Moussey () is a
commune in the
Vosges department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in
Grand Est in northeastern
France.
Inhabitants are called ''Mousséens''.
Geography
Positioned on the eastern side of Grand Est, the village of Moussey is the last inhabited settlement along the Senones Valley before, eventually, the road crosses the
Prayé Pass (Col de Prayé) into
Alsace and on to
Mont Donon, the highest peak in the
North Vosges Mountains.
History
The name 'Moussey' comes from the
Latin word 'Monticellus' meaning 'little mountain'. The village is set on a small hill at the foot of which a fast flowing mountain stream fully deserves its name, the
River Rabondeau (in Latin, 'rapidus aqua' / 'fast water').
Moussey is one of several communes that formerly belonged to
Senones Abbey: subsequently it fell within the
Principality of Salm-Salm until the
French Revolution, following which the former principality became a part of France. Numerous documents from the 18th century, now archived at the
mairie testify to the way the princes of Salm-Salm were happy to accommodate the presence of such prominent
religious scholars as
Dom Calmet.
Fortune arrived Moussey in the 19th century thanks to the
textile industry. The first
textile mill was constructed in 1836: an adjoining
chateau was built between 1858 and 1863. The business was operated successively by three families, being the Charlot, Lung et Laederich families, but in 1966 the machines fell silent. Since 1988 various surviving elements of the Moussey textile business have enjoyed protected
historical monument status.
During the
Second World War Moussey was a supporting town for the joint SAS-SOE
Operation Loyton
Operation Loyton was the codename given to a Special Air Service (SAS) mission in the Vosges department of France during the Second World War.
The mission, between 12 August and 9 October 1944, had the misfortune to be parachuted into the Vo ...
of 1944, designed to use Allied special forces to inspire an insurrection amongst the local Maquis forces and thus prepare the ground for offensive action by the American
Seventh Army. The Allied forces were eventually forced to retreat, which in turn led to mass deportation from Moussey with 187 people being sent to
Natzweiler-Struthof of whom 144 never returned. Among the deportees was the man who had been mayor since 1917 (Abel Gassman), the director general of the Laederich Business: Jules Py died at
Dachau
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
on 24 January 1945.
After the Second World War, Moussey was personally delivered a letter of thanks by Major Eric Barksworth and Colonel
Christopher Sykes for their services towards the Special Air Service during the war. It praised the "selfless devotion" and "memorable courage" of the inhabitants of Moussey, especially in their collective refusal to expose the SAS unit concealed within the Senones Valley.
[Lewis. ''SAS Nazi Hunters: The Ultra Secret Unit and the Hunt for Hitler's War Criminals'' (Quercus, London (2015)).]
See also
*
Communes of the Vosges department
References
Communes of Vosges (department)
Salm-Salm
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