Jean-Pierre Timbaud ( Payzac, Dordogne, September 20, 1904 - Chateaubriant, October 22, 1941) was the secretary of the steelworkers’

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

section of the

Confédération Générale du Travail The General Confederation of Labour (french: Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT) is a national trade union center, founded in 1895 in the city of Limoges. It is the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions. It is ...

(CGT). He took part in the

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

s which preceded the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he joined the Resistance and organized clandestine trade union committees. Jean-Pierre Timbaud was executed by the Germans on October 22, 1941, along with 26 other Communist

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

s detained in Châteaubriant, in punishment of the October 20 execution of Feldkommandant

Karl Hotz Karl Hotz (29 April 1877, Wertheim am Main – 20 October 1941) was a German engineer and Wehrmacht officer. He was killed as chief of ''Feldkommandantur 518'' in Nantes during German occupation of France in World War II. Occupation of Nantes T ...

, commander of the German troops in the

Loire-Inférieure Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

region, who was assassinated in Nantes by Resistants.

Guy Môquet Guy Prosper Eustache Môquet (, 26 April 1924 – 22 October 1941) was a young French Communist militant. During the German occupation of France in World War II, he was taken hostage by the Nazis and executed by firing squad in Châteaubriant in ...

, 17 years old, was also part of the executed communist hostages, as well as Charles Michels, a Communist deputy of the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Jacques Duclos, Secretary General of the French Communist Party, said in an interview in the film ''The Sorrow and the Pity'' (1969), that Jean-Pierre Timbaud died crying out "Long live the

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (german: Deutsche Kommunistische Partei, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports left positions and was an observer member of the European Left. At the end of February 2016 it left the European party. His ...

!", while Léon Blum declared during the Riom Trial that he had sung the " Marseillaise" before the firing squad.

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He ...

also stated: “The name of Timbaud among the Châteaubriant hostages was to be my direct reason, my individual reason to accept the clandestine duty which fell on me.” Several cities in France, such as

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and Limoges, have streets named after him. Previously, a street in East Berlin was named ''Timbaudstraße'' after him as well, but after German reunification, the street was renamed ''Fredersdorfer Straße''. Timbaud is the first name on the memorial to Heroes of the French Resistance in

Pere Lachaise Cemetery Pere may refer to: *Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county * Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader * Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament ...

Bibliography

*Lucien Monjauvis, ''Jean-Pierre Timbaud'' (Editions Sociales, 1971) *Fernand Grenier, ''Ceux de Châteaubriand'' (Editions Sociales, 1971) *

, ''Le Témoin des Martyrs'' (1942) *''Lettres de fusillés 1941-1944''

External links

Le Procès de Riom: Eloge de Jean-Pierre Timbaud et des combattants de Stalingrad
Léon Blum’s statement in favor of Timbaud during the Riom Trial
Biography
on Timbaud
"Berlin: Jean-Pierre Timbaud indésirable"
in ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'', September 22, 1990 (search for "Jean-Pierre Timbaud" o
L’Humanité’s English website
for translations).
On 1936 strike organized by Timbaud
in ''L’Humanité'', July 25, 2006
"Châteaubriant, assassinat politique de 27 otages"
in ''L’Humanité'', October 20, 2001 (with th
list here
of the 27 executed hostages) {{DEFAULTSORT:Timbaud, Jean-Pierre 1904 births 1941 deaths People from Dordogne French Communist Party politicians Members of the General Confederation of Labour (France) Communist members of the French Resistance Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany French people executed by Nazi Germany Executed people from Aquitaine Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery

Bibliography

See also

External links