Occupation of unoccupied zone - France

My aunt was in France and Belgium 1944/45. Amongst the photos she brought back were some that she had obviously discovered amongst German material. This is one - I don't think that it is 1940 but the occupation of the unoccupied zone in 1942. Is this so?


sorry having trouble posting photos - try again later sorted:?


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Yes and the clothing looks more appropriate to Nov 1942 than June 1940 so occupation of unoccupied zone looks right

 

Looks like “Marseille” at the bottom of the sign in the 2nd photo?

Rue Vacon?

Regards

Tom

 

Yes but I think that that is an advertisement and the address may not necessarily refer to that location. In the last photo the cafe is the Cafe des Pyrenees which might indicate down by the Spanish border

 

Good point, I don't know if there are any similar French sites (perhaps WW2Parlez) you could try?

Regards

Tom

 

Rue Vacon in the 1st Arrondissement in Marseille and still exists.It is the street that leads to the Quai des Belgues in the Vieux Port de Marseille (Old Port)

As far as I can ascertain, Claverie refers to a company dealing in groceries on Rue Vacon....Claverie Alimentation...probably a wholesale company.

As regards the frames,I would say that they were taken around the time when the Germans rolled over the Vichy zone demarcation line to occupy southern France on 11 November 1942.

What is interesting about this area?....the Old Port... is that it was seen as a hot bed of resistance.It also accommodated safe houses as a hub for the escape route to Gib....there were numerous Gestapo personnel already in the area supported covertly by the Vichy police.Starting on 22 January 1943,the Germans initiated a vast roundup of Jews.The area was combed for resistants leading to large scale arrests with the Germans aided and abetted by Vichy.The district was "evacuated" and the Old Port district was raised to the ground.

Marseille roundup - Wikipedia

Helen Long in her "Safe Houses Are Dangerous" gives a good account of running safe houses for Allied escapees based in the Old Port area....the Pat O' Leary Line and the treachery of Harold Cole.

 

As I already said - an advertisement for a Marseilles based company and which could have appeared on a wall in any French town or city. Indeed Marseilles would only need to be on the poster if it was displayed outside Marseilles.

 

Marseille is rather far from the Pyrénées, so the location of the advertisement (in photo 2) must be close to, if not in, Marseille. The location is identified as Marseille in one publication:
(Wydawnictwo Militaria No.290) Totenkopf 1939-1943 - [PDF Document]

Below the name of the Café des Pyrénées there seems 2 words, the second starting like Montplaisir, which is a district ('quartier') in Marseille.

Michel

 

That is very odd logic

 

I beg to differ. In France mural advertisements were generally local in nature, and it was (still is) very common to write the full address, including the town/city even if the ad was displayed in that same town/city.

 

I was assuming that the 4 photos were taken in roughly the same area.

 

And you were presupposing that it was Marseilles and working backwards

 

In November 1942 the 7th Panzer Division were in Toulouse (near the Spanish border) - I would suggest that this is where the photos were taken given that the combos had 7th Panzer symbols.

 

According to the information posted in #2,the 7th Panzer Division were never based in Toulouse.

Their task was to guard the coast between Perpignan and Narbonne following the November occupation of the unoccupied zone.

In in late November 1942 they were dispatched to Toulon to prevent the French from scuttling their fleet and although they captured the arsenal,they were unable to prevent the scuttling of the fleet by their French crews on 27 November 1942.The Division's stay in the south of France was brief for after Toulon they were deployed between Avignon and Marseille and in January left for the Eastern Front.

 

Not to distract from Robert's excellent photos, but hopefully of interest if they are ultimately nailed down as being taken in Marseille and/or immediate environs.

Marseille - First Capital of the Resistance

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

I think you may well have nailed it Owen.

Top job!

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Give it up Harry
Panzer III Ausf L of the 7th Panzer Division Toulouse France 1942 | World War Photos
Note the Y symbol on the tank - note the large Toulouse sign