Léonce Vieljeux (12 April 1865,

Les Vans Les Vans (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ardèche Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of southern France. Geography The village of Les Vans, the principal settlement of the canto ...

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.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 ...

– 12 September 1944, Struthof) was a colonel in the French reserve army, industrialist and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

Life

Gaining a diploma from the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

in 1888, he was attached to the 123e régiment d’infanterie at La Rochelle, where he married Hélène Delmas, daughter of the famous arms manufacturer from that town. He left the army to enter his father-in-law's family business " Delmas Frères", becoming its president, changing its name to "Compagnie Delmas-Vieljeux", and making it one of France's most important shipping companies. Sitting on La Rochelle's municipal council from 1912 to 1925, he became its

in 1930. With the onset of the

Second World War 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 ...

, Léonce Vieljeux began working to resist the town's Nazi occupiers. Thus, when on Sunday 23 June 1940 a German lieutenant presented himself to mayor Vieljeux with a request to hang a German swastika flag from La Rochelle's Hôtel de Ville, Vieljeux replied that he was a colonel (in the reserves) and had no orders to receive a junior officer, even if he was from a victorious army. This first act of resistance was followed by systematic opposition to the posting of Nazi propaganda posters. At the same time, he helped engineers and workers from his factory who belonged to the ALLIANCE Resistance network to find means of escape. On 22 September 1940, he was removed from his office of mayor and then (in 1941) expelled from the town. On 23 January 1941, he was made a member of the National Council of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

. Later returning to La Rochelle, he was arrested at the start of 1944. Interned at Lafond before being transferred to

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

then Fresnes, he was finally sent to the

Schirmeck concentration camp Schirmeck concentration camp, known in French as Camp de Schirmeck, in German Sicherungslager Vorbruck-Schirmeck, was a Nazi concentration camp located in the commune of Schirmeck, in the Bas-Rhin region of annexed Alsace, which operated from Augu ...

near Strasburg, where he remained from 1 May to 1 September 1944. On the night of 1/2 September 1944 he was taken to the camp at Struthof, where he was shot. His funeral service took place in the Protestant church in La Rochelle in the presence of 3,000 townspeople of all denominations and social classes. A commemorative stamp with his face on was issued on 28 March 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vieljeux, Leonce 1865 births 1944 deaths People from Les Vans French Calvinist and Reformed Christians Members of the National Council of Vichy France Mayors of La Rochelle French businesspeople French colonels École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French Army officers French military personnel of World War I French people of World War II French Resistance members French people executed abroad French people imprisoned in Germany French people executed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad French people executed in Nazi concentration camps People who died in Stutthof concentration camp Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)