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José Aboulker (5 March 1920 – 17 November 2009) was an Algerian Jew and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in
French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
, and was made a Companion of the Liberation and a Commander of the Légion d'honneur. After the war, he became a
neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...
and a political figure in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, who advocated for the political rights of Algerian Muslims.


Early life

Aboulker was born in
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
into a Jewish family. His mother, Berthe Bénichou-Aboulker, was a celebrated poet and playwright. His father, Henri Aboulker, was a surgeon, professor in the Faculty of Medicine in Algiers and the leader of the local Zionist movement. The Bénichou family was one of the great Jewish families of
Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
, where they owned a famous villa, equipped with its own synagogue. The Aboulker family of Algiers originated in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and, over the centuries, has included numerous scholars, rabbis, merchants, and physicians. A medical student at the outbreak of World War II, Aboulker was mobilized in April 1940 as an officer cadet. He was demobilized in February 1941.


Algerian Resistance

In September 1940, Aboulker founded a resistance network in Algiers, in partnership with his cousin
Roger Carcassonne Roger Carcassonne-Leduc (12 January 1911 in Marnia – 10 December 1991 in Paris, France) was a member of the French Resistance. A French industrialist in Oran, he served as a second lieutenant with the 8th Regiment. Sent to Tunisia, at the time ...
who had done the same at
Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
, and Aboulker subsequently became the main leader of the resistance movement in pro-Nazi Vichy Algeria. The two cousins met Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie, with whom they prepared to support the expected Allied landings in North Africa, in collaboration with Colonel Germain Jousse and the U.S. Consul Robert Murphy, President Roosevelt's representative in Algiers. The headquarters for the preparation were at his father's house at 26 Rue Michelet. On 23 October 1942, Aboulker was among the resistance leaders who met with General Mark Clark in Vichy
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. The Americans agreed to supply weapons and radios, which were landed on 5 November. On the night of the Allied landings in North Africa, 7 November 1942, Aboulker led the occupation of the main strategic points in Algiers by 400 members of the Resistance, seizing the central police station, with his deputy Bernard Karsenty and the help of Guy Calvet and Superintendent Achiary. “The underground numbered eight hundred fighters, half of them Jewish. But at the moment of truth, 400 of them had cold feet, and just 400 were left - almost all of them Jewish. Led by their group leaders, all of the Resistance fighters, with the exception of the reserve officers, neutralized the command centers, occupied strategic positions, and stopped the military officials and civilian supporters of the Vichy government, starting with General General Alphonse Juin, the Commander-in-chief, and Admiral Admiral François Darlan. In the morning, when the XIXth Army Corps of the Vichy Government tried to mobilize to oppose the Allied landings, it had to concentrate its efforts on the Resistance fighters rather than Allied forces. With the landings around Algiers having been completed, Aboulker—anxious not to spill French blood—asked the group leaders to evacuate their positions. Using Resistance fighters from the evacuated positions, he organized with the group leader Captain Pillafort barricades to hinder the mobilization of the Vichy military. As a result, the forces of the Vichy government did not attack by that evening the central police station, the last place with insurgents. The confusion created by the so-called "putsch" of 8 November 1942 helped the Allies land almost without opposition and then encircle Algiers. Admiral Darlan surrendered Algiers that afternoon, and Allied troops entered the city at 8 pm. On 24 December 1942, Darlan, who had named himself High Commissioner and maintained Vichy policies with the support of General General Henri Giraud, was killed by a 20-year-old monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, who was executed on 26 December. Giraud succeeded Darlan and ordered the arrest of Aboulker and 26 other Resistance leaders for complicity in Darlan's assassination, and they were immediately deported to prison camps in southern Algeria.


Metropolitan Resistance

Freed following the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allies of World War II, Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The main disc ...
in 1943, Aboulker travelled to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in May 1943 and joined the
Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
. In October of that year, he was sent secretly into occupied France, as someone "responsible for the organization of the health service of the Resistance movement", preparing for the Liberation. There, he led operations parachuting surgical equipment into France. Back in London in June 1944, he returned to Algiers, where he had his medical school viva. In August 1944, he left for a new mission in the south of France, to install prefects at
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
,
Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
, and
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
.


Peacetime

Aboulker was the representative of the Resistance in Vichy Algeria at the
French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...
in Paris from 1944 to 1945. He proposed changing the electoral law in French Algeria to allow the election of native Muslim deputies, who had never previously been admitted. The proposal was adopted. After the war, Aboulker joined the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
, and in 1946 he resumed his medical studies. He passed the internal examinations at the American Hospital of Paris and finally became a professor of
neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...
. He committed himself to Algeria's independence and opposed the return of General de Gaulle as head of the French government in 1958. Taking into account de Gaulle's role in dismantling the French empire, including Algeria, Aboulker voted in 1965 for his reelection as President of the Republic. He belonged to the emergency medical service set up for the president of the Republic following the assassination attempt made at Le Petit-Clamart. In June 1999, Aboulker became a member of the Liberation Council. He died on 17 November 2009.


Decorations

* Commander of the Légion d'honneur * Companion of the Liberation * Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (3 citations) * U.S. Medal of Freedom


References


Bibliography

* Professeur Yves Maxime Danan,''La vie politique à Alger, de 1940 à 1944'', L.G.D.J., Paris 1943. * Professeur José Aboulker et Christine Levisse-Touzé, ''8 novembre 1942 : Les armées américaine et anglaise prennent Alger en quinze heures,'' Paris, Espoir, n° 133, 2002.


External links


''José Aboulker (1920-2009)'' Berhouma, Moncef. Journal of Neurology 258.11 (Nov 2011): 2105-6
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboulker, Jose 1920 births 2009 deaths Military personnel from Algiers People of French Algeria Algerian people of World War II Algerian Jews Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly French general councillors French neurosurgeons French Army officers French Army personnel of World War II Communist members of the French Resistance Jews in the French resistance Free French military personnel of World War II Emigrants from French Algeria to France Companions of the Liberation Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Medal of Freedom French Communist Party members