The Comet Line
The Comet Line - so named because it was fast like a "comet" - was one of the most successful escape routes in Europe during WWII. When Allied pilots were shot down over occupied areas, their fates were often death or imprisonment unless they were sheltered by an escape line. "Together with the help of family and friends she [Andrée De Jongh] started the network which escorted displaced allies through France into what was technically – and very superficially – a ‘neutral’ Spain. Stopping at numerous ‘safe’ (and not so ‘safe’) houses en route run by local families."
- Georgina Howard, "The Comet Line" "It was a journey of more than 600 miles, involving long rides on German-patrolled trains, stealthy border crossings and a grueling nighttime trek over the Pyrenees "
-Sara Corbett, "The Escape Artist" Sometimes with just slippers on their feet the airmen would cross rivers and the enormous mountains over night. As this dangerous task was never predictable, the travelers could face terrible trials such as enduring hypothermia. |
Risks
"Dozens were arrested during the course of the Second World War. Many were executed."
- Roderick Bailey, "Andre de Jongh: Organiser of the Comet line"
- Roderick Bailey, "Andre de Jongh: Organiser of the Comet line"
Those in the Comet Line who stood against the Nazis and other hostile forces truly risked their lives. They faced execution after brutal interrogations from police or from harsh camp conditions. However, those involved faced many other dangers such as the potential threat of drowning while crossing the fast-flowing river in the Pyrenees. "The helpers paid a heavy price for returning more than 800 men they had never met before back to England. Over 60% of Comet helpers who had been deported to concentration camps never returned; many were executed or died due to torture, starvation, or beatings."
- The Comet Escape Line |
Anything that could give away an airman's true nationality put him at risk for interrogation, imprisonment, or death. The way they lit cigarettes or dressed had to be foolproof or their lives, and the lives of any helper, were put in jeopardy.
"Another way of behaving which could betray the nationality of some of the aviators was the fact that Americans usually cut their food before starting to eat and then move the fork to their right hand to put it to their mouth."
- Victor Schutters, "Comète's Tasks From the Moment an Airman Lands"
- Victor Schutters, "Comète's Tasks From the Moment an Airman Lands"
Helpers Who Died for the Cause
Images, documents and quotes from Eduard Renière and his website "Le Réseau Comte," where information was gathered through interviews of the airmen, resistors, and family members.
Eleven Executed Due to the First German Infiltration
Notice Published in December 1943 by German Authorities
Translation of boxed sections:
"The Belgian citizens Eric Menten de Horne, Jean Ingels, Emile Delbruyère, Albert Marchal, Henri Rasquin, Ghislain Neybergh, Gaston Bidoul, Robert Roberts-Jones, Georges Maréchal as well as Frenchmen Edouard Verpraet and Antoine Renaud were condemned to death by the War Tribiunal for activities in favor of the enemy. The sentence was execution by shooting. Accordingly, anyone who omits to report members of enemy forces to the nearest German post must realize the consequences of one’s acts and must not expect any leniency on the part of the tribunal." |
No photograph found for Antoine Renaud
Other Members Who Gave Their Lives
The following quotes are from Victor Schutters, "The Balance of Comets Actions "
The following list can be found in multiple archives, and books including Airey Neave's, "Little Cyclone"
The following list can be found in multiple archives, and books including Airey Neave's, "Little Cyclone"
There were many lives saved but almost an equal amount of lives lost. Death didn't discriminate between ages or genders and came in many forms. Often it wasn't clear how people died and it wasn't safe to document how; it was just known that a person was gone--lost forever.
"Charles ANDRIEU
Died in Buchenwald on 17 August 1944, age at death: 40 years old Aline ARNOULD, born GEHENOT Died in Leipzig in 15 January 1945, at the age of 62 years Rosalie ARNOULD, born LOIR Died in Mauthausen on 20 March 1945, at the age of 32 years Renée ASTIER from VILATTE Disappeared in Germany in 1944-45, at the age of 46 Elise AUBANEL Died in Ravensbrück on 24 April 1945, age at death: 46 years old Robert AYLE Shot at Paris at Mont-Valérien on March 28, 1944, at the age of 44 years Germaine BAJPAI Died in Ravensbrück on 4 February 1945, at the age of 50 years Ferdinand BEAU Died in Auschwitz on 15 May 1944, age at death: 49 years old Marguerite BEAUVAIS Died in Ravensbrück in 1944-45, age at death: 59 years old Renée BEAUVAIS Died in Ravensbrück in 1944-45, age at death: 32 years old Marguerite BENOIT Died in Ravensbrück in January 1945, at the age of 65 Jacques BERTELS Died in Neuengamme on December 27, 1944, age at death: 44 years old |
Jean LARBURU
Disappeared in Germany in March 1944, at the age of 31 Jean LAROY Died in Flossenburg on 10 April 1945, age at death: 43 years old Léon LEYNEN Disappeared in Gross-Rosen in 1944-45, at the age of 35 years Georges LUCAS Disappeared in Germany in March 1945, at the age of 24 Henri MACHIELS Died in Upper Silesia on 10 December 1944, at the age of 47 years Clara MACHTOU Disappeared in Germany after his arrest in 1943, at the age of 25 Augusta MARCOUX Died at Bergen-Belsen on 21 May 1945; Age at death: 37 years old Louis MASSINON Died in Gross-Strelitz after his arrest in 1942, at the age of 42 Christine MAUROIT Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 39 Eugene MAYNE Died in Sulingen on 2 May 1945, at the age of 31 years Maurice MEHUDIN Died in Flossenburg after his arrest in 1943, at the age of 39 Auguste MELOT Died in Neuengamme on 6 November 1944, age at death: 73 years old |
"Let's not forget all the farmers, the teachers, the doctors, the 'ordinary' citizens, who often, if not always, were the first ones to come in contact with the airmen and who, despite the known risks, welcomed them into their homes, fed them, clothed them and got them on their way to a hopefully successful evasion. For the most part, all such brave people stayed in the shadows of official history, far from the honors and the medals."
Charles BERTRAND
Detained in Beverloo on 6 September 1944, at the age of 42 Raymond BIERNAUX Died in Neuengamme on 3 March 1945, at the age of 20 years Madeleine BOUTELOUPT Died in Paris on his return from Germany on May 7, 1945, at the age of 33 Marie-Thérèse BOUVY, born TRIEST Died in Ravenbrück in January 1945, at the age of 36 Jean BOY Died in Germany on April 6, 1945, at the age of 48 Guillaume BRAUN Shot in Germany on June 21, 1943, at the age of 55 Lambertine BRONCKAERT Died in Bergen-Belsen in April 1945, age at death: 54 years old Elisabeth BUFFET Died in Ravensbrück in March 1945, at the age of 52 years Bernard BULTEEL Died at Ellrich in February 1945, at the age of 35 Antoinette BURY Died in Ravensbrück on 17 December 1943, age at death: 56 years old Baroness Louise CHAUDOIR Died in Ravensbrück in March 1945, at the age of 67 Jean CHAUVEAU Shot by the Germans at Chateaudun, end of 1944, at the age of 30 Pierre CLAES Disappeared in Auschwitz in 1944-45, at the age of 62 Jules COLLE Shot in Germany on September 30, 1944, at the age of 33 Lucien COLLIN Shot at Pappenweiler (Ludwigsburg) on 30 June 1944n at the age of 35 José CRACCO Died in Flossenburg in March 1945, at the age of 34 Marcel DAELEMANS Died in Neuengamme on 17 December 1944, age at death: 43 years old Jean DASSIE Died in Paris on his return from Germany on 29 May 1945, at the age of 50 Marie-Louise DAVREUX Died in Ravensbrück on 24 December 1944, age at death: 64 years old Henri DECAT Defeated in the forest of Soignes on 13 February 1943, at the age of 32 |
Marguerite MELOT
Died in Ravensbrück in January 1945, at the age of 63 Suzanne MELOT Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 26 Albert MEUNIER Executed at Wolfenbüttel on June 7, 1944, at the age of 46 Victor MICHIELS Shot dead in Brussels on November 19, 1942, at the age of 26 Jean MOBERS Shot at Pappenweiler (Ludwigsburg) on 19 April 1944, age at death: 29 years old Octave MONDO Shot in Luswigsburg on June 30, 1944, at the age of 47 Suzanne MONDO Died in Ravensbrück on April 29, 1945, age at death: 48 years old Gertrude MOORS Died in Ravensbrück on 5 May 1945, at the age of 42 Hector MOREAU Died in Gross-Rosen on 18 December 1944, age at death: 55 years old Charles MORELLE Died in Dachau on 18 May 1945, at the age of 30 Emile NELIS Died in Sonnenburg in June 1944, age at death: 57 years old Zélia NELIS Died in Ravensbrück in May 1945, at the age of 56 years Henri NEURAY Died at Saint Gilles prison on May 1, 1944, at the age of 39 Maurice OLDERS Died at Ellrich on 11 December 1944, age at death: 57 years old Fernande ONIMUS Died in Ravensbrück in April 1945, at the age of 45 Fernande OTTEN Disappeared in Ravensbrück, after his arrest in 1942, at the age of 50 Isabelle PAULI, born ANSPACH Killed with truncheons at the Belzig camp on September 29, 1944, at the age of 58 Fernand PETITJEAN Died on his return from Germany on 13 July 1945, at the age of 54 Arsinoé PHARAZYN Died in Oranienburg in 1944-45, age at death: 49 years old Victor PHARAZYN Died at Neuengamme on 29 February 1945, age at death: 45 years old |
"Account must be taken here of the fact that both aviators and their "helpers" have difficulty remembering names and addresses required, and moreover, to spell correctly. For security reasons, many of them refused to take any notes or even remember some names. No one could know if they would resist torture, and some would prefer not to memorize certain information."
Cécile DECKERS, born VAN NEROM
Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 47 Marguerite DEBERTRAND Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 57 years Jean DE FROTTE Disappeared in Germany in 1944-45, at the age of 25 Frédéric DE JONGH Shot in Paris at Mont-Valérien on March 28, 1944, at the age of 56 years Jean-François DELEU Disappeared in Germany in 1944-45, at the age of 20 Marceline DELOGE Died in Ravensbrück on 3 February 1944, at the age of 67 years Pierre DENEUVILLE Disappeared on release at the age of 23 Edmond DERYCK Died in Kassel on February 7, 1945, at the age of 42 Maurice DESSON Died in Meppen on March 10, 1945, at the age of 40 Marie DETAILLE Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 63 years Victor DETAILLE Shot at Bochum on 19 April 1944, age at death: 58 years old Joséphine DETHIER Died in Ravensbrück in 1944, age at death: 54 years old Henri DEVLEESCHOUWER Died in Germany on April 26, 1945, at the age of 53 years Marie-Madeleine DEWE Died in Ravensbrück on 17 January 1945, at the age of 30 Eugène D'HALLENDRE Shot in Lille on December 27, 1943, at the age of 45 years Emile DIDIER Died in Gross-Rosen on 15 January 1945, age at death: 55 years old Madeleine DIDIER Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 52 years Baron Jacques DONNY Shot in Stüttgart on 29 February 1944, at the age of 59 years Jules DRICOT Defeated between Magdeburg and Dessau in April 1945, at the age of 31 Florence DUCHENE Disappeared in Ravensbrück after his arrest in September 1941, at the age of 35 years Eugène DUMONT Disappeared in Gross-Rosen in the spring of 1945, at the age of 50 years Count Antoine d'URSEL Drowned crossing the Bidassoa on December 24, 1943, at the age of 47 years Alexandre ELISSALDE Died in France as a result of his captivity on November 23, 1946, at the age of 52 Leo FOUARD Died in Gusen (Mauthausen) on 4 March 1945, age at death: 48 years old |
Emilie PIGUET
Died at Ravensbrück in 1944-45, age at death: 53 years old Hélène PILATTE Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 45 Valentine PLOYART Died in Waldheim on April 2, 1945, at the age of 35 years André POLAIN Died in Siegburg on 8 June 1944, at the age of 27 Leopold PRIEST Killed on July 1, 1944, at the age of 28 André RAFFALOVICH Died in Buchenwald in 1944-45, age at death: 48 years old Antoine RENAUD Shot in Brussels at the National Tire on October 20, 1943, at the age of 52 William REYNOLDS Executed in Brandeburg on 24 January 1944, at the age of 53 years Jean ROCHER Died in Dora on October 27, 1944, at the age of 39 Simone SAINTE-BEUVE Died in Belsen in May 1945, at the age of 44 André SANTUS Died in Fallerleben on 8 January 1945, age at death: 48 years old Lucien SCHALENBORGH Died at the prion of Halle on 4 February 1945, at the age of 40 Paul SCHOENMACKERS Died in Oberitz on 21 April 1945, age at death: 58 years old Gérald SCHRADER Died at Ellrich in 1944-45, at the age of 20 years Theodore SCHRADER Died in Nordhausen on 23 July 1944, age at death: 55 years old Victor SCHREYEN Died in Buchenwald in 1944-45, age at death: 28 years old Louise STASSART Died in Ravensbrück on 25 February 1945, age at death: 57 years old Lambert SPANOGHE Shot at Pappenwailer (Ludwigsburg) on 30 June 1944, age at death: 44 years old François STRENS Disappeared in Sonnenburg after his arrest in 1941, at the age of 40 Jean-Baptiste SUGG Died in Kuselitz on May 5, 1945, at the age of 47 Gilbert TEDESCO Died in Breendonck in 1944-45, age at death: 36 years old Elise TEDESCO Died in Berlin as a result of his captivity, in May 1945, at the age of 29 Marie-Rose THIBAUT, born LECOMTE Disappeared near Rechlin on March 15, 1945, at the age of 32 Marcelle THIERRY Died in Ravensbrück on 9 February 1945, at the age of 59 years |
"Many guides were needed along the way, each one leading the evader his part of the route, handing him over to the next guide who took him in charge. To ensure secrecy, seldom did any guide know the identity of the other guides from whom they received the evaders, or to whom they handed them over."
Raymonde FOUCHE
Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 35 Aimable FOUQUEREL Shot in Paris at Mont-Valérien on March 28, 1944, at the age of 40 Arthur GEORGES Died in Silsburg on 19 May 1944, age at death: 34 years old Carlos Goubau Died in Neuengamme on March 5, 1945, at the age of 23 Jean-Baptiste GORIS Disappeared in Gross-Rosen, after his arrest in 1943, at the age of 48 Abel GUIDET Died in Gross-Rosen on 27 January 1944, age at death: 54 years old Georges GUILLON Died at Mauthausen on 22 April 1945, age at death: 54 years old Abbot Jules GRANDJEAN Died in Gross-Rosen on 11 February 1945, age at death: 45 years old Baron Jean GREINDL Killed in the bombing of the Etterbeek barracks on September 7, 1943, at the age of 38 Mauice GUIGON Died at Saint Gilles prison on June 25, 1943, at the age of 54 Charlotte HAFFERBOURGER Died in Ravensbrück in April 1945, at the age of 59 Eugene HUBEAU Shot in Brussels at the National Tir on September 17, 1943, at the age of 41 Baroness Elisabeth of JAMBLINNE of MEUX Died in Ravensbrück in March 1945, at the age of 52 years Marcel JONCKHEERE Shot in Berlin on August 6, 1945, at the age of 39 Joséphine LACROIX Died in Essen in March 1945, at the age of 59 Berthe LAMBRECHT Died in Neuengamme in 1944, age at death: 57 years old Vassili LAMI Disappeared at Neuengamme in 1944, at the age of 30 Rene LAMMERS Died in Bochum in April 1945, at the age of 46 years |
Jacques TINEL
Died in Dora on 19 December 1943, age at death: 23 years old Francha USANDIZANGA Died in Ravensbrück on 12 April 1945, age at death: 36 years old Edith VAN CAMPENHOUT Died in Ravensbrück in February 1945, at the age of 67 Marie-Louise VAN CRAEN Died in Ravensbrück in March 1945, at the age of 49 Jean-François VAN DEN HOVE Died in Essen on 5 August 1943, at the age of 42 Roger VANDERHOEFT Died at Ellrich on 15 January 1945, age at death: 41 years old Pierre VAN DINTER Shot at Pappenweiler (Ludwigsburg) on 19 April 1944, at the age of 50 years Ernest VAN MOORLEGHEM Shot at Bayreuth on November 29, 1944, at the age of 29 years Father Henri VAN OSTAYEN Died in Belsen on April 19, 1945, at the age of 39 Guillaume VAN WAMBEKE Died in Germany in April 1945, at the age of 32 Joseph VAEREWYCK Died in Siegburg on 18 June 1942, at the age of 42 Odile VERHULST Died in Ravensbrück on 20 February 1945, age at death: 63 years old Edouard VERPRAET Shot at the National Tir on October 20, 1943, at the age of 48 Mathilde VERSPYCK Died in Ravensbrück on 11 May 1945, at the age of 36 years Marie VIGNOL Disappeared after his death sentence in 1942, at the age of 44 Marguerite WIGREN Disappeared in Germany in 1944-45, at the age of 33 Valentin YARMONKINE Disappeared in Germany in 1944-45, at the age of 46" |