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Daniel Cordier (1920–2020) was a French Resistance fighter and historian. In his youth he was a member of the far-right organization Camelots du Roi, and yet later engaged with the Free France resistance in June 1940 that fought the Nazi Occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime. After the war he became a prominent art dealer, historian, and advocate for gay rights. Rupert Swyer is an independent scholar, translator, and journalist. He lives in Paris."This is one of the most gripping memoirs ever written. Parachuted into France in 1942 by the secret service of General de Gaulle, the young Daniel Cordier was in close daily proximity to the legendary Jean Moulin, the unifier of the French Resistance. Cordier found himself in the crossfire of the violent conflicts between the leaders of the Resistance in France and General de Gaulle in London. In a book that reads like a thriller, Cordier conveys the fear, the drama, and the intensity of the life of a secret agent in France. It is also a deeply moving portrait of Moulin. The book was a sensation when first published in France. Now Anglophone readers will have the chance to read this extraordinary story."
Julian Jackson, emeritus professor of Modern French History at Queen Mary University of London and the author of France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain, among others
"This is an extraordinary story from within the very heart of the French Resistance movement during the most dangerous years of the Second World War. Daniel Cordier’s memoir is a revelatory and often jaw-dropping account from the highest levels of that clandestine world. He has been well served by his translator, Rupert Swyer, whose gift for interpreting the subtleties of the French language is matched by scholarly diligence as he steers us through this invaluable narrative."
Jonathan Dimbleby, prominent British media broadcaster, historian, and author of Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War, among others
Daniel Cordier’s fascinating, intimate memoir is a major contribution to our understanding of the fraught and historic relations between General Charles de Gaulle’s Free French and the fractious resistance movements under the Occupation during World War II. As the first young secretary to legendary Jean Moulin, one of the leaders of Conseil National de la Résistance, Cordier recounts Moulin’s tense negotiations to bring together the resistance movements and persuade them to join forces under de Gaulle’s banner between 1942 and ‘43. Cordier was a lookout on the fateful day the National Resistance Council was created, confirming de Gaulle’s legitimacy in the eyes of the French people and, crucially, in the eyes of Roosevelt and the Allied leadership. Later in life, Cordier penned his first-hand account of his role in the creation of Jean Moulin’s secretariat in Lyon and then Paris. Alias Caracalla is a brave and passionate story of action and self-discovery in times of war, with a sensitive and nuanced translation by Rupert Swyer.
Foreword by Rupert Swyer
P R E L U D E
I. FROM PAU TO BAYONNE
I. Pétain betrays hope, June 17-21, 1940
I I. LONDON
II. We shall never be slaves—June 12-July 2, 1940
III. Olympia Hall, July 2-10, 1940
IV. Delville Camp, 11 juillet-26 septembre 1940
V. Camberley, September 26-October 30, 1940
VI. Old Dean, October 31, 940-August 14, 1941
VII. BCRA volunteers, August 10, 1941-June 17, 1942
I I I. L Y O N
IX. *Rex, my boss, July 26 -August 17, 1942
X. The chiefs and their Resistance, August 18 -September 28, 1942
XII. De Gaulle, the end? November 6 -December 13, 1942
XIII. The battle for the Conseil de la Résistance, December 14, 1942-February 12, 1943
XIV. *Bip.W on his own, February 14 -March 24, 1943
I V. P A R I S
XV. Snake dance, March 24-April 12, 1943
XVI. The National Resistance Council, at last, April 15-May 30, 1943
V. C A L U IR E
XVII. *Rex alone against all, June 1-23, 1943
Aftermath
Noms de guerre and their corresponding names
Names of individuals and their noms de guerre
Acknowledgements