Jean Joseph Catelas (6 May 1894 – 24 September 1941) was a French communist politician who was a deputy for the Somme from 1936 to 1940. He was arrested by the Vichy government during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939–1945), sentenced to death for his underground activities and executed.

Early years

Jean Joseph Catelas was born on 6 May 1894 in Puisieux, Pas-de-Calais, the seventh of nine children in a poor family. He obtained his school certificate when he was aged 12, and became a worker in hosiery, working in this occupation until 1914. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18) he was assigned to the infantry. Catalas spent most of the war at the front, and took part in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. He earned several citations and the Military Medal. He took part in the great strike of 1920. After being demobilized Catelas joined the French Northern Railway (''Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord'') as a brakeman. He joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

(''Parti communiste français'', PCF) after the

Tours Congress The Tours Congress was the 18th National Congress of the French Section of the Workers' International, or SFIO, which took place in Tours on 25–30 December 1920. During the Congress, the majority voted to join the Third International and create ...

of 25–30 December 1920. From 1922 to 1932 he was secretary to the ''

Confédération générale du travail unitaire The Confédération générale du travail unitaire, or CGTU ( en, United General Confederation of Labor), was a trade union confederation in France that at first included anarcho-syndicalists and soon became aligned with the French Communist Par ...

'' (CGTU) railway workers' union. In 1924 he became a train conductor.

Politician

In the general elections of 1/8 May 1932 Catelas was the PCF candidate for the first district of Amiens, but was not successful. In 1935 he was elected to the municipal council of

Longueau Longueau (; pcd, Londjeu) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Longueau is situated southeast of Amiens, a suburb just by the airport, on the N29 road. Longueau station has rail connections to ...

. He ran again for the first district of Amiens in the elections of April/May 1936 and this time was elected. He was a member in turn of committees on hygiene, public health, customs, and commerce and industry. In December 1937 he was appointed to the PCF Central Committee at the Congress of Arles. Catelas was an active supporter of the Republican side during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

(1936–39) and made frequent visits to Spain to see how they could be helped. On 14 July 1938 he joined the French volunteers in the brigade called "La Marseillaise" in preparation for an attack in the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

that was launched eleven days later. He was one of the last of the communists to leave Spain, in the company of

Dolores Ibárruri Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (; 9 December 189512 November 1989), also known as (English: "the Passionflower"), was a Spanish Republican politician of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 and a communist known for her slogan ''¡No Pasará ...

("La Pasionaria").

World War II

After the outbreak of

(1939–45) Catelas remained a PCF member, and under the law of 20 January 1940 lost his seat in the Chamber of Deputies. Catelas,

Benoît Frachon Benoît Frachon (13 May 1893 – 1 August 1975) was a French metalworker and trade union leader who was one of the leaders of the French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'', PCF) and of the French Resistance during World War II (1939– ...

, Arthur Dallidet,

Gabriel Péri Gabriel Péri (Peri) (9 February 1902 — 15 December 1941) was a prominent French Communist journalist and politician, and member of the French Resistance. He was executed in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Early life Péri was ...

and

Georges Politzer Georges Politzer (; 3 May 190323 May 1942) was a French philosopher and Marxist theoretician of Hungarian Jewish origin, affectionately referred to by some as the "red-headed philosopher" (''philosophe roux''). He was a native of Oradea, a ci ...

met in Paris early in June 1940, and decided to send Frachon and Dallidet to the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

region to start reorganizing communist activity. After the

armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel ...

the PCF leaders denounced the imperialist war, called for peace and concentrated on opposition to the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

. Catelas and Maurice Tréand began negotiations with the German ambassador for permission to resume open publication of the communist journal ''

l'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

''. Tréand and Catelas met with

Otto Abetz Heinrich Otto Abetz (26 March 1903 – 5 May 1958) was the German ambassador to Vichy France during the Second World War and a convicted war criminal. In July 1949 he was sentenced to twenty years' hard labour by a Paris military tribunal, he was ...

on 26 June 1940 to discuss the arrangement, and followed up with a letter spelling out their request. They promised that ''l'Humanité'' would "pursue a policy of European pacification" and would "denounce the activities of the agents of British imperialism." The negotiations fell through, and the Soviet Union changed tack and condemned the attempt. A confidential police report on a clandestine meeting of communist militants on 24 July 1940 gave the attendees as Catelas, Eugène Hénaff and others. Catelas opened by saying the purpose was to lay the foundations of a "new unionism", which would be based on popular committees in factories. Militants should be extremely careful to avoid stimulating repressive counter moves. He obtained full agreement from the attendees. Catelas was arrested in Asnières on 13 May 1941. He was condemned by the ''Tribunal d'Etat'' (State Tribunal) of the

in a session of 20–21 September 1941, along with J. Woog and A. Guyot. He was guillotined in the courtyard of

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the ...

on 24 September 1941, aged 47. The execution took place at the demand of the Germans in retaliation for an act of resistance by

Pierre Georges Pierre Georges (21 January 1919 – 27 December 1944), better known as ''Colonel Fabien'', was one of the two members of the French Communist Party who perpetrated the first assassinations of German personnel during the Occupation of France durin ...

("Colonel Fabien"). The Catelas dossier at the ''Tribunal d'Etat'' is empty.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catelas, Jean Joseph 1894 births 1941 deaths French Communist Party politicians Communist members of the French Resistance Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany French military personnel of World War I 20th-century French politicians French people of the Spanish Civil War French people executed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine People executed by Vichy France Executed communists