Spartaco Fontanot (born 17 January 1922 at

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

, Italy, and died 21 February 1944, at Fort Mont-Valérien, France) was one of the members of the French resistance shot at

Mont Valérien Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa ...

as a member of the Manouchian group. He was an Italian volunteer soldier in the French liberation army

FTP-MOI The Francs-tireurs et partisans – main-d'œuvre immigrée (FTP-MOI) were a sub-group of the '' Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP) organization, a component of the French Resistance. A wing composed mostly of foreigners, the MOI maintained an a ...

. His name is one of the ten featured on the "''

affiche rouge The ''Affiche Rouge'' (Red Poster) is a notorious propaganda poster, distributed by Vichy France and German authorities in the spring of 1944 in occupied Paris, to discredit 23 immigrant French Resistance fighters, members of the Manouchian Gro ...

''", the

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loa ...

poster displayed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

s during the trial of the 23 members of the

Manouchian Missak Manouchian (Western Armenian, Western hy, Միսաք Մանուշեան; , 1 September 1906 – 21 February 1944) was a Armenians in France, French-Armenian poet and communist activist. An Armenian genocide survivor, he moved to France ...

group. His photograph is also on the poster, with the caption "Fontanot, Italian communist, 12 attacks".

Early years

Spartaco Fontanot was born on 17 January in

, in the

province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was t ...

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He arrived in France at the age of two, his antifascist parents having been obliged to leave Italy when

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

came to power. After elementary school, he took classes at the technical college of

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. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting th ...

, which he left with a "certificate of professional aptitude" as a fitter, turner, and draftsman. His wish was to become an engineer, but his parents were not able to help him pursue his studies, and he started at a small factory as a turner. He still harbored the ambition to become an engineer by taking night classes at the ''

École des Arts et Métiers École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Second World War

At the time of the German occupation in 1941, Fontano quickly devoted himself to the armed struggle, and, in 1942, he volunteered for the FTP's immigrant section in the Paris region, a part of the

French forces of the interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

(FFI). Unable to divide his efforts, he stopped taking night courses. In March 1943, the police came to arrest his father and sister. A wanted man, he was forced to quit his parental home. He took part in numerous attacks and sabotages against the occupying forces and against German officers, notably at

Rueil Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

, and even bus stations. Of note are the assassination operations he undertook against :fr:Julius Ritter, and against General von Schaumburg, the commandant of greater Paris. He also sabotaged many electricity pylons and was rated as an excellent shot. Because of his command experience as the head of an operational detachment under the command of

Missak Manouchian Missak Manouchian (Western Armenian, Western hy, Միսաք Մանուշեան; , 1 September 1906 – 21 February 1944) was a Armenians in France, French-Armenian poet and communist activist. An Armenian genocide survivor, he moved to France ...

, he was appointed lieutenant in the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

, the FFI (Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur). Arrested in Paris by the police on 13 November 1943, Fontano did not give them any information. He was transferred to

Fresnes prison Fresnes Prison (''French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a small ...

and sentenced by the military court; his execution took place on 21 February 1944 at

along with 21 of his comrades. Spartaco Fontanot was one of three heroes in his family; Jacques Fontanot (18 years old) and Nérone Fontanot also gave their lives for the liberation of France.

Bibliography

* FFI - FTPF, ''Pages de gloire des vingt-trois'', Immigration, 1951.

External links

*
La journée d'un "Terroriste"
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontanot, Spartaco 1917 births 1944 deaths French people of Italian descent Italian communists FTP-MOI Communist members of the French Resistance Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People from Monfalcone French people executed by Nazi Germany Italian people executed by Nazi Germany Affiche Rouge Communists executed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Deaths by firearm in France People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces

Early years

Second World War

See also

Bibliography

External links