Léonce Vieljeux
Encyclopedia
Léonce VieljeuxLéonce Vieljeux (12 April 1865, Les Vans
, Ardèche
, France
- 12 September 1944, Struthof
) was a colonel in the French reserve army
, industrialist and mayor of La Rochelle
.
in 1888, he was attached to the 123e régiment d’infanterie at La Rochelle, where he married Hélène Delmas, daughter of the famous arms manufacturer from that town. He left the army to enter his father-in-law's family business "Delmas Frères
", becoming its president, changing its name to "Compagnie Delmas-Vieljeux", and making it one of France's most important shipping companies. Sitting on La Rochelle's municipal council from 1912 to 1925, he became its mayor in 1930.
With the onset of the Second World War, Léonce Vieljeux began working to resist the town's Nazi occupiers. Thus, when on Sunday 23 June 1940 a German lieutenant presented himself to mayor Vieljeux with a request to hang a German swastika flag from La Rochelle's hôtel de ville, Vieljeux replied that he was a colonel (in the reserves) and had no orders to receive a junior officer, even if he was from a victorious army. This first act of resistance was followed by systematic opposition to the posting of Nazi propaganda posters. At the same time, he helped engineers and workers from his factory who belonged to the ALLIANCE Resistance
network to find means of escape. On 22 September 1940, he was removed from his office of mayor and then (in 1941) expelled from the town.
Later returning to La Rochelle, he was arrested at the start of 1944. Interned at Lafond before being transferred to Poitiers
then Fresnes, he was finally sent to the camp at Schirmeck
near Strasburg
, where he remained from 1 May to 1 September 1944. On the night of 1/2 September 1944 he was taken to the camp at Struthof
, where he was shot at the same time as 300 other men and 92 women, up to the age of 80. His funeral service took place in the Protestant church in La Rochelle in the presence of 3,000 townspeople of all denominations and social classes. A commemorative stamp with his face on was issued on 28 March 1960.
Les Vans
Les Vans commune in the Ardèche department in the Rhône-Alpes region of southern France.-Geography:The village of Les Vans, the principal settlement of the canton of the same name in the south of the Ardèche, lies at the centre of a basin near the Chassezac river.Dominant to the south is the Serre...
, Ardèche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- 12 September 1944, Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
) was a colonel in the French reserve army
Military reserve forces of France
The military reserve forces of France are the military reserve force within the armed forces of France.-History:From the very moment Napoléon Bonaparte took power as First Consul in the coup of 18 Brumaire, he was feared by his rivals, and keenly supported by the army...
, industrialist and mayor of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
.
Life
Gaining a diploma from the École spéciale militaire de Saint-CyrÉcole 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"...
in 1888, he was attached to the 123e régiment d’infanterie at La Rochelle, where he married Hélène Delmas, daughter of the famous arms manufacturer from that town. He left the army to enter his father-in-law's family business "Delmas Frères
Delmas (shipping company)
Delmas Shipping, based in Le Havre, France, is a containerized-freight and ro-ro shipping company, mainly carrying trade between western Europe and Africa...
", becoming its president, changing its name to "Compagnie Delmas-Vieljeux", and making it one of France's most important shipping companies. Sitting on La Rochelle's municipal council from 1912 to 1925, he became its mayor in 1930.
With the onset of the Second World War, Léonce Vieljeux began working to resist the town's Nazi occupiers. Thus, when on Sunday 23 June 1940 a German lieutenant presented himself to mayor Vieljeux with a request to hang a German swastika flag from La Rochelle's hôtel de ville, Vieljeux replied that he was a colonel (in the reserves) and had no orders to receive a junior officer, even if he was from a victorious army. This first act of resistance was followed by systematic opposition to the posting of Nazi propaganda posters. At the same time, he helped engineers and workers from his factory who belonged to the ALLIANCE Resistance
French 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...
network to find means of escape. On 22 September 1940, he was removed from his office of mayor and then (in 1941) expelled from the town.
Later returning to La Rochelle, he was arrested at the start of 1944. Interned at Lafond before being transferred to Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
then Fresnes, he was finally sent to the camp at Schirmeck
Schirmeck
Schirmeck is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
near Strasburg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, where he remained from 1 May to 1 September 1944. On the night of 1/2 September 1944 he was taken to the camp at Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
, where he was shot at the same time as 300 other men and 92 women, up to the age of 80. His funeral service took place in the Protestant church in La Rochelle in the presence of 3,000 townspeople of all denominations and social classes. A commemorative stamp with his face on was issued on 28 March 1960.