New Book

Then there was the Stora case in Villes sur Auzon, on June 3, 1944, which is also in the Cappe file. This was another instance of blackmail that brought in 180,000 francs in cash for freedom. The victim, Maurice Stora, an antique dealer living at 32 Bd Haussmann in Paris, testified on July 24, 1946:

It is correct that in 1942, more precisely in December 1942, I left Paris without my family to escape the reprisals against the Israelites. I sought refuge in the vicinity of Avignon, at Villes sur Auzon, where my brother-in-law Paul Cartoux still owns a villa. In that village, I first stayed at the hotel, then I rented a villa as soon as my family joined me.

In Villes sur Auzon, I had no problems until June 3 or 4, 1944. On that day, I received the visit of two individuals accompanied by M. Mus, a garage owner in Villes; he used to drive me to the dentist in Avignon… One of the individuals was hiding behind Mus… I immediately opened the door, the individual in question came in, gun in hand, and said “German police! Don’t breathe a word! Don’t make a move! You are Jewish, and I am going to arrest you and carry out a search…” He said that his boss was coming in a few minutes; he added that his boss had already made deals with several people and that there was no reason why he could not come to an agreement with me. Naturally, he said that after seeing the contents of a leather briefcase which contained my money, because I had asked to take it with me.

As I realized that he was impressed by the money in the briefcase, I asked how much I had to give him. He answered that he wanted it all, and that I would be better off in Villes sur Auzon than in a concentration camp.

At that moment, his boss arrives and introduces himself as “German police”, but he did not show any document… As they insisted on arresting me, I asked whether there was a way to strike a deal, as the first individual had suggested… The so-called chief refused. I insisted and he ended up accepting. I gave them the entire content of the briefcase, namely 180,000 francs approximately. This so-called chief asked for the authorization to take a new tie by Lanvin and a pair of pig skin gloves by Hermès, from a chest drawer. Naturally, I shrugged and did not even answer. He then took the two objects on top of the 180,000 francs. This happened on a Saturday morning. When they left, they said they would be back on the following Wednesday.

Stora did not wait for his due; he immediately left for Paris.

“One-armed Simon” was a name given to a man named Simon by those who had come to arrest him. A tip from Albert Sauvet and “Boyer from Mondragon” indicated that Simon and his wife were hidden in a farm in Morrières, on the road to Montfavet. Georges Boyer suspected that the man was very rich, so he needed to show class. He introduced himself as “Commissaire Boyer”, and after a thorough search, “Simon” understood clearly the reason for his arrest. Boyer continued with his deposition:

Simon proposed one million for his release and I accepted. In the meantime, my comrades had discovered the jewelry of Madame Simon in a safe, at the very least worth three million. They wanted to take the jewels. I objected because Simon agreed to leave the area on the very next day and not say a word to anybody about what happened. Moreover, my comrades had made a mistake when they drove the cars into the farm yard. I knew that the witnesses would write down the license plate numbers and I was afraid we would all be arrested the next day. Therefore, I insisted on leaving the jewelry. Simon paid 800,000 francs in banknotes and 200,000 francs in gold coins – louis and dollars. When we left, we said to the farm people that our investigation was a mistake and that Simon was in order, so that no news of the affair would get out. Simon confirmed in our presence. Then we drove to André, at 30, rue du Rempart St Lazare in Avignon, where we divided immediately.

     Here too, we have the victim’s testimony given on December 20, 1944. “Simon” was in fact André Himmelfarb, 46 years old, business manager, domiciled  in rue d’Armény in Marseille. He indicated that he took refuge in the Gard with his wife and estimated the damage to three million and a half, a much larger amount than acknowledged by Boyer.

Francais