Eric Grieu releases a book on resistance fighters in Gard, “some will always remain in the shadows”

Eric Grieu, samedi aux Week-ends historiques d’Orsan où il a donné une conférence sur Vigan-Braquet. C.B.

Le Gardois Eric Grieu, président du comité du Souvenir français de Pont-Saint-Esprit, sort un troisième livre : "Le Gard combattant, avec ou sans uniforme". Une plongée dans la Résistance gardoise de juillet 40 à août 44.

Eric Grieu's third book comes out on June 18, quite symbolic for this enthusiast of the history of the First and Second World Wars, and president of the Souvenir Français committee of Pont-Saint-Esprit, which works to preserve the memory of those who died for France.

To write “Le Gard combattant”: avec ou sans uniforme”, where he takes stock of “the different movements and types of resistance”in the Gard from July 1940 to August 1944, under Vichy" he summarizes, The Gardois worked for four years, immersing himself in particular in the books of historians of the Resistance, “like the Gardois resistance fighter Aimé Vielzeuf. Around fifty historians have worked on this subject in the Gard”.

Photos from the period

To make the story more lively, the book is full of period photos, such as that of Commander Vigan-Braquet in Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, or exceptional objects. “I was allowed to photograph the double-soled Spartan, kept in the reserves of the Sacred Art Museum of Pont-Saint-Esprit” explains Eric Grieu. “This shoe was used to pass an ink stamp that allowed the FFI acronym to be written on the armbands of resistance fighters“. He also attached photos of uniforms from his personal collection, not forgetting the front page of Midi Libre from August 27, 1944.

“I quote most of the resistance fighters and apologize for those I forgot! People were going into battle in sweaters and work shoes! And some will always remain in the shadows" he regrets. As politicians, he highlights the courage of "Georges Bruguier, of the SFIO (French section of the Workers' International , former PS), only senator from Gard to have said no to Pétain".

"Different types of resistance fighters in the Gard"

"The Resistance in Gard was never homogeneous, political parties often took the upper hand, everyone had their own group.  There were different zones and different types of resistance in the department: FTP (Francs-tireurs and French partisans), FFI (French forces of the interior), ME (Immigrant Labor), Ora (Army Resistance Organization)&hellip ;" says the historian. "In the Rhone Gard, it was the Ora maquis, led by Commander Vigan-Braquet. He trained young people and created, with officers from Nîmes, in Rochefort-du-Gard, the Corps francs des Ardennes network. Because in Rochefort, there are a lot of maquis".

The other Gard maquis, Cévennes-Aigoual, Bir-Hakeim… are also described with anecdotes. "The Cévennes writer Jean-Pierre Chabrol came across Spanish guerrillas between Gard and Lozère, who were arriving from the Spanish War and wanted to fight against the Nazis. The commitment of women to the Resistance is not forgotten. "I dedicate a chapter to them. They remained in the shadows while saving people and risking their lives".

In Remoulins, a woman gives water to the deportees crowded into the ghost train

Throughout the pages, the horrors of war are recalled: hunger, Allied bombings with their many deaths, or even the ghost train, which left in July 1944 from Toulouse, destination the death camps with more than 700 women and men crammed into cattle wagons. "A woman testifies that she brought water to the deportees when the train stopped at Remoulins".

Eric Grieu was also interested in the presence of the Nazis in the Gard, "they occupied the most beautiful houses, such as in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon", and encouraged people to go see the remains of the bunkers near the Espiguette lighthouse in Grau -of-the-King.

"I was not able to talk about everything that happened in the Gard. To talk about the Resistance, we would need an encyclopedia of 4 or 5 volumes !"

"July 40-August 44, the Gard combatant : with or without uniform", by Eric Grieu, self-published. 177 pages, 29 euros. On sale at the Occitane bookstore in Bagnols, from June 22, and at Chant de la Terre in Pont-Saint-Esprit; by order by calling 06 85 63 24 68 ; or by email: grieueric@orange.fr

Eric Grieu will give a conference (free) and sign his book on Friday June 21, at 6 p.m., at the Pont-Saint-Esprit sacred art museum.

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