Main-d'œuvre immigrée
Encyclopedia
The Main-d'œuvre immigrée was a French trade unionist organisation, composed of immigrant workers of the Confédération générale du travail unitaire
(CGTU) in the 1920s. The MOI was affiliated to the Profintern
. The MOI was initially named Main d'œuvre étrangère, but the French Communist Party
, who in practice were in charge, changed the name from étrangère (foreign) to immigrée (immigrant) due to perceived xenophobia during the 1930s.
During the Second World War, Louis Grojnowski (called "Brunot") and Simon Cukier aka Alfred Grant took charge, and the organisation gave rise to an armed squad, the FTP-MOI
, directed by Joseph Epstein.
After the mass arrest
of more than 13,000 Jews in the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in July 1942, the groups became somewhat more active. Pursued relentlessly by the Special Brigades
of the Renseignements généraux, almost all the MOI fighters had been identified by the end of summer 1943. In the autumn the French police arrested them all, and nothing remained of the FTP-MOI.
The most famous of the FTP-MOI's members was Missak Manouchian
, and the FTP-MOI is widely known from the Affiche rouge
, a German propaganda poster displaying the members of the FTP-MOI after their arrest at the end of 1943, whose aim was to stigmatise the presence of foreigners and Jews among the French Resistance
; a poem by Louis Aragon
, set to music and sung by Léo Ferré
, deals with this story.
In Belgium too there was a Main-d'œuvre immigrée organization, which took part in the Belgian Resistance
in the ranks of the Front de l'Indépendance
under the leadership of the Bulgarian Todor Angelov
and the Italian-Belgian Jacques Grippa, while others were also active in Solidarité juive
or in the Comité de Défense des Juifs
, led by Hertz Jospa and Have Groisman
.
Confédération générale du travail unitaire
Confédération générale du travail unitaire was a trade union confederation in France. CGTU emerged out of split in the Confédération générale du travail, which had been torn by confrontations between socialists and communists. CGTU was founded at a congress in Saint-Étienne in June 1922, and was...
(CGTU) in the 1920s. The MOI was affiliated to the Profintern
Profintern
The Red International of Labor Unions , commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Communist International with the aim of coordinating Communist activities within trade unions...
. The MOI was initially named Main d'œuvre étrangère, but the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, who in practice were in charge, changed the name from étrangère (foreign) to immigrée (immigrant) due to perceived xenophobia during the 1930s.
During the Second World War, Louis Grojnowski (called "Brunot") and Simon Cukier aka Alfred Grant took charge, and the organisation gave rise to an armed squad, the FTP-MOI
FTP-MOI
The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée were a sub-group of the Francs-tireurs et partisans organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an armed force to oppose the German occupation of France during World War II...
, directed by Joseph Epstein.
After the mass arrest
Mass arrest
A mass arrest occurs when the police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at illegal protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result...
of more than 13,000 Jews in the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in July 1942, the groups became somewhat more active. Pursued relentlessly by the Special Brigades
Special Brigades
During the Second World War, the Special Brigades were a French police force specialising in tracking down "internal enemies" , dissidents, escaped prisoners, Jews and those evading the STO...
of the Renseignements généraux, almost all the MOI fighters had been identified by the end of summer 1943. In the autumn the French police arrested them all, and nothing remained of the FTP-MOI.
The most famous of the FTP-MOI's members was Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian was a French poet of Armenian birth, a militant communist in the MOI , and military commissioner of the FTP-MOI in the Paris region...
, and the FTP-MOI is widely known from the Affiche rouge
Affiche Rouge
The Affiche Rouge is a famous propaganda poster, distributed by Vichy French and German authorities in the spring of 1944 in occupied Paris, to discredit 23 French Resistance fighters, members of the Manouchian Group...
, a German propaganda poster displaying the members of the FTP-MOI after their arrest at the end of 1943, whose aim was to stigmatise the presence of foreigners and Jews among the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
; a poem by Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
, set to music and sung by Léo Ferré
Léo Ferré
Léo Ferré was a Franco-Monegasque poet, composer, singer and musician.Born in Monaco, Ferré mixed love and melancholy with moral anarchy, lyricism with slang, rhyming verse with prose monologues...
, deals with this story.
In Belgium too there was a Main-d'œuvre immigrée organization, which took part in the Belgian Resistance
Belgian resistance
Belgian resistance during World War II to the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany took different forms. "The Belgian Resistance" was the common name for the Netwerk van de weerstand - Réseau de Résistance or Resistance Network , a group of partisans fighting the Nazis...
in the ranks of the Front de l'Indépendance
Front de l'Indépendance
The Front de l'indépendance was a Belgian resistance movement during World War II, founded in March 1941 by Dr. Albert Marteaux of the Communist Party of Belgium, Father André Roland, and Fernand Demany, another communist...
under the leadership of the Bulgarian Todor Angelov
Todor Angelov
Todor Angelov Dzekov was a Bulgarian communist revolutionary who lived and was active for a long time in Western Europe. During World War II, he headed a Brussels-based group of the Belgian Resistance against Nazi Germany; he was captured and sentenced to death by the Nazis.Angelov was born in...
and the Italian-Belgian Jacques Grippa, while others were also active in Solidarité juive
Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique
The Union des progressistes juifs de Belgique is a Belgian Jewish organization set up in 1939 as Solidarité juive by antifascist Jews in Belgium, becoming in 1946 Solidarité juive, aide aux victimes de l'oppresseur nazi...
or in the Comité de Défense des Juifs
Comité de Défense des Juifs
The Comité de Défense des Juifs was an organization of the Belgian Resistance, affiliated to the Front de l'Indépendance, founded by the Jewish Communist Hertz Jospa and his wife Have Groisman of the Jewish Revolutionary organization Solidarité juive in September 1942.The CDJ had thirty-odd...
, led by Hertz Jospa and Have Groisman
Yvonne Jospa
Yvonne Jospa, née Have Groisman was a cofounder and leading organizer with her husband Hertz Jospa of the Comité de Défense des Juifs in September 1942, which saved over 3,000 Jewish children from deportation and death...
.