Roger Carcassonne-Leduc (12 January 1911 in Marnia – 10 December 1991 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France) was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. A French industrialist in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, he served as a second lieutenant with the 8th Regiment. Sent to

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, at the time of the armistice he appeared in front of the military justice for having posted and distributed the texts of the call of June 18 from General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Foundation of Oran Resistance

Transferred with his unit to Oran, Carcassonne was demobilized on 28 August 1940 and sought immediately, with his brother Pierre Carcassonne, to go to England via

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. But this was in vain, because the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

police and naval services guarded well and, the denouncement helping, more severe judgments rained down on those who were captured. He then organized, with the help of his brother Pierre and some friends, including Captain Louis Jobelot, a group which was devoted to producing discrete propaganda and tried to gather everyone possible. In March 1941, in Oran, Captain Jobelot introduced

Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, ''Résistance'' member, and conservative politician. Life Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of cent ...

to him, an officer at the Second Bureau of the Armistice Army, with whom he immediately sympathized. After some interviews, the two men decided to create a movement, and intended to gather all those who wanted to fight against the Germans.

Co-operation with the Algiers resistance

Roger and Pierre Carcassonne continued to develop the recruitment and the coordination of the forces and intelligence agents. In August 1941, in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, Carcassonne met his cousin

José Aboulker José Aboulker (5 March 1920 – 17 November 2009) was a French Algerian Jew and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in French Algeria in World War II. He received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the Croix de Guerre, and was made a Compani ...

, a medical student, who had also begun resistance in September 1940. The two men decided to keep up to date with their activities, however, without combining their respective organizations. Carcassonne in Oran, under the pseudonym of Leduc, and Aboulker in Algiers, continued their activities which were centred on the construction of armed groups and military and civilian information centres. They did not engage propaganda, considering it to have little effect but likely to draw attention of their opponents. In 1942, Carcassonne sent his brother in Algiers to introduce Jose Aboulker to Henri d'Astier of Vigerie. He also dealt with the expenses of the Oran group and financed the organization of the resistance for all North Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carcassonne, Roger People from Oran People from Tlemcen French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members 1911 births 1991 deaths People of French Algeria