Samuel Tyszelman (born Szmul Cecel Tyszelman; 21 January 1921 – 19 August 1941) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

who 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 ...

during

World War II 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 opposin ...

(1939-1945). He and amother man were arrested and executed for taking part in an anti-German demonstration. That started a series of assassinations and reprisals in which over 500 people were killed.

Life

Avis d'exécution de Samuel Tyszelman et d'Henri Gautherot

Szmul Cecel Tyszelman was born in

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, on 21 January 1921. His family was

. During

(1939–1945), he was a member of the French communist resistance organization known as . He was in a group named the , whose members were Jews who had migrated from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

in the 1920s and the 1930s. In early August 1941, three of them (Tyzelman, Charles Wolmark and Elie Walach) stole of dynamite from a quarry in the

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Strasbourg – Saint-Denis metro station and followed the

tricolour flag A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

of the student Olivier Souef. They sang and shouted "Down with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

! Vive La

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

!" French and German police intervened. Germans soldiers opened fire, and Tyzelman was hit in the leg.>Gautherot fled but was pursued by a German civilian and caught in a porter's lodge at 37 Boulevard Saint-Martin. Tyszelman, chased by German soldiers aided by an emergency police van of the 19th arrondissement, was finally arrested in a cellar of 29

Boulevard Magenta The boulevard de Magenta is located in the Ninth and Tenth arrondissements of Paris, France. It begins at place de la République and 1, rue Beaurepaire, and ends at 1, boulevard de Rochechouart and 53, boulevard de la Chapelle. Etymology I ...

, where he had taken refuge. Samuel Tyszelman

On 14 August, the (MBF: "German Military Ruler in France") banned the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

and announced that anyone who in the futur took part in a communist demonstration would be charged with aiding the enemy. Tyszelman and Gautherot were tried by a German military tribunal and sentenced to death. They were executed by firing squad on 19 August 1941 at the in

Châtenay-Malabry Châtenay-Malabry () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. The French writer Chateaubriand lived in the estate ''Vallée-aux-Loups'' at Châtenay-Malabry. The Gar ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

Notices in black lettering on red paper were posted the same day to announce the sentence and the execution.

Aftermath

Until this time the (JC: Young Communists) were mainly involved in propaganda, publishing tracts and clandestine newspapers, with minimal armed action. At a session from 15 to 17 August it was agreed that members of the JC should receive weapons training and should increase sabotage and attacks on occupation troops. There was some resistance but with news of the execution of Gautherot and Tyszelman it was agreed to take a more active role. Of the JC leaders,

Pierre Georges Pierre Georges (21 January 1919 – 27 December 1944), better known as ''Colonel Fabien'', was one of the two members of the French Communist Party who perpetrated the first assassinations of German personnel during the Occupation of France during ...

became primarily involved in military operations in the Paris region, while Albert Ouzoulias was more concerned with recruitment and liaison between the regions. On 21 August Pierre Georges and three companions made a revenge killing of a German soldier named Alfons Moser when he was boarding a train at the Barbès metro station at eight in the morning. When

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

heard of Moser's death he ordered that one hundred hostages be executed at once. The German military commander in France,

Otto von Stülpnagel Otto Edwin von Stülpnagel (16 June 1878 – 6 February 1948) was a German military commander of occupied France during the Second World War. Arrested by Allied authorities after the war, he committed suicide in prison in 1948. Career Otto von S ...

, did not want to upset the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

. He told Vichy he just wanted ten hostages, who would be shot if any Germans were attacked. On 27 August 1941 three Communists were sentenced to death by guillotine and were executed the next day. Over the next few days five more communists who had taken part in Tyszelman's demonstration were shot and then three Gaullists. This was the start of a series of assassinations and reprisals that resulted in five hundred French hostages being executed in the next few months.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyszelman, Samuel 1921 births 1941 deaths French communists Jews in the French resistance Jewish socialists Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Polish emigrants to France People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Communist members of the French Resistance People from Puławy People from Lublin Voivodeship (1919–1939) French civilians killed in World War II