Celestino Alfonso
Encyclopedia
Célestino Alfonso was a Spanish republican
, a volunteer in the French liberation army FTP-MOI
, and a part of the resistance operation led by Missak Manouchian
. He was, by profession, a carpenter.
(Communist Youth) and became responsible for the Ivry-sur-Seine
group. In 1936, he set out as a volunteer for republican Spain, arriving on 27 August 1936. He served as a machine-gunner with the rank of sergeant, and from 1937, the rank of lieutenant. In 1938, his right hand was wounded. He was, shortly afterward, named political commissar of the 2nd International Brigade
with the rank of captain. In February 1939, he was repatriated to the camp at Saint-Cyprien
, from which he escaped.
. Arrested, he was deported to Germany, where, after six months in a camp, he succeeded in escaping and returned to Paris where he became head of a FTP-MOI resistance group. He participated in many operations in Paris and in the Orléans region, notably the execution of General Ernst Von Schaumburg, commandant of Greater Paris, and on 29 September 1943 of SS
officer :fr:Julius Ritter, responsible for the STO
in France.
in Paris. A large Mercedes
, decorated with swastika
s on the sides, regularly enetered the courtyard of the Maison de la Chimie and a Nazi official was let out. After four months of planning, the military leadership of the FTP requested Marcel Rayman
, :fr:Léo Kneller and Alfonso to plan an attack against this official. The operation was put under the authority of Missak Manouchian, the military overseer of the FTP-MOI, from late August 1943.
On the morning of 28 September 1943, the Mercedes was parked for a few minutes before picking up its passenger. Alfonso fired at the SS officer as he got into the car. The windshield blocked the bullets, but the man was injured, probably by flying glass. He attempted to get out of the car through the opposite door, but Rayman hit him with three bullets. The fighters only learned the man's identity through the German press. It was General :fr:Julius Ritter, the assistant in France to Fritz Sauckel
, who was responsible for the mobilization and deportation of labor under the German STO (Obligatory Work Service) in Nazi-occupied Europe. In short, Ritter was the chief recruiter of slave labor in occupied France.
The front-page denunciation of this "abominable act" and the official funeral at the église de la Madeleine
rendered the operation even more impact.
poster, as: Alfonso, Espagnol rouge, 7 attentats (Alfonso, Spanish Communist, 7 attacks)
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, a volunteer in the French liberation army FTP-MOI
FTP-MOI
The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée were a sub-group of the Francs-tireurs et partisans organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an armed force to oppose the German occupation of France during World War II...
, and a part of the resistance operation led by Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian was a French poet of Armenian birth, a militant communist in the MOI , and military commissioner of the FTP-MOI in the Paris region...
. He was, by profession, a carpenter.
Youth
Alfonso arrived in France at the beginning of the 1930s. In 1934, he joined the Jeunesse communisteMouvement Jeunes Communistes de France
The Mouvement Jeunes communistes de France , commonly called the "JC" , is a political youth organisation, close to the French communist party....
(Communist Youth) and became responsible for the Ivry-sur-Seine
Ivry-sur-Seine
Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris....
group. In 1936, he set out as a volunteer for republican Spain, arriving on 27 August 1936. He served as a machine-gunner with the rank of sergeant, and from 1937, the rank of lieutenant. In 1938, his right hand was wounded. He was, shortly afterward, named political commissar of the 2nd International Brigade
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
with the rank of captain. In February 1939, he was repatriated to the camp at Saint-Cyprien
Saint-Cyprien, Pyrénées-Orientales
Saint-Cyprien is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-References:*...
, from which he escaped.
Second World War
In May 1942, Alfonso joined the French resistanceFrench Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. Arrested, he was deported to Germany, where, after six months in a camp, he succeeded in escaping and returned to Paris where he became head of a FTP-MOI resistance group. He participated in many operations in Paris and in the Orléans region, notably the execution of General Ernst Von Schaumburg, commandant of Greater Paris, and on 29 September 1943 of SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer :fr:Julius Ritter, responsible for the STO
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
in France.
Assassination of Ritter
The FTP-MOI intelligence service had noticed the strengthening of security measures on rue Saint-DominiqueRue Saint-Dominique
The rue Saint-Dominique is a street in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It has formerly been known as chemin de la Longue Raye , chemin des Treilles , chemin Herbu ou chemin Herbu des Moulins à Vent , chemin du Moulin à Vent, chemin de l'Oseraie , chemin du Port , chemin des Vaches , chemin de la...
in Paris. A large Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, decorated with swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s on the sides, regularly enetered the courtyard of the Maison de la Chimie and a Nazi official was let out. After four months of planning, the military leadership of the FTP requested Marcel Rayman
Marcel Rayman
Marcel Rayman, alias Simon Maujean, Faculté, Michel, and Michel Mieczlav 1 May 1923, Warsaw, Poland − 21 February 1944, fort du Mont-Valérien) was a Polish Jew and volunteer fighter in the FTP-MOI group of French resistance fighters during World War II, and the head of "Stalingrad", a highly active...
, :fr:Léo Kneller and Alfonso to plan an attack against this official. The operation was put under the authority of Missak Manouchian, the military overseer of the FTP-MOI, from late August 1943.
On the morning of 28 September 1943, the Mercedes was parked for a few minutes before picking up its passenger. Alfonso fired at the SS officer as he got into the car. The windshield blocked the bullets, but the man was injured, probably by flying glass. He attempted to get out of the car through the opposite door, but Rayman hit him with three bullets. The fighters only learned the man's identity through the German press. It was General :fr:Julius Ritter, the assistant in France to Fritz Sauckel
Fritz Sauckel
Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel was a Nazi war criminal, who organized the systematic enslavement of millions from lands occupied by Nazi Germany...
, who was responsible for the mobilization and deportation of labor under the German STO (Obligatory Work Service) in Nazi-occupied Europe. In short, Ritter was the chief recruiter of slave labor in occupied France.
The front-page denunciation of this "abominable act" and the official funeral at the église de la Madeleine
Église de la Madeleine
L'église de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army...
rendered the operation even more impact.
Arrest and execution
Alfonso was arrested in October 1943, and he was shot at the fort Mont-Valérien on 21 February 1944, along with 21 other members of the FTP-MOI. He had a wife and a small child .Affiche rouge
Alfonso's name was featured on the Affiche rougeAffiche Rouge
The Affiche Rouge is a famous propaganda poster, distributed by Vichy French and German authorities in the spring of 1944 in occupied Paris, to discredit 23 French Resistance fighters, members of the Manouchian Group...
poster, as: Alfonso, Espagnol rouge, 7 attentats (Alfonso, Spanish Communist, 7 attacks)
See also
- Main-d'œuvre immigréeMain-d'œuvre immigréeThe Main-d'œuvre immigrée was a French trade unionist organisation, composed of immigrant workers of the Confédération générale du travail unitaire in the 1920s. The MOI was affiliated to the Profintern...
- Francs-tireurs et partisans - Main-d'œuvre immigrée
- Affiche rougeAffiche RougeThe Affiche Rouge is a famous propaganda poster, distributed by Vichy French and German authorities in the spring of 1944 in occupied Paris, to discredit 23 French Resistance fighters, members of the Manouchian Group...