Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-10-24
50 More Frenchmen
Executed by Nazis;
100 Gel Reprieves
Bordeaux and Nantes Are
Under Strict Curfew;
Vichy Officials Meet
By the Associated Press.

. bN the ASSulIdLtu HTSSS.
VICHY, Unoccupied France, Oct.
/ 24.-Fifty French hostages died be-
fore the firing squad wall today in
a 50-lives-for-on forfeit for the
/ sassination of German officer at
/ BordeauX-the second such measure
of retaliation within three days.
At the same time, so additional
/ hostages at Bordeaux ana so still
alive at Nantes out of 100 selected
for execution in reprisal for the kill
ing of the German commander there
won brief reprieves while the Ger
mans gave additional time for the
capture or surrender of the actual
aSsasSinS.
The news today from Bordeaux
meant that a total Of 100 hostages
already had been put to death,
evenly divided, for the assaSsina-
tons of the Nantes ana Bordeaux
officers. Fifty we're executed in the
Nantes case Wednesday.
The German commander at
Nantes, 1t Col. Paul Friedrich Hotz,
was waylaid and shot last Monday
and on the following day a high
ranking officer named Reimers,
4 counselor of the German military
administration at the occupied port
of Bordeaux, met similar fate.
Total Brought to 1S4.
If the full measure of threatened
/ reprisal is carried out, it will make
ratio of 100 lives for l.
The Bordeaux executions brought
/ to 1875 the total in occupied France.
The Germans announced that a
Frenchman living near Bordeaux
has been executed yesterday. Be-
fore the reprisals for the Nantes and
Bordeaux killings the total was a.
The Bordeaux-Nantes reprieves
we're granted by German authorities
at the personal requests of Chief of
State Petain and Vice Premier
Darlan.
Resulting from appeals by Petain
and Darlan as we'll as pressing
demarches made to German au-
| thoritieS, communique said, these
latter willingly consented to delay
of grace for Complementary groups
of hostages whose executions were
designated following the two assassi-
nations at Nantes and Bordeau.
DeadIine Prolonged.
consequently, the deadline which
expired for Nantes October % and
that which was to have expired for
Bordeau October rs at midnight,
conforming to the order of the COM
manding German military general
in France, have been prolonged, re-
spectively. until October q and
October % at midnight.
In accordance with this prolon-
CATION of the delays, the German
authorities wished to increase the
chances of finding the real guilty
persons and thus spare French lives.
The French people can only be
grateful for this marked willingness
by not making more sorrowful a
situation which is already tragic.
This measure was made possible
thanks to the calm and dignity
which have been shown during the
last few days by the entire popula-
ton of the two tried cities.
Duty Clearly Outlined.
THE French government IS sure
that each one will redouble his eff
forts to aid the authorities in the
difficult task of arresting the GRIM
inals and Transforming the pro-
visional delays into a definite act
of remission.
1T is hoped that each French
man will see that the lives of 100
of his compatriots are in the bal
ance. His duty is clearly outlined"
AS the original deadlipe for
Nantes second batch of hostages
passed last midnight, Gen. Otto Won
Stuelpnagel. commander of the Ger
man occupation forces, announced
tersely:
The murderers of Nantes have
not been delivered into our hands"