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several old papers with a picture of a man and a woman on themsome old papers are sitting on top of each otheran old document with a picture of a man ' s face on it and an envelope with a picture of a man ' s face on ittwo old papers with stamps on them are sitting on top of each otheran old document with a picture of a man on itseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacean old document with a piece of paper on top of itan old document with a lot of writing on ita close up of a piece of paper with writing on itthree old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacea close up of a piece of paper with writing on itthree old letters and envelopes sitting on top of each othertwo pages of a letter written in black ink on a piece of paperan old manuscript with writing on it sitting on top of a piece of papera close up of a piece of paper with writing on itan old handwritten letter from a man who is writing on a piece of paperan old letter with a picture of a man ' s face on it next to a piece of paper with writing on it
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310 - [The Second World War]
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Estimate €1,500 - €2,500
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Description
[The Second World War] Henri Patte (1920–2006): the story of a young student resistance fighter from Poitiers A significant collection of correspondence and documents produced during the Second World War An exceptional collection of over 200 letters and autograph documents, 1935–1945, written by and received by Henri Patte, a young science student in Poitiers who joined the underground resistance at the age of 20. From the solitary production of patriotic leaflets to his arrest by the Vichy forces, from his long period in prison to his role as a P2 liaison officer within the Free French secret intelligence network ‘Cohors-Asturies’, these writings constitute a documentary source of paramount importance on the history of the French youth resistance during the Occupation. Born in Paris on 16 July 1920, Henri Patte grew up in a family of intellectuals and scientists. His father, Etienne Patte (1891–1987), was a distinguished geologist, palaeontologist, prehistorian and anthropologist, and a university professor in Poitiers, where he would conclude his brilliant academic career and his life. On the eve of the Second World War, the family settled in Poitiers. Having obtained his baccalaureate in science at the Lycée de Poitiers in July 1939, Henri Patte showed a passionate interest in radio-electricity and wireless telegraphy (TSF). His extensive correspondence from the autumn of 1939 and the summer of 1940 attests to his efforts to enrol at the École Centrale de TSF in Paris to study for a diploma in radio engineering. As early as 1939, his father actively encouraged him to pursue this technical path, expressing in a letter his great hope of ‘having him as a student’ at university after the war. Far from being limited to an academic ambition, this technical expertise would play a decisive role in the course of his subsequent clandestine activities, steering his future responsibilities towards military communications. Refusing to accept defeat and the Occupation, the young student embarked on individual resistance activities from the start of 1941 by writing and printing his own patriotic leaflets, which he distributed in the Poitiers area. This small-scale activity quickly attracted the attention of the Vichy police and the occupying forces. On 20 July 1941, Henri Patte was arrested and imprisoned at the Pierre Levée prison in Poitiers. This prison was then the centre of the repressive policy in the Vienne department, with the German authorities of Military Court 677 enforcing iron discipline there, assisted by the SIPO-SD, which was based on Rue des Ecossais. During this first period of detention, the young man shared a cell with Lambert and Bernard, two young Resistance fighters from Civray with whom he was tried. Despite the harsh conditions of his imprisonment, his letters to his mother sought to downplay the rigours of daily life in order to keep his family’s spirits up. His prison journey during the Occupation: Loudun and Angoulême (1941–1942) Transferred on 26 August 1941 to Loudun prison, described as a ‘reception centre’, the student found the regime there to be considerably more lenient than that at La Pierre Levée. There, he shared a spacious cell with four other inmates and was allowed daily visiting hours without restrictive passes. Demonstrating remarkable practicality, he set up a small business selling cigarettes and personal effects to his fellow prisoners, managing to amass a sum of 310 francs. His letters reveal that he made the most of this period of relative freedom to further his scientific and linguistic education, studying mathematics, electricity and German every day. This respite was short-lived. On 17 October 1941, he was transferred to Angoulême Remand Centre. Initially assigned to the infirmary due to his frail constitution, he enjoyed relative peace there until 12 April 1942. On that day, a routine search of the young Titiveau, a local altar boy, revealed a hidden parcel containing letters and tobacco that the parish priest of Saint-Martial had been trying to send to Henri Patte. Immediately punished by the chief guard, the student lost his post as a nurse and was assigned to disciplinary labour in the slipper-making workshop. He remained there until 28 July 1942. Released at midday a year early due to his state of health, he emerged from this prison experience with his determination intact and the status of a draft-resister, which would hasten his entry into the capital’s direct-action networks. FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE
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About the sale ARCHIVES, BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
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Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
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