Victor Martin
Encyclopedia
Victor Martin was a Belgian sociologist, alumnus of Louvain Catholic University. During World War II
he embarked on a spying mission in Germany
for the Front de l'Indépendance
Belgian communist resistance organization, bringing back the first reliable information about the fate of Jews deported to Germany, as well as detailed information about the functioning of the Auschwitz concentration camp
.
, had travelled in Switzerland
, France
and Germany before the war, and his title given him access to a network of good contacts in German universities. As a member of the resistance and realizing that his mastery of the German language
was a trump card, he proposed himself for a secret mission in enemy territory.
Martin's proposal was accepted, but the mission was different from what he had imagined; at the request of the official of the Comité de Défense des Juifs
he was ordered to observe directly where the trains went which carried the deported Jews of Belgium. He manufactured a project researching the psychology
of different social classes as cover. He obtained meetings with the sociologist Leopold von Wiese
at Cologne
, and with another colleague at the University of Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland
). The project was accepted by the occupier and he obtained permits to travel between Frankfurt
, Berlin
and Breslau during the period of 4–20 February 1943.
At Katowice
, not far from Auschwitz, Martin met workers from the Service du Travail Obligatoire
in a bistro, who described to him the mass extermination of Jews and the incineration of their bodies. He met them again on several occasions. Betrayed to the Gestapo
, he was arrested and imprisoned on 1 April 1943 at the Radwitz camp, where he served as an interpreter. He escaped on the 15 May of the same year.
After secretly returning to Belgium, he wrote a report to his resistance comrades in the Front de l'Indépendance who passed the results of his investigations on to London. News of his discoveries also circulated in Belgium, causing Jews to hide their children with the underground and to take flight.. Martin himself went underground in the Charleroi
area. He was arrested by the Gestapo
, and transferred to Kamp Vught in the Netherlands. He escaped yet again, and was sheltered by his resistance comrades.
After the war, Martin worked overseas for the International Labour Organisation. He married and had a family, and retired to Haute-Savoie
towards the end of the 1970s
. He died in complete anonymity in 1989.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he embarked on a spying mission in Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
for 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...
Belgian communist resistance organization, bringing back the first reliable information about the fate of Jews deported to Germany, as well as detailed information about the functioning of the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
Martin's operation
Martin, who possessed a doctorateDoctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
, had travelled in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany before the war, and his title given him access to a network of good contacts in German universities. As a member of the resistance and realizing that his mastery of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
was a trump card, he proposed himself for a secret mission in enemy territory.
Martin's proposal was accepted, but the mission was different from what he had imagined; at the request of the official of 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...
he was ordered to observe directly where the trains went which carried the deported Jews of Belgium. He manufactured a project researching the psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
of different social classes as cover. He obtained meetings with the sociologist Leopold von Wiese
Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
The Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie is the most important scientific journal for sociology in German language.- History :...
at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and with another colleague at the University of Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). The project was accepted by the occupier and he obtained permits to travel between Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Breslau during the period of 4–20 February 1943.
At Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
, not far from Auschwitz, Martin met workers from the Service du Travail Obligatoire
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
in a bistro, who described to him the mass extermination of Jews and the incineration of their bodies. He met them again on several occasions. Betrayed to the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, he was arrested and imprisoned on 1 April 1943 at the Radwitz camp, where he served as an interpreter. He escaped on the 15 May of the same year.
After secretly returning to Belgium, he wrote a report to his resistance comrades in the Front de l'Indépendance who passed the results of his investigations on to London. News of his discoveries also circulated in Belgium, causing Jews to hide their children with the underground and to take flight.. Martin himself went underground in the Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
area. He was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, and transferred to Kamp Vught in the Netherlands. He escaped yet again, and was sheltered by his resistance comrades.
After the war, Martin worked overseas for the International Labour Organisation. He married and had a family, and retired to Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
towards the end of the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. He died in complete anonymity in 1989.
Additional bibliography and filmography
(summary, in French)See also
- Jan KarskiJan KarskiJan Karski was a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter and later scholar at Georgetown University. In 1942 and 1943 Karski reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies on the situation in German-occupied Poland, especially the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and...