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Villefranche-de-Rouergue uprising

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A division composed of about 500-1000 Catholic and Muslim Croats from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been sent by force to France in 1943 by the Nazis in order to fight there, had a tragic fate.

Originally this division was predicted to act as a defensive formation exclusively on the Croatian soil. A rebellion of the Croatian troops which took place in Villefranche-de-Rouergue (capital of an arrondissement in the region of Aveyron) in September 1943 shows clearly the patriotism of Croatian soldiers. The goal of the rebellion within Nazi troops was to approach the French Liberation Movement and Anglo-Americans, and then to come back to Croatia.

It had a tragic outcome, with only a few who managed to escape. This rebellion, the first within the Nazi military system during the WW2, was highly esteemed by the French citizens of Villefranche-de-Rouergue. When the city was liberated in 1944., they decided to pay tribute to these tragic victims by naming one of its streets as Avenue des Croates. The French witnesses called this insurrection La révolte des Croates. According to Louis Erignac, Villefranche-de-Rouergue was the first free city of occupied France. Even today citizens of the city regularly commemorate this tragic event (September 14th).

In 1952. the participants of the Croatian Partisan Movement planned to build up a memorial to the Croatian victims in Villefranche-de-Rouergue (with a sculpture of Vanja Radaus), but this has been prevented by the Yugoslav government in Belgrade under the pretext that in this way the "quislings" would be honored.


FILS DE CROATIE

Yves Mouly (1945), Vilefranche-de-Rouergueu, 1984

ILS AVAIENT DU QUITTER
EUX AUSSI LEUR PAYS.
POUR ALLER AU COMBAT
CES FILS DE CROATIE
EN ETANT ENROLES
DANS LES TROUPES NAZIS
ILS AVAIENT ENDOSSE
LA TENU VERT DE GRIS


SOLDATS D'UNE NATION
NE VOULANT QU'UNE RACE
POUR ELLE VOUS ETIEZ
DE LA CHAIR A CANON
EN VOUS RESTAIT POURTANT
D'UNE FACON TENACE
LA FIERE VOLONTE
DE FAIRE REBELLION


APPRES UN LONG PARCOURS
DANS L'EUROPE EN GUERRE
VOUS ETES ARRIVES
ICI DANS LA CITE
ET LA VOUS AVEZ FAIT
CE QUE VOUS DEVIEZ FAIRE
POUR VOUS DEBARASSER
DU JOUG QUI VOUS PESAIT


LA MALHEUR A VOULU
QUE CETTE TENTATIVE
NE PUISSE RENCONTRERE
SE SUCCES ESPERE
ALORS S'EST DECENCHEE
LA FORCE REPRESSIVE
QUI VOUS A FAIT SUBIR
D'ATROCES CRUAUTES


ENFANTS DE CROATIE
VOUS ETES MORTS EN FRANCE
C'EST LA' SUR NOTRE SOL
QUE VOUS ÊTES TOMBES
EN CHACUN D'ENTRE NOUS
VIVANT A VILLEFRANCHE
VOTRE GESTE HEROIQUE
EST A'JAMAIS GRAVE


VOUS RESTEREZ TOUJOURS
PRESENTS DANS NOS MEMOIRES
VOUZ QUI AVEZ SOUFFERT
ET QUI AVEZ PERI
VOS MORTS SONT DEVENUES
DES FAITS DE NOTRE HISTOIRE
ET VOTRE SOUVENIR
FAIT PARTIE DE NOS VIES


  • Yves Mouly: ...I am not a historian, and my text "Fils de Croatie" is in fact only a "scream of heart" which came out of me because of Croatian rebellion in my city before I was even born, but about which people talked since my earliest childhood, in postwar era. These tragic events marked the history of our city, and in this way became the heritage of its citizens...


  • Avenue des Croates [1]
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