Special Brigades

The Special Brigades (BS) of the Paris Police Prefecture constitute a specialized unit within the General Intelligence Service. Its first agents were assigned as early as March 1940, but the BS did not truly expand until the summer of 1941 and, primarily, in early 1942. Their mission was to track down France’s “internal enemies.” The Special Brigades worked closely with various German police agencies, including the Gestapo.

The Resistance as a whole was the primary target, but the BS were tasked, as a priority, with suppressing the Jewish Communist Resistance. BS units were present in all major French cities.

When they were first formed, the BS consisted of volunteers, generally police officers who were members of collaborationist parties. However, due to recruitment difficulties, young police officers were brought in to bolster the ranks. All agents were highly skilled in surveillance techniques. Interrogations were extremely brutal (beatings, torture, and various forms of abuse).

The most important Special Brigades operate in the Paris region and are organizing the three major manhunts targeting the M.O.I.

The first investigation began in January 1943 and ended on March 18, 1943. It focused on the Organization of Young Jewish Communists. Fifty-seven young people were arrested on charges of murder, terrorist activities, and complicity.

Among these young people were Henri Krasucki, Paulette Sliwka, Sam Radzinski, and Roger Trugnan, who were deported to Auschwitz along with most of their classmates.

The second surveillance operation targeted the political and military branches of the M.O.I. It began on April 22, 1943, and ended in late June. Seventy-one Resistance members were arrested and deported. Members of the Jewish detachment were handed over directly to the Germans by the French police. The Jewish organization was dismantled.

Finally, the third surveillance operation conducted by the Special Brigades focused on the Parisian FTP-M.O.I. members, who came from various detachments and carried out decisive actions against Nazi leaders. Beginning on July 26, 1943, this third surveillance operation would end in November 1943.

Sixty-three members of the Resistance were arrested, including Joseph Epstein, Missak Manouchian, and Marcel Rayman, who were shot, and Olga Bancic, who was guillotined.