Historian Benjamin Massieu dedicates a book to the Kieffer commando for the 80th anniversary

Benjamin Massieu, historian, studies the Second World War and particularly the history of free France and the Liberation. On June 6, 1944, 132,715 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy. Among them, a group of 176 French green berets led by one man: Philippe Kieffer.

In 2013, Benjamin Massieu published a biography “Philippe Kieffer, leader of the commandos of Free France. ” They are befriended with the Kieffer family and thus had access to more than 4,000 documents unpublished.

In addition to returning to the role of Philippe Kieffer during the conflict, for the first time he devotes ample space to his origins, his youth, his civilian career and his commitment. He held a conference in reference to his research and this book in May 2023 in Grandcamp-Maisy (Calvados), a meeting which was a great success with residents and enthusiasts! He reissues in pocket version this biography (from Perrin, Tempus collection), it is a revised and expanded edition which will appear on May 16, 2024.

“Rediscovering Commander Kieffer’s story in light of what we know today”

Furthermore, it was in 1948 that Green Beret appeared, the first work which popularized to the general public the action of the French commandos during the conflict, written by Philippe Kieffer. Since the end of last March, the critical edition of Philippe Kieffer’s book “Green Beret” by Benjamin Massieu has been available.

The goal is to make this text accessible to the general public again. The book has gone through numerous editions since 1948, but the last one dated from 1984. While this testimony is valuable, it is not perfect. We know much more today thanks to studies carried out based on archives. The goal is to allow as many people as possible to discover or rediscover the story of Commander Kieffer, in light of what we know today.

Also in May, the book “Commando Kieffer, 177 faces of D-Day” the first book to give a face to the 177 of the Kieffer commando will be discovered. If these men have become over the last decades national heroes by the strength of the symbol that they embody, their individual journeys are still little known of the general public.

Benjamin Massieu and Jean-Christophe Rouxel thus embarked on a extraordinary challenge : find the faces of these 177 French commandos and present their journeys. From official archives to private attics, they were able, helped by numerous enthusiasts, to discover extraordinary itineraries. And, in 2023, they found the last of these faces!

It is the result of more than 10 years of research. I wrote the summary over the last few months. It was actually a grueling race against time to get the book ready for June 6, but I managed it!

The author is also releasing in May a historical presentation of Red berets, story by French SAS paratrooper Henry Corta. “It is the reissue of a text published in 1952. I wrote a preface to explain this book and analyze the memory of these men, to understand why the French SAS paratroopers of D-Day have been largely forgotten while the Commando Kieffer is particularly honored. »

During the night of June 5 to 6, 1944, while the Allied armada approached the Normandy coast, 36 French are dropped on the rear of the enemy. They belong to the 2nd parachutist fighter regiment attached to the British Special Air Service (the famous SAS).

Their mission: prepare the arrival of their unit in Brittany. Until 450 French paratroopers are thus released in the days and weeks following D-Day. Taking full part in Operation Overlord despite the distance which separates them from the Landing beaches, their mission consists of harassing the enemy. Henry Corta is one of them. Dismissed on June 7, 1944, he participated in all the major battles of this unit which was decorated with the Cross of the Liberation by General de Gaulle.

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