The Landing
In order for the Comet Line to be formed and the members to overcome insurmountable odds, tragedy had to occur. Each Comet story began with gun fire, a crashing plane, and a pilot who jumped with nothing but a parachute and hope.
"The first thing one had to do was to hide his parachute in order not to be noticed by the Germans who were systematically searching the area and the houses in the vicinity of which they thought a downed Allied airman could be hiding...
The airman could then dare ask help from the civilian population in the hope somebody would be prepared to help him hide... As soon as the airman had been able to find refuge somewhere, the person who was hiding him generally made contact with one of the town's or village's teachers, doctors or a priest or even the location's burgomaster. Usually, such people knew one or another member of the Resistance... The "Résistant" could indeed be a member of a network specialized in the clandestine press, intelligence or sabotage actions. Knowing that, Comet had contacted the different Résistance groups to advise them that Comet had to be alerted in every case where an evading airman was involved." - Victor Schutters, " Comète's Tasks From the Moment an Airman Lands" |
The Process
On the long dangerous journey there was plenty room for error. Any small slip-up could result in death, imprisonment, or a number of weeks hidden in a cramped room. Each passage required a series of steps to be taken in order to conceal identities, avoid capture, and successfully return an airman to his home.
Quotes from Victor Schutters, "Comète's Tasks From the Moment an Airman Lands"
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InterrogationResistance members used several ways to root out infiltrators. The difference between putting a cross on a 7 or the way a 4 was written often determined the real from the imposters. "A rigorous identification of the airman was the first thing Comet had to conduct from the moment their first contact with him was established.
The resistance had in many cases been infiltrated by German servicemen wearing British or American uniforms, who had a very good knowledge of English and the respective pronunciation and uses on both sides of the Atlantic. As one can easily imagine, if such schemes weren't quickly unveiled, dramatic consequences could follow."
Forging"Rubber stamps, which were used for authentication of the documents, were either sneaked from administration offices or counterfeited by professionals who had joined the Résistance's ranks...
Care was taken to willfully "age" such documents so they would look worn by long use and not look too recently made. Making up such documents was no easy task and the forgers had to take into account the multiple changes the French authorities made to official regulations." ShelterHousing had to be provided throughout the journey, but occasionally a soldier couldn't be moved safely and remained hidden for the duration of the war. "In some cases where trusted lodgers had children, the discretion of which was not possible to ensure, the airmen were, for example, reported to the young ones as being long lost cousins from far away, speaking another tongue.
To further help in making his presence unnoticeable on any premises, the evader was hidden in attics, cellars or any other safe hiding place from where he could flee in case of emergency, something most were always on the verge of preparing themselves for."
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FoodSplitting small rations with another mouth was a difficult task. The food was often non-nutritious and healthier food could only be obtained on the black market. "The German authorities requisitioned the majority of the food produced in the country and were transporting it by trainloads to Germany to feed the German population and mainly their soldiers. It often happened that Resistants organized raids on German food stocks and food convoys to recuperate the most food they could and which was then shared with the various organizations, including Comet."
Clothing"Like all consumer articles, clothes were not easily available and as the war wore on, they could not be replaced and had to be roughly patched with whatever piece of textile one could find."
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Transportation"After his evacuation to some town where he could more easily be hidden, he waited the moment his departure could be organized and he could be on his way to England...
The Germans had requisitioned all private cars and many other motor vehicles. Very few of them were on the road and the great majority of movements happened on foot, by bicycle, by tramway inside the cities or between nearby ones, the longer distances having to be traveled by train." |
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Evacuation"For example, a guide made sure he didn't buy train tickets with consecutive registration numbers so that it couldn't be guessed evaders and guides were traveling together... Most of the airmen were instructed to act as deaf and mute.
It was imperative, though, before crossing the [Franco-Belgian] border to check that nothing on the airman's person could give away where he came from. Any indication of his country of origin or of his unit, the names and addresses of his helpers and lodgers, everything had to be eliminated before traveling further." Every detail mattered. From an accent to what was in an airman's pocket, a minor gaffe could result in unimaginable miseries. Even carrying the wrong brand of cigarettes could be enough to cause a German patrol to take them for questioning. "It sometimes happened that a particular airman had fallen in love with a young girl who had come to his help. That could lead to his wanting to keep some memento of her in his things, a letter, an address and a photograph. Such more private items too had to be absolutely discarded before traveling on, as any such small bit of information could prove disastrous to the network."
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