On August 19, 1944,the UJRE called for action to liberate the country.The UJJ was particularly active.
In the most recent battles, the participation of fighters from the Jewish section of the M.O.I. in the uprisings has been notable.
It was a rout for Hitler’s troops. In Lyon, 1,000 Jews—men and women—took part inthe popular uprising in Villeurbanne. Elsewhere, fighting took place in Marseille, Toulouse, and Grenoble, as well as in Nice, Limoges, Agen, Pau, Tarbes, Roanne, Clermont-Ferrand, and Blois… Actions carried out as early as December 1943 againstthe UGIF will make it possible to recover, at its offices in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, the censuses of Jews compiled at the request of the Vichy regime and the occupying forces to facilitate the deportations.
In Paris, Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, a communist member of the Resistance, prepared and led the uprising alongside his staff. During the “Glorious Week,” from August 19 to 24, 1944, members of the FTP-M.O.I. Resistance fought on the barricades, attacked German detachments, and took part in the capture and defense of strategic positions in the capital. On August 23, the UJRE issued a new appeal to “Parisian Jews” to continue the struggle.
The resistance fighters’ commitment was crucial to the liberation of Paris.
On August 25, 1944, the Spanish Republicans of the 9th Company led the way for the 2nd Armored Division (2nd DB), commanded by General Leclerc, as it made a triumphant entry into the city.
On October 28, 1944, the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF), with the agreement of the Communist Party, decided to disband the Patriotic Militias. The GPRF established a legal order that diminished the role of the domestic Resistance: the regular army replaced the insurrectionary army.
Despite the liberation of Paris, the war continues. The M.O.I. resistance fighters, of all nationalities, decide to form a battalion FFI integrated into the regular French army.
On September 20, 1944, Boris Holban took command of the 51/22 Battalion, composed of veterans of the Liberation battles, notably members of the FTP-M.O.I. resistance movement. Within this battalion, the UJJ—now a legal organization—invited young Jews to form a company, the Rayman Company. 160 young people answered the call, and the number could have been doubled if young women had been allowed to join this combat unit.
Rayman’s company was supposed to pursue the retreating occupying forces, but its advance was halted. The military authorities were wary of recruits from the Resistance and of units organized by nationality. After being shuffled from barracks to barracks, the battalion was finally disbanded, and the soldiers were dispersed among other units of the regular army. For the most part, they were kept in the barracks and prevented from fighting.
