The Sorrow and the Pity Page #11

THE SORROW AND THE PITY

Stories of an Occupied City

Part Two:
THE CHOICE

Demarcation Line

Do not cross

On November 11th, on the French

German demarcation line at 7 a.m.,

under orders from the Fhrer,

the Wermacht

crossed unoccupied France

to the Mediterranean.

This is a response to Anglo-American

aggression in French North Africa

preventing the enemy from landing

on the southern coast of France.

At first, we called them the Fritzes,

then the Jerries,

the Krauts, the Boches,

the Beetles, the Verdigris.

Public imagination

was very fertile back then.

Why call them Beetles?

Because beetles eat potatoes

and leave nothing behind.

The Germans also left nothing behind.

-Not even potatoes?

-No potatoes.

What can you say in French?

I learned the rules of etiquette, greetings.

I learned to make myself understood,

especially to young ladies.

To go for a walk: "Excuse me, miss,

would you care to go for a walk?"

And what else?

Good day, sir. Good evening, sir.

Good night, ma'am.

This afternoon,

there were concerts in the occupied cities.

-Best out of three?

-Okay.

Of course, races were rare then.

In 1940, racing was almost obsolete.

It was only in 1941, 1942, and 1943

that racing really began.

I started in 1943.

-In 1943?

-That's right.

I started in 1943

in the Dunlop final with Bobet.

-We were in the same class.

-Is that right?

The class of '45 was pretty big.

There was Casara, Lazarids, Bobet...

You must understand that back then,

and I'm talking about cycling,

it was the only way

people had of getting around.

You started off your adult life

in a rather difficult age.

For example, what about girls?

-Girls?

-How was dating under Occupation?

It's true that there was a problem.

First of all, we were young.

On Sundays or in the evenings,

American Avenue was packed

with people "doing the avenue,"

as we called it.

From Jaude Square to Gaillard,

that was the place to be.

For a young man like yourself,

was it particularly irritating

to see a girl on a German soldier's arm?

-You must have seen some.

-Of course.

It was considered annoying everywhere,

not just in Clermont.

-Of course.

-It was generally frowned upon

to see a woman

accompanied by a German.

Some women dated Germans

but they paid for that later,

after Liberation.

Some paid a very high price indeed

for having dated Germans.

That's for sure.

There weren't many Germans in Clermont,

as it wasn't occupied.

Weren't the Germans here as of 1942?

No.

No, we only saw the Germans

through the Resistance.

Clermont was never occupied.

"No, we didn't see any !"

R. Gminiani 1969

We've been told there were

very few Germans in Clermont.

I saw too many of them.

I saw them everywhere.

I saw them in my waking hours,

and I saw them in my sleep.

Around their neck, they all wore ribbons

with some medal attached.

I saw them everywhere.

All I could see was helmets and Germans.

How come others didn't see them?

They must have been shortsighted

because Lord knows they were

everywhere. You couldn't miss them.

I had participated in the Russian campaign.

In January 1942, I was hurt. My feet froze.

I was declared unfit for service in the East

which is why I returned to France

that same year.

Service in France was humiliating

for an active serviceman like me.

For us, the East was the winning ticket.

Yes, but you didn't win.

No, we didn't,

but we couldn't have known that.

The major of my regime

understood my feelings.

He said to me,

"My dear Tausend,

all you have to do is play stupid

"and you'll be back in no time."

But it didn't work, so I stayed

in Clermont-Ferrand till the end.

-Why? Couldn't you play stupid?

-No, I wasn't very good at that.

In late 1942,

everything was quiet in Clermont.

We were busy training new recruits

especially for anti-partisan operations.

The people in Clermont liked us.

We got along.

French or German,

it made no difference to them.

My friends and I lived in a hotel in Royat.

I think I still have some photos.

Royat is north of Clermont-Ferrand.

I had to put up with them.

But I must say that as far as

hotel guests go, I can't complain.

You say that you had to put up with them.

-Were they hard to put up with?

-No, it wasn't that.

No, it's just that they

kept me from working.

I would have preferred real guests.

After all, I wasn't paid.

As German soldiers,

we were able to get whatever we wanted.

Cheese, ham, salami: Everything was

available on the black market.

Did you ever get the feeling

that the people you patronized,

for example,

shopkeepers, hoteliers and the like

were compromising themselves

in the eyes of other Frenchmen?

Not at all. At least, not in 1942.

The situation somewhat deteriorated later,

when the so-called

"war of partisans" began.

I think I have a photo of that period,

in early 1943

when we had to put up barbed wire.

For example, in broad daylight,

they threw grenades at our soldiers

who were marching

to one of our movie theaters.

I don't know if they were thrown

from rooftops or what.

But there were

eight dead and 40 wounded.

An hour before the 6:00 show,

they came along

accompanied by armed sentries.

The soldiers were unarmed,

but the sentries were armed.

Then the terrorists threw the bombs

from high up on the city walls.

You can see them there.

The wounded fell, the ambulances came

and the show went on.

A terrible repression followed.

They burned down upper Clermont

in search of terrorists.

Many young men were taken.

Now obviously, we had to do something

about the situation.

The partisans had, of course, disappeared.

Did you know that many people

were arrested on Jaude Square,

many young people who were deported?

No, I didn't realize that.

All I know is that there was

a Gestapo unit in Clermont

which terrified the French.

Or so they always told us.

But they were there to protect us.

The Germans around here

would always tell us the same old story.

German-French cooperation

is the solution, they'd say.

They were convinced of it. I don't know.

-Maybe they were sincere.

-It's possible. I don't know.

They were almost too nice, yes, too nice

because they knew we didn't like them,

so they tried hard.

They'd almost always give their seat

in a tram to an elderly passenger.

And what about girls?

One night, Mrs. Mioche,

who was always very strict on the subject

saw a soldier come in after midnight

with two young ladies.

Mrs. Mioche wouldn't let the girls in.

As they continued insisting,

she went and got their captain.

The captain came down

and said Mrs. Mioche was right.

-They must not have been very happy.

-No.

But what could they say?

He was their captain. They had to obey.

And Mrs. Mioche was happy

with the outcome of the situation.

-So she was happy...

-Yes, but she was still afraid

that they would come in anyhow.

-She told them, "This isn't a..."

-A brothel.

And the next day, they requisitioned

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