Baron Philippe de Gunzbourg LdH

CdG CDG may refer to: Transport * Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA code), Paris, France * Chandigarh railway station * ComfortDelGro, a Singaporean multinational land transport company * Shandong Airlines (ICAO code), based in Shandong, China * French ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(1904–1986) was a French aristocrat who became a Special Operations Executive agent during the World War II.

Early life

Philippe Georges de Gunzbourg was born in Paris on 17 February

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, the son of Baron Pierre de Gunzburg (the son of Baron

Horace Günzburg Horace Günzburg (Goratsii Evzelevich Gintsburg, Гораций Евзелевич Гинцбург, (''Naftali-Gerts Evzelevich Gintsburg'') 8 February 1833 in Zvenigorodka, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire – 2 March 1909 in Saint Petersburg), ...

), a banker, and Yvonne Deutsch de La Meurthe. A relative, Aline de Gunzbourg, married the British writer and philosopher

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

. He studied in Paris and Oxford. He finished second in the 1933 Le Mans 24 Hours

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

World War II

In November

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

after the German occupation of Vichy France, he made contact with

Maurice Pertschuk Maurice Pertschuk MBE, LdH, CdeG (31 July 1921 – 29 March 1945) was a French Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War. Early life The son of Jacob Joseph Pertschuk and Ethel Muriel (née Sborowfsky), Russian-born Jews ...

, organiser of the PRUNUS network in Toulouse, and joined him as courier. The

wireless operator A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...

was

Marcus Bloom Marcus Reginald Bloom (24 September 1907 – 6 November 1944) was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War. Early life Bloom was born in 1907 in Brick Lane, Whitechapel (as per his birth certificate) but the fami ...

. Philippe de Gunzbourg noted that Pertschuk had a reckless lack of security, with

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

leaders sharing tables in black-market restaurants in Toulouse and speaking in English, and on 12 April 1943 Pertschuk, Bloom, and several of their key colleagues were arrested.''Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France.'' Max Hastings.
/ref> They were possibly betrayed by double agent Roger Bardet. Pertschuk was deported to Buchenwald, Bloom to Mauthausen, and both were executed. The PRUNUS network collapsed after their arrest, though de Gunzbourg escaped and transferred to the WHEELWRIGHT network of George Starr, where he worked until

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

Post-war

After the war, he devoted himself to agriculture, agri-food, and prunes. He was one of the pioneers of France-Prune, and its first president. He died on 10 July 1986, aged 82, and was buried in the cemetery of Saint-Léon.

Recognition

Awards

Monument

In Losse (Landes), a stele inaugurated on 23 May 2002 quotes Philippe de Gunzbourg as part of a tribute to seven other agents brought to France nearby during five airdrops between August 1943 and April 1944:

Maurice Southgate Maurice Southgate (20 June 1913 – 17 March 1990), code named Hector, was an officer in the Royal Air Force and an agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II. The purpose of SOE w ...

, organiser of the STATIONER network; four agents for the WHEELWRIGHT network of George Starr: Yvonne Cormeau, radio operator,

Anne-Marie Walters Anne-Marie Walters (born, Switzerland, 16 March 1923 – died, France, 3 October 1998), code name ''Colette,'' was a WAAF officer recruited into the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization during World War II ...

, courier, Claude Arnault, saboteur instructor, and Denis Parsons, radio operator; two agents for the SCHOLAR network: Gonzague de Saint-Geniès, network organiser, and

Yvonne Baseden Yvonne Jeanne de Vibraye Baseden MBE (20 January 1922 – 28 October 2017), later known as Yvonne Burney, was one of approximately forty female Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents who served in France. The objective of SOE was to conduct ...

, radio operator.Libre Résistance, n° 7, p. 5.

Place name

Place Philippe de Gunzbourg in Bergerac is named after him.

Bibliography

''Tourism and rural environment. A profitable outlet for agriculture, '' with H. Farcy, "The Earth" collection, Flammarion, 1969.

References

External sources

* Anne-Marie Walters, ''Moondrop to Gascony''. Macmillan & Co Ltd, 1946 * MRD Foot, ''SOE in France an account of the work of the British Special Operations Executive in France, 1940–1944'', HMSO, London, 1966. * E.G. Boxshall, ''Chronology of SOE operations with the French Resistance during World War II'', 1960. * Max Hastings, ''Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division through France.'' Pan Military Classics, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:de Gunzbourg , Philippe 1904 births 1986 deaths French Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Knights of the Legion of Honour French Resistance members Members of the Order of the British Empire