Roger Degueldre

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Roger Degueldre
Born19 May 1925
Louvroil, Hauts-de-France, France
Died6 July 1962 (aged 37)
Fort d'Ivry, Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad
OrganizationOrganisation armée secrète
Known forLeader of the Commando Delta
Conviction(s)Mass murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Lieutenant Roger Hercule Gustave Degueldre (19 May 1925 – 6 July 1962) was a French officer who was the leader of the OAS Delta Commandos in the last months of French rule in Algeria. The Commandos were responsible for attempting to ethnically cleanse the Pied-Noir neighborhoods of Algerians, as well as assassinating those considered "soft" or traitors to the cause of French Algeria.[1]

Degueldre was convicted and executed for his involvement in over 20 murders. At his court-martial, prosecutors showed that he'd been the leader of the death squads, and issued orders for the OAS to kill any isolated Muslims whom they found in the streets.[2]

Early life

There is some dispute about his origins but

SS during World War II.[4]

He was born in Louvroil, Nord, France, a few kilometres from the Belgian border, into a working-class family. His father was a railway worker. When the Germans invaded in 1940, the family fled to the south of France.

Career

In 1942 Degueldre clandestinely entered the occupied zone to join the

Légion d'honneur
(Legion of Honour).

While defending French Algeria in 1960, he was suspected of having taken part in a failed plot against

El-Biar close to Algiers and shot six leaders of the Educational Social Centers of Algeria (three French and three Algerian) on the grounds that the centres were believed to be directing resistance to French rule. Among those killed was Mouloud Feraoun.[6] Overall, is estimated that Degueldre's group were responsible for 20 to 30 deaths.[7]

Arrest and death

Degueldre was arrested on 7 April 1962, condemned to death for his complicity in more than 20 murders on 28 June. At his court-martial, prosecutors showed that he was the leader of the death squads, and had issued orders for the OAS to kill any isolated Muslims whom they found in the streets. Other attacks linked to Degueldre were the bombings of buildings, machine-gunning of Arab cafes, and the murder of a Muslim cab driver.[2]

Degueldre was executed by

Versailles.[12] His partner, Nicole Gardy, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for her part in an escape plot but fled with her family to Argentina. Amongst them was her uncle, OAS commander Paul Gardy, who was killed in a car accident in 1975.[13]

Homages and Memorials

In November 1978,

General de Gaulle
.

In Marignane there is a memorial to the members of the OAS terrorist organisation inaugurated on 6 July 2005, 43 years to the day after the execution of Roger Degueldre.[15] In Nice, in the municipal Alsace-Lorraine park, there is a plaque on a monument dedicated to French Algeria, inaugurated on 25 February 1973, in the presence of Jacques Médecin, mayor of Nice, with the inscription "Roger Degueldre Symbole de l'Algérie Française".[16]

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-59017-218-6
    .
  2. ^ a b "Roger Degueldre". The Salt Lake Tribune. 29 June 1962. p. 19. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ BBC TV Programme, Jonathan Meades on France, 18 January 2012
  4. ISBN 0-246-64002-2
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9781590172186
    .
  6. ^ "L'assassinat de Château-Royal". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). October 1992. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  7. ISBN 2-912932-26-2
    .
  8. ^ "Lethbridge Herald Newspaper Archives, Jul 6, 1962, p. 1". NewspaperArchive.com. 6 July 1962. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  9. ^ Bail, Raymond Muelle, Appelés en Algérie, Trésor du Patrimoine, 2001, page 101.
  10. ^ "Deltas & Collines :: Le REFUS d'OBEIR :: Capitaines_BALBY_de_VERNON_CABANNE_MARTET". deltas-collines.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  11. ISBN 978-2-7564-0131-7
    .
  12. ^ Pouillot, Henri. "Versailles (78) - Roger Degueldre" (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  13. ^ "Le général Paul Gardy est mort en Argentine". Le Monde.fr (in French). 29 October 1975. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  14. ^ Colombani, Jean-Marie (14 November 1978). "Le Front National". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. ^ "L'OAS a Marignane". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  16. ^ "le mémorial des rapatriés à Nice" (in French). 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2022..
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