One of the biggest turning points of the Second World War was the Normandy Landings. D-Day
is seen today as a heroic storming of the beaches to try and liberate France from occupation,
and to gain a foothold in Europe against the German Army. Previously the British expeditionary
force had been pushed back to Dunkirk, and the famous evacuation from the beach-head
took place. My own grandfather was there on D-Day, dropping soldiers off on Juno beach
in a landing craft, but a French town nearby would come under intense and heavy fighting
as the Allies fought to liberate it from the Germans. The Battle for Caen resulted in a
Nazi German defeat, and much of the city was destroyed by bombing raids and fighting as
the every city became important for each side. There were many civilian casualties too, however
there was a series of executions carried out shockingly by the Germans of a number of prisoners.
Join us today as we look at the Brutal execution of the D-Day prisoners of Caen, and remember
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Before D-day and the Normandy Landings, the French resistance had been carrying out many
acts of sabotage around Caen and other French towns. During the night of the 30th April
1944 for example they managed to derail a German train and this caused chaos with the
infrastructure around the town. The Germans were furious and outraged by the acts of sabotage,
and they set the Gestapo and local agents to work finding out who was responsible. The
Gestapo in the area also sought to round up communists and imprison them, and many local
men found themselves imprisoned. But on the night of the 5th June, the Allied bombardment
began of Caen. The prisoners inside of the prison prayed for a bomb to smash into the
prison to create an escape route for them. The prison was hit in one area and 42 resistance
members were killed and buried by the rubble. But the Germans were worried that Caen could
be surrounded following the Normandy invasions, and because of this, they had made a decision
about what would happen to the prisoners. The Soviets also feared their prisoners falling
into the hands of the enemy, as did the Germans as they were worried that the true horrors
of their treatment would be told to the world. Hitler and Himmler would later issue orders
to not let one single prisoner fall into the hands of the enemy. The plan for the Germans
was to withdraw the Gestapo and the French collaborators who helped them find members
tf the resistance to the south. They were going to initially move political prisoners
to Alencon which had a big prison, and it was the Gestapo who made the decision that
the prison population would be liquidated and the inmates would be slaughtered. Their
fate was not known to their friends and family, and may were slaughtered and their stories
would never be told.
The prisoners who were regular prisoners such as thieves, did not pose much of a threat
and because of this they were left behind. The political prisoners of Caen did not have
trials, and many had been tortured brutally. One prisoner who survived said he came close
to being shot, however it was decided he had not been sufficiently interrogated, but the
Gestapo even broke his leg. As the allies pushed forward into Normandy, it was clear
that moving the prisoners to Alencon would have been not possible, and Caen remained
under heavy allied bombardment. As this happened, at the prison the SD men and the Gestapo began
to burn evidence of torture and mistreatment. The conditions of Caen prisoner were written
down by some prisoners who survived. It was said of one cell that, ‘The room was a large,
stone, dirty, whitewashed affair with three wooden tables and forms. The prisoners could,
if they wished, walk in the court-yard adjoining the room. There was one lavatory and a long
galvanised bin for washing… the cubicles and bed frame were full of bugs which were,
indeed, as hungry as ourselves. Sleep was practically impossible and many of the prisoners
were covered from head to foot with lumps, caused by bites… The food was terrible,
consisting mainly of cabbage soup, with about three- quarters of a pound of bread each day.
For those who had money in the canteen fund, there were dishes of cabbage and sour milk
for sale. Many of the prisoners suffered from a mild form of dysentery, probably caused
by too much cabbage water.
It was also said that, ‘We were 19 men in one room of approximately 16 x 12 in that
prison, the food consisted of 359 grammes of black bread daily & one small tin of watery
cabbage at midday, no other food was available. The facilities for toilet consisted of a wooden
tub in the corner of the room, this was emptied by ourselves once every Sat., many times this
receptacle was brimming over days before it was due for emptying. The washing facilities
were also non-existent, very little water, no soap & no towel of any description for
drying. I remember early spring of 1942 when the British bombers visited the town & the
Germans nailed all the windows of our room from the outside so as we could not peek out. In
Caen like the others I was ill-treated by the Nazis and suffered malnutrition and starvation.
Medical attention of a sort was obtainable from a French doctor, but only if you could
pay for it.
The conditions in the cells were degrading and unsanitary, a tin bucket being the only
communal means of sanitation. We were locked up in our cells for as long as 23 ½ hours
a day, practically every day. I learned from [redacted] that while at Caen the Germans
had designated me as a hostage, along with seven others,so that had the people of Guernsey
given any great trouble to the Germans, I could have been taken out and shot, as were
some people of other nationalities.’
As the bombs rained around the town, the decision was made to liquidate the political prisoners
in Caen. The German Commander in the Town, Harald Heynds stated that this order came
from his superior in Rouen, and a list of those to be executed was made. A wave of bombers
hit close by the prison at 1pm, and following this pits for the bodies were then dug. The
prisoners would be executed by firing squad, and it was the prison guards who made up the
firing squad and they were overseen by three men from the SD who wore civilian clothes.
It was said that it was Russian prison guards who were give the task, and that they had
agreed to turn over to the Nazis. The prisoners were then forced into a courtyard which was
protected by high walls in which no-one could see in. In the distance they could probably
hear the fighting that was happening as the Allies were locked into battle with the Germans.
In groups of 5 and 6 they were pushed through a door into a smaller courtyard. Those men
who were grouped together were on the list. It was said that using machine guns the guards
mowed down the groups of prisoners, and that they were not shot by single rifle shots.
Some died quickly, but others did not and they were left. Then that evening other guards
went around with their weapons and shot those who were not dead in the head with a coupe
de grace.
It’s not known how many prisoners were executed in the Caen prisoner massacre. It’s estimated
that 87 people were slaughtered, and it could have been over 100. Around 70 names were confirmed
of prisoners who died inside there, and it’s believed a number were resistors from different
French towns, and many of the victims were also Allied airmen who had been captured.
The youngest victim was Colbert Marie who was just 17, and the oldest was 66. All the
records of the prison were destroyed and personal artefacts from the bodies were removed, and
the bodies were not found. It’s known that the dead were first buried within the prison,
and then they were dug up and were loaded into trucks and the bodies were then burned
inside of a wood 20kms from the town. Following the liberation of Caen, in July 1944 the executions
of the prisoners became known. Posters were put up of those who were missing by the families
of the victims, and then the true story was uncovered. After the liberation a bloody handkerchief,
written by a tortured victim in his blood outlined the evils of the prison.
So on D-day as well as the intense fighting around the Normandy Beach-heads was erupting,
inside of a prison many people were being slaughtered by the Nazis and the Gestapo.
Today many of the victims of the Caen prison massacre lie still in the ground, and their
stories remain untold.
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