84 Avenue Foch
Encyclopedia
Number 84 Avenue Foch was a building
in Paris used by the Gestapo
during the German occupation of Paris in World War II
.
The location is found on Avenue Foch
, a wide residential boulevard
in the XVIe arrondissement
which connects the Arc de Triomphe
and the Porte Dauphine.
During the German occupation of northern France, the buildings at numbers 82, 84 and 86 of the Avenue Foch were taken over by the counter-intelligence
branch of the Gestapo, known as the Sicherheitsdienst
, or SD.
Number 84 was used for imprisonment and interrogation
of foreign agents captured in France, such as those of the British
Special Operations Executive
. There were frequent transfers of prisoners between number 84 and Fresnes prison
on the outskirts of the city.
The second floor housed the SD's wireless
section controlled by Josef Goetz, from where the 'radio game' with SOE was conducted, using captured wireless sets and code
s to transmit bogus messages.
The fourth floor was taken up by the office and private quarters of SS Sturmbannführer
Josef Kieffer, who was in charge at number 84, and the office of his assistant.
On the fifth (top) floor were the guardroom, an interpreter's office, and cells for the confinement of prisoners under interrogation.
A senior interrogator at number 84 was Ernest Vogt, a Swiss
-German civilian
who since 1940 had been attached to the SD as a civil auxiliary in the capacity of translator
and interpreter
.
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
in Paris used by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
during the German occupation of Paris in World War II
German occupation of France in World War II
The Military Administration in France was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II. It remained in existence from May 1940 to December 1944. As a result of the defeat of France and its Allies in the Battle of France, the French cabinet sought a cessation...
.
The location is found on Avenue Foch
Avenue Foch
Avenue Foch is a street in Paris, France, named after Ferdinand Foch in 1929. It was previously named Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. It is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, and one of the most expensive addresses in the world, home to many grand palaces, including ones belonging to the...
, a wide residential boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
in the XVIe arrondissement
XVIe arrondissement
The 16th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France...
which connects the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
and the Porte Dauphine.
During the German occupation of northern France, the buildings at numbers 82, 84 and 86 of the Avenue Foch were taken over by the counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
branch of the Gestapo, known as the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, or SD.
Number 84 was used for imprisonment and interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
of foreign agents captured in France, such as those of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
. There were frequent transfers of prisoners between number 84 and Fresnes prison
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
on the outskirts of the city.
The second floor housed the SD's wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
section controlled by Josef Goetz, from where the 'radio game' with SOE was conducted, using captured wireless sets and code
Code
A code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....
s to transmit bogus messages.
The fourth floor was taken up by the office and private quarters of SS Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
Josef Kieffer, who was in charge at number 84, and the office of his assistant.
On the fifth (top) floor were the guardroom, an interpreter's office, and cells for the confinement of prisoners under interrogation.
A senior interrogator at number 84 was Ernest Vogt, a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-German civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
who since 1940 had been attached to the SD as a civil auxiliary in the capacity of translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and interpreter
Interpreting
Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...
.