‘
Mon còr
,’ she said. The only words that mattered any more.
August 2009
CHATEAU DE BAUDRIGUES
19 AUGUST 2009
O
n Wednesday morning at 9.20, people are gathering in the clearing at the Château de Baudrigues. Flags and a band, official colours and decorations and a sense of purpose.
The president of the delegation and the Mayor of Roullens are laying wreaths at the three gravestones: one for Jean Bringer – ‘Myriel’, one for Aimé Ramond; the last inscribed to the ‘Martyrs of Baudrigues’.
Men and women in their official sashes and chains remembering, on the sixty-fifth anniversary of their murders on 19 August 1944, those who gave their lives so that others might live. Also, representatives of the civilians massacred as the Germans left Carcassonne the following day.
The warrior stone angel –
Y Penser Toujours
– stolen away from Square Gambetta under cover of night so that it would not be destroyed. The statue stands, now, in the cimetière Saint-Michel, keeping watch over the military graves.
White crosses and white crescents.
The Martyrs of Baudrigues never got to see, only a few days later, the men and women of the Resistance come down from the hills and take possession of their town once more.
The Mayor steps back and everyone bows their head for the minute’s silence. A man in his sixties turns and puts his hand on his father’s shoulder. They are so alike, Max Blum and his son Jean-Jacques, people always remark upon it. Blum is well respected and well liked in Carcassonne. One of the last to be deported from Le Vernet on the ghost train to Dachau and one of the few to survive. Jean-Jacques’ three daughters all resemble their grandmother, Lucie Ménard. They never met her, though they have grown up their entire lives with stories of the sort of woman she was. They think their father and Tante Liesl exaggerate a little, but they play along all the same.
Jean-Jacques smiles at Liesl, Liesl Rousset, a celebrated war photographer. Even though his aunt is in her eighties, she is nonetheless the most beautiful woman he knows. Her children live overseas, as does she, but she has come home today for this modest ceremony and to visit her oldest friends, Marianne Vidal and Suzanne Peyre, who still live in the rue du Palais.
The sixty seconds of silence comes to an end and the band strikes up ‘La Marseillaise’.
At the back of the crowd, a young woman, named Alice, turns to her husband.
‘Can you take her, Will? I think she’s had enough.’
Will smiles and hoists their little girl on to his shoulders. So as not to disturb proceedings, he walks away into the deep green woods surrounding the park.
Alice moves closer to the front, singing the last few verses of the anthem in her undeniably English accent.
Amour sacré de la Patrie
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs
Liberté, Liberté chérie
Combats avec tes défenseurs!
She is not sure why she has come, other than because she believes Audric Baillard would have wanted her to. Or perhaps it is because, like many others, she has heard stories of a women’s resistance unit said to have single-handedly saved an entire village from being massacred in the dying days of the occupation. Their names don’t appear in any of the history books, but there’s something that makes Alice certain the stories are true.
Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire
Accoure à tes mâles accents
Que tes ennemis expirants
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire!
She wishes she had asked Monsieur Baillard about it, but they were caught up in a different story, in a different time. And the time they had together was so short.
There is a polite, awkward smattering of applause. The dignitaries start to leave – there is another event to be held in Carcassonne later in the day – and the small crowd of onlookers starts to break up.
Alice finds herself left alone with two women. One is elegant in blue, her white hair braided at the nape of her neck. The other is tall, with tightly cropped hair and a tanned face.
‘Are you a relative?’ she asks, peering at the names on the tombstone.
Marianne Vidal turns and looks at her, then smiles.
‘Our friend,’ she says, with a quiet dignity. ‘And my sister.’
‘What was she called?’ Alice asks quickly, wondering why their names are not on the memorial. There are only men’s names.
For a moment, she thinks the woman will not answer. Then a smile lights up her eyes.
‘Sandrine Vidal.’
At that moment, Alice’s daughter runs back into the clearing and into her mother’s arms. She scoops Sajhësse up and then turns to make the introductions.
But the two women, arm in arm, are already walking away.
Citadel
is a work of fiction, although the imaginary characters exist against a backdrop of real events. It was inspired by a plaque in the village of Roullens, outside Carcassonne, commemorating the ‘Martyrs of Baudrigues’, the nineteen prisoners who were executed by fleeing Nazi forces on 19 August 1944, a matter of days before the Languedoc was liberated by its own people. Over time, most of the victims have been identified. There are three commemorative stones at Baudrigues: one apiece for the two leading members of the Aude resistance – Jean Bringer (‘Myriel’) and Aimé Ramond – and one listing nineteen other
résistants
, including two ‘unknown women’. Wondering about who those women might be was the starting point for this story.
Nearly seventy years after the end of the Second World War, estimates vary as to how many people were involved in the Resistance and the Maquis. By its clandestine nature, people could not admit to involvement at the time for fear of reprisal. Subsequently, a veil of secrecy fell over the
années noires
, which has only begun to lift in recent years. What is clear is that, following the invasion and occupation of the
zone libre
by German forces in November 1942 – and the introduction of forced labour laws, the hated
service du travail obligatoire
(STO) in February 1943 – there was a significant increase in Resistance activity in the South. This continued until the liberation of the Aude in August 1944.
It is also clear that, as the history of the Resistance in France was written, the ‘book of myths’ – to use Adrienne Rich’s phrase – women’s roles were underplayed. In part this is because many women themselves wished to forget and return to their ordinary lives, and in part because some historians overlooked the particular, and different, nature of women’s contributions. More than fifty thousand Médailles de la Résistance were awarded, both to those still alive and posthumously, though proportionately few were awarded to women. And of the 1,061 Croix de la Libération – presented by Général de Gaulle for exceptional acts of resistance and bravery – only six were given to women. Anecdotal evidence, not least talking to parents and grandparents of Carcassonnais friends, suggests there were many women involved in active roles in the Aude and the Ariège. I am indebted to contemporary accounts of female Resistance activity, in particular those of Lisa Fittko and Lucie Aubrac, as well as Margaret L. Rossiter’s excellent
Women in the Resistance
, H. R. Kedward’s
In Search of the Maquis
and Julien Allaux’s comprehensive
La 2ème Guerre Mondiale dans l’Aude
.
There was never – to my knowledge – an all-female network such as my imaginary
réseau
‘Citadel’, nor is there any record of a Coustaussa Maquis. But there certainly were women involved in active roles in networks in the South. It is also important to note that the Resistance and Maquis in the Midi was far from being an exclusively French affair – German, Belgian, Polish, Czech, Austrian, Dutch and Spanish anti-fascists all fought alongside their French neighbours.
Finally, although the story is based around real events between 1942 and 1944 in the Aude, this is a novel, not an attempt to fictionalise what happened. My principal characters are wholly imagined and I have taken one or two historical liberties for the sake of the story. So although there was a demonstration in Carcassonne against Maréchal Pétain’s collaborationist Vichy government on 14 July 1942, there was no bomb attack and no one was killed. I have deliberately blurred exactly which organisation Leo Authié works for, to ensure he won’t be mistakenly identified with any real person in the Milice, Deuxième Bureau or Carcassonne Commissariat in those years. It is extremely unlikely that anyone would have been allowed into Le Vernet in August 1942, even with a senior-ranking French officer. There was no Couiza Maquis, no massacre of prisoners in Banyuls-sur-Mer or executions in Chalabre in July 1944, and no Gestapo/Milice attack on Coustaussa in August 1944. The stone
capitelles
do not date back to Roman times and finally, even though a cache of ancient codices was indeed found in caves outside the village of Nag Hammadi in December 1945 – twelve codices, plus eight leaves, containing fifty-two texts – the Codex of Arinius was not among them. That Codex is, I regret to say, entirely imaginary.
Kate Mosse
Carcassonne/Sussex, 2012
There are many people who have given help and support over the course of the researching, planning and writing of
Citadel
.
At Orion, I’m lucky to be looked after by so many enthusiastic, hard-working and professional people – sales, marketing, production, publicity, digital, audio, editorial and the lovely ladies on reception. Particular thanks go to Gaby Young, Anthony Keates, Mark Rusher, Mark Streatfeild, Juliet Ewers, Laura Gerrard, Jade Chandler, Jane Selley, Malcolm Edwards and the legendary Susan Lamb. My publisher Jon Wood and my editor Genevieve Pegg – helped by Eleanor Dryden in the closing stages of the project – have been extraordinary, even by their standards. Their support, speedy work and enthusiasm for
Citadel
have made all the difference.
Grateful thanks to all at LAW, in particular Alice Saunders and the incomparable Mark Lucas, who has not only been a great support and a wonderful friend, but also a terrier-like editor (despite the digital notes!). Also everyone at ILA, in particular Nicki Kennedy and Sam Edenborough; and all at Inkwell, especially George Lucas (and for the bike . . .).
In Languedoc, I would like to thank the following friends and colleagues: James & Catherine Kinglake; Kate & Bob Hingson, Le Centre Culturel et de la Mémoire des Combattante, Carcassonne; Chantal & Pierre Sanchez; the Musée Départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation, Toulouse; the staff at the Hôtel de la Cité, in particular Nathalie Sauvestre and Jane Barnard; everyone at the Jardin de la Tour and at Bar Félix; Patricia Corbett and Jean Dodelin of the Centres des Monuments Nationaux; Miriam Filaquier of the Aude Tourist Board; everyone at Cultura Carcassonne and the Librarie Papeteire Breithaupt; at the Mairie in Carcassonne, Jean-Claude Perez, Maire, and Chef de Cabinet, Christophe Perez; André Viola, Président du Conseil général de l’Aude and Jean Brunel, Chef de Cabinet; René Ortega, Maire de Lagrasse.
At the Defence Academy of the UK, Lt Col. John Starling, Martyn Arthur and Phil. Thanks, too, to Chris Hunter for arranging the best-ever research day out in Shrivenham.
Finally, as all authors know, it’s friends and family who bear the brunt of deadlines and pre-publication jitters. There are so many people who’ve given practical help, encouragement and friendship during the course of writing
Citadel
that I can’t list everyone – and of course, all errors are mine – but special thanks go to Jonathan Evans (not least for all the photos), Rachel Holmes, Robert Dye (for Coustaussa), Lucinda Montefiore (for the rosé); Peter Clayton (for Amélie and the Mums); the Dancing Queens, Julie Pembery and Cath O’Hanlon (and Tom P and Sam O’H for Chapter 5!); Patrick O’Hanlon; Jack Penny (for Granny R’s G&T and bikes); Suzie Wilde (for
The Blue Guide
), Harriet Hastings, Amanda Ross, Tessa Ross, Maria Rejt, Sandi Toksvig (for the slippers), Lydia Conway, Paul Arnott, Jane Gregory, Diane Goodman, Alan Finch, Dale Rooks, Tim Bouquet, Sarah Mansell, Janet Sandys-Renton, Mike Harrington, Bob Pearson, Bob & Maria Pulley and Jenny Ramsay (for the Latin!). Also neighbours Jon and Ann Shapiro, Linda and Roger Heald, Sue and Phil Baker.
My family have been a tremendous support during the writing of
Citadel
and without such practical help and encouragement a big writing project is nigh on impossible. So love and thanks to my sisters Caroline Grainge and Beth Huxley and their husbands Chris Grainge and Mark Huxley. My love to my fabulous mother, Barbara Mosse, to my much-loved, much-missed late father, Richard Mosse, and to my brilliant mother-in-law, Rosie Turner (for all the coffee and dog-walking!).
Finally, as always, my largest thanks, love and gratitude go to my wonderful children Martha and Felix – who are always so enthusiastic and proud – and to my amazing husband, Greg, for his tireless hard work and editorial support, love and incredible patience. Without these three, nothing would matter at all.
Allaux, Julien,
La 2eme Guerre Mondiale dans l’Aude
, Editions Sapin d’Or, 1986
Andrieu, Martial,
Mémoire en Images Carcassonne Tome II
, Editions Alan Sutton, 2008
Aubrac, Lucie,
Outwitting the Gestapo
, translated by Konrad Bieber, with assistance of Betsy Wing, University of Nebraska Press, 1993 (originally published as
Ils partiront dans l’ivresse
, Editions du Seuil, 1983)
Bailey, Rosemary,
Love and War in the Pyrenees: A Story of Courage, Fear and Hope 1939–1944
, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2008
Fittko, Lisa,
Escape Through the Pyrenees
, translated by David Koblick, Northwestern University Press, 1991 (originally published as
Mein Weg über die Pyrenäen
, Carl Hanser Verlag, 1985)
Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas,
The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and their Influence on Nazi Ideology
, I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 2009
Kedward, H. R.,
In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France 1942–1944
, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993
Levy, Marc,
The Children of Freedom
, translated by Sue Dyson, Harper, 2008 (originally published as
Les Enfants de la Liberté
, Laffont, 2007)
Ouvrage Collectif,
Mémoire en Images Carcassonne
, Editions Alan Sutton, 2000
Pagels, Elaine,
The Gnostic Gospels
, Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd, 1980
Panouillé, Jean-Pierre,
Carcassonne: History and Architecture
, Editions Ouest-France, 1999
Rahn, Otto,
Crusade Against the Grail: The Struggle Between the Cathars, The Templars and the Church of Rome
, translated by Christopher Jones, Inner Traditions International, 2006 (originally published as
Kreuzzug gegen den Grail
, Urban Verlag, 1933)
Rahn, Otto,
Lucifer’s Court: A Heretic’s Journey in Search of the Light Bringers
, translated by Christopher Jones, Inner Traditions International 2008 (originally published as
Luzifers Hofgesind
, Schwarzhaupterverlag, 1937)
Rossiter, Margaret L.,
Women in the Resistance
, Praeger Publishers, 1986 Synnestvedt, Alice Resch,
Over the Highest Mountains: A Memoir of Unexpected Heroism in France During World War II
, International Productions, California, 2005
Teissier du Cros, Janet,
Divided Loyalties: A Scotswoman in Occupied France
, Hamish Hamilton, 1962; Canongate Classics, 1992
Weitz, Margaret Collins,
Sisters in the Resistance: How Women Fought to Free France 1940–1945
, John Wiley & Sons, 1995