French Forces

General Leclerc

One day after the capitulation on May 8, 1945, thirteen French volunteers of the Waffen-SS were shot without legal proceedings near Bad Reichenhall/Germany according to orders of General Leclerc, Commander of the French 2nd Armoured Division. What was the reason to give a firing squad orders to shoot? These French volunteers wearing the uniforms of the German Forces, who had only been employed in their units on the eastern front, had gone without weapons into US-American captivity on the day of capitulation, they were handed over by the US Army to the following up "Leclerc Division". The General took an interest in these French prisoners of war and asked: 'Why are you wearing these German uniforms?' One prisoner replied: 'General, why are you wearing an American uniform?' That was the reason the order was given to shoot these thirteen French volunteers. The dead remained unburied for three days, the French chaplain who was present did not try to establish their identities or see to it that they had a dignified funeral. The executed soldiers were buried under the supervision of the US Army. Only the names of five soldiers could be established: Paul Briffaut, Robert Doffat, Serge Krotoff, Jean Robert and Raymond Payras, the other eight victims were included on a memorial tablet as 'Unknown Soldiers'. This incident is of course pretty unknown in the western world and is usually discounted as revisionist lies. May these brave French rest in peace.