Bernard Karsenty (14 June 1920 in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

– 10 January 2007 in

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan ...

, France), was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a leader of the Algiers putsch of 1942.Jews in North Africa: Oppression and Resistance
United States Holocaust Museum Memorial

Background

He spent his youth in Paris, and then entered the cours Simon, one of Paris' most prestigious theatrical institutions, to become an actor. As a soldier in the French Army, he was defeated at Marseilles in June 1940, where he took heed of General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

Appeal of 18 June The Appeal of 18 June () was the first speech made by Charles de Gaulle after his arrival in London in 1940 following the Battle of France. Broadcast to France by the radio services of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is often cons ...

Entry into Resistance

He went to North Africa in November 1941, with the hope of being able to get to Gibraltar from there so he could rejoin the allied forces. However, on the spot, he joined a group of patriot Gaullists created by his cousins

José Aboulker José Aboulker (5 March 1920 – 17 November 2009) was an Algerian Jew and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in French Algeria during World War II. He received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the Croix de Guerre, and was made a Companion ...

and

Roger Carcassonne Roger Carcassonne-Leduc (12 January 1911 in Marnia – 10 December 1991 in Paris, France) was a member of the French Resistance. A French industrialist in Oran, he served as a second lieutenant with the 8th Regiment. Sent to Tunisia, at the time ...

, then extended to certain people by

Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, ''Résistance'' member, and conservative politician. Life Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of cen ...

. A member of this very clandestine network, Karsenty recruited resistance members, sought weapons and endeavoured to convince fellow Vichy soldiers to join a possible allied invasion.

Cherchell

He was one of the first organisers of the

Cherchell Cherchell () is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kingdoms of Numidia ...

meeting between resistance members and representatives of U.S. General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, where he represented the resistance groups of Algiers. He stayed until the end, doing what was necessary, in spite of a wild sea, for putting afloat the kayak of General Clark, an associate of Eisenhower, allowing him to join his submarine before daybreak.

Seizure of Algiers

He participated in the Putsch of 8 November 1942, as the assistant of

. In this operation, 400 resistant civilians arrested the Vichyist commander in chief General Juin, as well as Admiral Darlan, and succeeded in neutralising the 19th Vichy Army Corps for about 15 hours, which allowed the allied forces to carry out the Torch Operation, in which they unloaded unopposed, who then encircled Algiers and seized it the very same day. Assisting

during the operation, he only arrested several of Darnand's soldiers, who had approached the central Police station too closely. He took part in two successive barrages on the Vichy defence circle of Algiers, to prevent the mobilization of the Vichyist forces from being carried out.

The FFF

Karsenty then rejoined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

in England and was named staff officer in Carlton Gardens. In May 1943, he returned to Algiers and prepared for the arrival of General

, along with

and the opponents of the resistance group ''Combat''. Promoted to officer of Cherchell school, then to second lieutenant, he was assigned to the first Free French Division and went up to Colmar where he arrived in December 1944. Here he learned of the execution of his brother Gaby, an engineer and resistance member in Marseilles, and also of the deportation of his father. He was then assigned to the Research Bureau of Lyon War Criminals. Since the war Karsenty has founded and directed several companies. His decorations were as follows: *La rosette de la

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...

*Medal of Freedom of the United States. He represents the quite rare case of a holder of two quotations to his Military Cross, one given to him by General

and the other by

Giraud Giraud is a surname. It is a variant of the Proto-Germanic name ''Gerard'', meaning spear-strong. Notable people with this surname * Alain Giraud (born 1959), French chef * Albert Giraud (1860–1929), Belgian poet * Alexis Giraud-Teulon (1839–19 ...

. Bernard Karsenty is the author of an article on "The companions of 8 November", published by Nouveaux Cahiers, n°31, 1972–1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karsenty, Bernard 1920 births 2007 deaths People from Oran Algerian Jews Jews in the French resistance Recipients of the Resistance Medal Emigrants from French Algeria to France