André Girard (1901-1968)
Encyclopedia
André Girard was a French painter, poster-maker and Resistance worker. During the Second World War he founded and headed the CARTE network
, also taking "Carte" as his personal codename.
before doing military service at Saint-Cyr
. He became a painter, caricaturist, and theatre set designer, as well as one of the best known publicity poster designers in Paris during the 1930s. He set himself up in Venice in 1936–37 and in Manhattan in 1938.
) before war broke out, he was not called up in 1939. He refused to see the Germans enter Paris after their success in the Battle of France
, and departed in 1940 for the free zone
of France, setting up at Antibes
. There he painted his four daughters and founded the CARTE network. He was apolitical and tended towards recruitment and spying ready for an armed uprising against the Germans. At first hostile to Gaullism
, he aroused the interest of the Special Operations Executive
, who carried out a favourable evaluation of him and his network and then supplied him with arms, radio operators and money.
In July 1942 Nicholas Bodington
, second in command of SOE's F section, landed in France to check on the value of reports about CARTE transmitted by agent Francis Basin, but in 12 September that year Bodington filed a report confirming SOE's highly favourable opinion of the network. However, security indiscretions and differences between Girard and his second in command Henri Frager
weakened the network. For example, in November 1942 a suitcase containing a list of 200 CARTE members disappeared, either lost by André Marsac
when he fell asleep on a train and finally falling into Abwehr
hands, or being lost by Marsac in Marseille and coming into the hands of Dubois, police commissioner and head of security for CARTE, who then let the interested parties know of its loss via Bartroli de Mandres. Whichever account is true, no arrests resulted from the loss in the end, but CARTE was fatally weakened and the SOE network Prosper - PHYSICIAN largely took over its work (particularly using its important intelligence files).
In 1943 Girard refused to merge CARTE with COMBAT, feeling it to be too close to Gaullism, and on the night of 20/21 February that year flew to England on SOE orders, having been picked up by a Lockheed A-28 Hudson
near Arles
. SOE opposed his returning to France, even when he learned of his wife's arrest and deportation to Ravensbrück concentration camp
(she was only released in 1945). He thus broke with SOE and went into self-imposed exile in the United States of America, where he remained until his death. There he gave conferences and wrote articles and books to vent his opposition to both the British and the Gaullists, thus pushing himself into relative obscurity.
The Carte Organisation
The Carte Organisation was a putative organ of French resistance during the Second World War.It was the brainchild of André Girard, an artist who claimed to have at his command a secret army of hundreds of thousands of would-be résistants waiting to rise against the Germans once they were properly...
, also taking "Carte" as his personal codename.
Prewar
He was the eldest child born to a pair of brewers, and attended the École des Beaux-ArtsÉcole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
before doing military service at Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
. He became a painter, caricaturist, and theatre set designer, as well as one of the best known publicity poster designers in Paris during the 1930s. He set himself up in Venice in 1936–37 and in Manhattan in 1938.
1939–45
Having married Andrée Jouan (known as "la petite Andrée") and had 4 children (all daughters, including Danièle DelormeDanièle Delorme
Danièle Delorme is an French actress and film producer....
) before war broke out, he was not called up in 1939. He refused to see the Germans enter Paris after their success in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, and departed in 1940 for the free zone
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
of France, setting up at Antibes
Antibes
Antibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
. There he painted his four daughters and founded the CARTE network. He was apolitical and tended towards recruitment and spying ready for an armed uprising against the Germans. At first hostile to Gaullism
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
, he aroused the interest of the 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...
, who carried out a favourable evaluation of him and his network and then supplied him with arms, radio operators and money.
In July 1942 Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Redner Bodington OBE was, during the Second World War, a head of F section of the Special Operations Executive. He took part in 4 missions to France.-Pre-war:...
, second in command of SOE's F section, landed in France to check on the value of reports about CARTE transmitted by agent Francis Basin, but in 12 September that year Bodington filed a report confirming SOE's highly favourable opinion of the network. However, security indiscretions and differences between Girard and his second in command Henri Frager
Henri Frager
Henri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
weakened the network. For example, in November 1942 a suitcase containing a list of 200 CARTE members disappeared, either lost by André Marsac
André Marsac
André Marsac was a member of the French Resistance. He was arrested by the German intelligence operative Hugo Bleicher, who used him to capture Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom. He also lost a list of 200 members of the CARTE network, jeopardising its survival....
when he fell asleep on a train and finally falling into Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
hands, or being lost by Marsac in Marseille and coming into the hands of Dubois, police commissioner and head of security for CARTE, who then let the interested parties know of its loss via Bartroli de Mandres. Whichever account is true, no arrests resulted from the loss in the end, but CARTE was fatally weakened and the SOE network Prosper - PHYSICIAN largely took over its work (particularly using its important intelligence files).
In 1943 Girard refused to merge CARTE with COMBAT, feeling it to be too close to Gaullism, and on the night of 20/21 February that year flew to England on SOE orders, having been picked up by a Lockheed A-28 Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
near Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
. SOE opposed his returning to France, even when he learned of his wife's arrest and deportation to Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
(she was only released in 1945). He thus broke with SOE and went into self-imposed exile in the United States of America, where he remained until his death. There he gave conferences and wrote articles and books to vent his opposition to both the British and the Gaullists, thus pushing himself into relative obscurity.
Post-war
In New York, he produced several religious paintings (Stations of the Cross, Apocalypse, etc.) and in 1952 he decorated several churches in New York, Vermont and California. In 1947 he published Peut-on dire la vérité sur la Résistance, in which he presented several important corrections to Bénouville's book Le Sacrifice du matin. He died and was buried in America in 1968.Works
- Bataille secrète en France, Brentano's, New York, 1944.
- Peut-on dire la vérité sur la Résistance ?, Éditions du Chêne, 1947.
- Hitler Staline et compagnie, Dessins politiques de 1934 à 1942, Buchet-Chastel 2005 (preface by Danièle Delorme, timeline and historical commentaries by Pascal Imaho)
Works
- Bataille secrète en France, Brentano's, New York, 1944.
- Peut-on dire la vérité sur la Résistance?, Éditions du Chêne, 1947.
- Hitler Staline et compagnie, Dessins politiques de 1934 à 1942, Buchet-Chastel 2005 (preface by Danièle Delorme, chronology and historical commentaries by Pascal Imaho)