the fleet scuttled to Toulon (27th November 1942); there were numerous bombardments over France, Italy, and Germany. In France restrictions got worse and the STO hit young men of more than 20. In Asia, the Americans, under pressure from the Japanese, were forced to abandon the Philippines and a large part of Indonesia.
On 19th August the English landings at Dieppe failed.
EVENTS OF 1943
*10th August - allied landing in Sicily after the evacuation of Tunisia by the Germans
*3rd September - attack on Italy
*4th September - the taking of Bastia
*1st October -capture of Naples
* 27th May - 1st meeting of the CNR (National Committee of the Resistance)
* 21st June - fall of Jean Moulin
* 19th August - insurrection of the Varsovie ghetto
SUMMARY OF 1943
In Europe the Russians had retaken the Crimea and most of the Ukraine; Italy was divided in two; the English increasingly controlled the skies and bombardments were daily.
The Resistance became more organised and increased, but deportations also.
In May 1943 an attack on the distillery set the tanks of alcohol fuel on fire. 5,609 hl (a large part of the year's production) was destroyed without causing injury. This attack, one of the first of the Resistance in France was announced on Radio-Paris.
In Asia, the Americans halted Japanese expansion by the naval victory at Guadalcanal.
Demography
1942: 14 deaths, 6 marriages, 14 births
1943:
28 deaths, 3 marriages, 19 births