Devigny Andre Translated French Peter (1 results)
Published by Dennis Dobson, London 1957
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: The Print Room, Cockernhoe nr Luton, United KingdomThe Print Room
Contact seller4-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 12.00
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Add to basketHardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First English Language Edition. First UK edition, first impression. First published 1956 by Gallimard, Paris under the title 'Un condamne a mort s'est echappe'. Some edge wear and chipping to top and bottom of jacket and spine, corners and folds slightly rubbed,…spine very slightly faded, not price clipped (16s), small previous owner's inscription to ffep, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg+ copy for its age. 223pp. The true story of French resistance fighter Andre Devigny's (1916-99), amazing escape from the Gestapo's prison at Montluc. He became one of three commanders of his group, alongside Gilbert Groussard, its namesake, and Jean Cambus. The group helped refugees flee to Switzerland, sent information to the British via their consul in Geneva, and sabotaged German materiel. In April 1943, Robert Moog infiltrated the group and turned several of its members over to the German authorities. Among them was Edmée Delétraz, who was then observed by the Gestapo. She was later suspected of having betrayed Jean Moulin, one of the best known members of the French Resistance, but Devigny always defended her vehemently against this charge. After Devigny met her, he was arrested and sent to the formidable Montluc prison, which was considered escape proof. There he was tortured by Klaus Barbie and his men, but he gave them no valuable information. He did, however, make an unsuccessful series of attempts to escape, and was punished after each one. He was sentenced to death on 20th August 1943, the execution to be carried out on 28 August. However, Devigny had discovered a way to remove his handcuffs with a safety pin. He ground the end of a spoon to a point on his cell's concrete floor and used it to remove the wooden slats near the bottom of the cell door and squeeze through the opening. At night he was able to leave the cell and speak with other prisoners. On the night of 24th August, when conditions for escape were optimal, Devigny and another prisoner who had recently been placed in his cell climbed out a skylight, using a rope made from a blanket and a mattress cover and a grappling hook fashioned from the frame of an old lantern, made their way across a roof and descended to the courtyard. Devigny threw a sentry to the ground and stabbed him with his own bayonet. The two inmates climbed an inner perimeter wall and, after a guard patrolling the perimeter corridor on bicycle had passed by, flung the end of the rope with the grappling hook across a 15ft gap to the outer wall. They swung across the gap on the rope and leapt to the ground, gaining the freedom of the streets. Eluding German search parties, Devigny fled to Switzerland with the help of comrades in the Resistance. Made into a film.