For what merits the Russian white emigrant Vilde became the national hero of France

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

War, like a litmus test, immediately reveals human essence, showing who is a real hero, and who is a coward and a traitor. Born in tsarist Russia, Boris Wilde, by the will of fate, ended up abroad, where he could adapt to the fascist regime and survive it safely. However, the son of immigrants chose the path of struggle against the occupiers, which, simultaneously with glory, brought Vilde an untimely death.

Who is Boris Wilde and how he ended up in exile

Boris Vladimirovich Vilde was born on June 25, 1908 into an Orthodox family of a railway official. Left without a father at the age of 4, he and his mother moved from a St. Petersburg suburb to live with relatives in the village of Yastrebino. The civil war and the chaos generated by it forced the family in 1919 to leave for the now independent, quieter Estonia. So, at the age of 11, Wilde left his homeland, while maintaining a cultural and spiritual relationship with it.

After settling in Tartu, the boy entered a Russian gymnasium, after which he became a student at a local university in 1926, choosing the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. Simultaneously with his studies, he also developed a literary gift - he wrote poetic and prose works, which were successfully published in literary magazines. It is noteworthy that already during this period Boris had a great interest in the Soviet country: he even tried to return to Russia, but for a number of reasons, he could not fulfill his desire.

At 22, the young man moved to Germany, where he earned his living as a librarian, as well as tutoring, lectures and translations. At one of the lectures on Russian culture, Wilde met the French writer André Paul Guillaume Gide, and under his influence changed his place of residence to Paris. Here the young man married, took French citizenship and, after graduating first from the Sorbonne, and then from the School of Oriental Languages, began working in the Museum of Man in 1937.

Combining professional activity with literary creativity, Boris met in France with Russian-speaking bohemia. Later, the poet Georgy Adamovich recalled Wilde in his memoirs: “He was a sweet, very pleasant young man with a Gumilev romantic disposition of character. He dreamed of adventure - a trip to India and hunting white elephants."

Vive La Résistance, or how B. Wilde joined the French anti-fascist underground

The life of Boris Wilde changed rapidly with the onset of World War II: in 1939, the ethnographer went to the front as part of the French army. During one of the battles with the Germans, Wilde was captured, in which he had to spend almost a year, until in 1940 Boris made a successful escape.

Returning to Paris, being in an illegal position, with the participation of his comrades from the Museum of Man, he organized an underground group - one of the first cells of the future Resistance.

Almost immediately after its formation, the group began to issue anti-fascist leaflets, and by the fall of 1940, an underground newspaper called Vilde Resistance. As one of the editors of the first issue, Claude Aveline, later recalled: “There was nothing special in appearance in the simple leaves, printed on the rotator on both sides, but they had the name“Resistance”. This was the power of a beautiful word, beautiful madness, beautiful passion ….

The editorial for the first issue was prepared by Boris Wilde, and it soon acquired the status of a real patriotic manifesto, inspiring the French underground to take action. Propaganda material was disseminated through the mailboxes of Parisians, pasting on the walls of houses and on the sides of public transport. The women underground carried the newspaper into fashion stores and discreetly left copies in rolls of fabric and boxes for ladies' hats.

How B. Wilde campaigned and saved the lives of French Jews

Along with campaigning and preparing texts for editions, Boris helped to obtain intelligence information. Through an underground network of agents, he collected important strategic data, which was subsequently passed on to the British allies. So, with his help, it was possible to obtain information about the construction of a secret airfield and reveal the secret location of German submarines.

He was also engaged in the creation of fake documents for members of the Resistance, as well as unrelated French Jews, whose lives were at risk due to the data of this identity card. In addition, Wilde helped recruit volunteers and transport them to neutral countries in Europe in order to use them to fight the pro-fascist puppet authorities.

How the Nazis dealt with B. Wilde

The members of the "museum" group, lacking professional knowledge of conspiratorial work, rather quickly attracted the attention of the occupation authorities. After a long period of observing the work of the underground, the Germans struck a sudden crushing blow on it. First, on February 12, 1941, several messengers were arrested, some of whom, unable to withstand many hours of torture, gave evidence that later cost other members of the organization their freedom.

A series of mass raids followed, including the museum, where the activities of the underground cell were concentrated. Many of Boris Vladimirovich's comrades were arrested by the Gestapo, but the first wave of detentions did not touch him. However, he managed to stay free only for a few weeks - on March 26, 1941, when leaving the cafe, where he had a meeting with the agent, Vilde was also arrested. Who became the culprit of his arrest - a messenger who could not stand the torture or a provocateur sent by the Nazis - historians have not been able to find out.

In prison, Boris Vladimirovich spent 11 months, keeping a diary all this time, where he wrote down philosophical discourses about his life. It is known that during the investigation, Vilde did not betray a single comrade, taking all the blame for the organization and activities of the underground group. On February 23rd, he and six other members of the Resistance were shot.

Before the execution, the doomed were given the opportunity to write farewell letters - Boris Wilde addressed his beloved wife Irene Lot, who subsequently never married again.

Even countries whose governments openly sympathized with the Nazis had their own heroes. Even Denmark saved 98% of its Jews thanks to the yellow star of the Danish king.