Evening star., 1944-08-30
BY ANDRE LEBORD,
As told to Leland Stowe

What is the secret OF the moral
strength of the French Resistance? :?
It's difficult, I think. for Ameri-
cans to understand. The Norwegians,
the C1echs and Poles. the Russians,
the Yugoslavs and the Greeks all
understand. They know the Ger
mans. They have seen the execu-
tions OF their families and neigh
bors. They have seen German SOL
diers commit any crime that their
officers ordered. They know the
torture methods of the Gestapo. In
America one still believes in good
Germans. But I tell you what is
a fact: In Europe nobody believes
in good Germans any more.
Maybe you think it's bad taste
for me to speak with passion OF the
Germans. If so, 1t Is bad taste for
you to weep at the coffin OF your
dearest relative or friend. Those
who have given their husbands or
their sons in the war cannot forget.
Whether French or American, they
cannot forget. If we French feel
more deeply and remember more
vividly, it is because We have so
much more that we can never for
get. And all this is part of the
moral force of the French under
ground. We have learned how
precious is liberty. We have learned
also how unspeakably inhuman the
enemy Is.
70 0OO Frenchmen Executed.
Let me give figures which I'm
convinced are conservative. In four
years OF occupation the Germans
have executed at least 10000 persons
In France. They have deported
nearly 400, 900 others-not for forced
labor but punitively. We know it
rs better to die than be deported by
the Boches. Most Of those deported
will never return. Every one in
France knows about these scores Of
thousands Of killed and deported.
This Is part of the accounts" which
the Maquis has now risen to square,
In July, in Ussel township, the
Germans hung 100 civilians-for
the crime OF smuggling food to
Frenchmen who were in hiding. In
Q town of my own region the Ger
mans seized 28 others who had fed
from forced labor. They burned
them to death with fame-throwers.
You have read the accounts of
the massacre of more than one
thousand persons-virtually the en-
tire population Of Oradour-sur-
Glane. Perhaps you haven't heard
the Germans explanation. 1t
was a mistake. They got the wrong
town. More than one thousand in
nocent people were murdered
many Of them burned up in a
ehurch-for the death Of three or
four Germans.
Corpses Posed = Problem.
knew q Gestapo captain in Linn
oees. This is what he said in my
presence: The trouble is we can't
dispose Of the corpses. We can't
burn them up or bury them fast
enough. Otherwise we would kill
more. But We have to think Of the
health OF our troops"
i nc LOI tuIc HleVllOuS Oh tIlc JeT-
mans can be verified thousands of
times over In any occupied country
OF Europe. In France, when trying
to extract information. the Gestapo
specialises in smashing the fingers
Of both hands, one after another.
with . hammer. They also smash
the teeth with a hammer and drive
needles under flngernails.
l have seen men who escaped.
One French officer had no fingers
left-all had been smashed to pulp
with a hammer. I can tell you
factually that the Germans have
no specialists in torture. They all do
1t, including the ordinary soldiers.
A German soldier obevs any COM
mand. If he's told to kill a baby. he
does 1t. If he refuses, he knows
he'll be executed. So he does any,
thing.
The case Of M. Bayard was veri-
fed by his underground rades.
He was chief of police of the town
Of B. He helped hundreds of
patriots escape by giving them false
papers. At last they caught him
The German colonel assured Nine.
Bayard that her husband would be
given special privileges. He said he
respected M. Bavard's patriotism