The whitewashing of French forces in the liberation of Paris

Published on : https://libcom.org/history/whitewashing-french-forces-liberation-paris-steven-johns

The BBC uncovered documents revealing that black colonial soldiers, who made up the majority of General De Gaulle’s Free French army were removed from the unit that led the Allied recapture of the city.

In the planning of the liberation exercise, Charles de Gaulle wanted to ensure his Free French force led the operation. He was anxious to assert his authority in post-Nazi France, to avoid the Resistance - much of which was made up by communists and working class radicals - taking power.

Allied High Command agreed, but on the condition that the division which did so should not contain any black soldiers.

Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, wrote in a confidential memo:

   It is more desirable that the division mentioned above consist of white personnel.

   This would indicate the Second Armoured Division, which with only one fourth native personnel, is the only French division operationally available that could be made one hundred percent white.

British General, Frederick Morgan wrote:

   It is unfortunate that the only French formation that is 100% white is an armoured division in Morocco.

   Every other French division is only about 40% white. I have told Colonel de Chevene that his chances of getting what he wants will be vastly improved if he can produce a white infantry division.

Due to the fact that West African conscripts made up 65% of the Free French army, finding an all-white division proved impossible

Mike Thompson for the BBC reported that as a result:

   Allied Command insisted that all black soldiers be taken out and replaced by white ones from other units.

   When it became clear that there were not enough white soldiers to fill the gaps, soldiers from parts of North Africa and the Middle East were used instead.

Indeed, the shortage of white French soldiers was one of the reasons for using the 9th Company, of Spanish anarchist and Republican exiles in the mission.

Celebrations

Black fighters were not just barred from the military operation, some were also rejected from the liberation celebrations.

Pictured, above right, is French resistance fighter Georges Dukson, near General De Gaulle during the official celebrations.

Dukson had enrolled in the French army in 1940, and lived underground during the Nazi occupation. He was part of the resistance, and played an important role during the Paris insurrection in 1944, where he was put in charge of the unit for his bravery. He was then promoted to Sublieutenant and was wounded in action when he was shot in the arm.

Shortly after the above photograph was taken, he was marched away from the event at gunpoint.

Aftermath

17,000 of France’s black soldiers had previously died resisting the Nazi invasion.

But after being excluded from the liberation, many of them just had to return their uniforms and were sent home. Even the method of repatriation was brutal.

In late November, 1944, around 1300 former Senegalese servicemen who had been prisoners of war in Europe and had been returned home protested against poor treatment and lack of pay. Dozens of them were massacred by French troops, and some of the survivors were subsequently jailed for 10 years.

To add insult to injury, their pensions were frozen in 1959.

One former French colonial soldier, Issa Cisse from Senegal, told the BBC:

   We, the Senegalese, were commanded by the white French chiefs.

   We were colonised by the French. We were forced to go to war. Forced to follow the orders that said, do this, do that, and we did. France has not been grateful. Not at all.

This story of the racism, colonialism and violence of the Allies, is just one of many similar tales - like the Bengal famine, the Hitler Stalin pact, the British massacre of anti-fascist Greeks - which give weight to the perspective that World War II was not a fight against racism and for democracy, but more a battle between rival empires.

This idea is explored much further in the excellent book, Unpatriotic History of the Second World War, by James Heartfield .