RICOU, TONY. (1912-1944). French resistance fighter executed by the Nazis in 1944. In French. A fascinating archive of photographs, letters and documents from the 1920s. ‘30s and ‘40s written by a leading member of the French Resistance during WWII, including a card written from a French prison camp.
Tony Ricou was the son of the director of the Opéra-Comique and a precocious painter whose youthful works were exhibited at both the Salon d’Automne of the Société National School of Fine Arts and Paris’s Yannik Gallery. After spending time in England and Germany, Tony shifted his focus to an administrative career, eventually serving in the cabinet of France’s Ministry of the Interior.
During World War II, after being briefly discharged from military service due to poor health, Ricou reenlisted in a cavalry unit in 1940 and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery. That same year, he joined the French Resistance’s Combat Area North, hosting a small cell—later known as the Ricou Group—at his home at 80 rue Spontini in Paris. In 1941, he became a member of the Compiègne Group, recognized as the first armed Resistance group.
Tragically, by 1942, a French collaborator had infiltrated the group, leading to the arrest in February of its members by the Gestapo in Fresnes, and their subsequent imprisonment in Saarbrücken, Germany. During interrogation, Ricou selflessly attempted to take full responsibility in order to protect his comrades, though his efforts proved futile. He was sentenced to death on October 12, 1943, and on January 7, 1944, he was executed by guillotine in a prison in Cologne with 19 other resistance fighters including André Noël , Paul Dussauze , and Charles Le Gualès de la Villeneuve.
The archive contents:
Thirty-three letters from Tony’s father, Opéra-Comique director George Ricou to his wife Jeanne, mainly from the beginning of the war (September 1939-January 1940) with various letters and family documents including an interesting account of his mother, in the form of a diary of a few leaflets, confessing family secrets and his conflicting relationship with Tony. With a substantial quantity of letters from unidentified sources.
Ricou’s wedding announcements with approximately fifty photographs, some of which include him as the subject.
Twelve items related to Tony Ricou’s studies including school transcripts, documents from the Fénelon School, faculty members’ letters, etc.
Seven items relating to Tony Ricou’s artistic career: an exhibitor card from the National Society of Fine Arts, catalogue of his exhibition at the Yannik Gallery (with introductory text by Louis Vauxelles), a list of the 20 new members of the Salon d’Automne (1930) in which he appears, a signed pastel drawing of a fox terrier’s head (similar to the dog featured in many of Tony’s personal photographs), press cuttings on his exhibitions.
Fifty ALS’s written to his parents in a variety of styles, signed “Tony” or “J[acques] Tony.” A lengthy correspondence covering his entire life beginning as a young boy. Most are undated and some with envelopes postmarked from Copenhagen, Folkestone, Pau, etc. In addition to offering personal news, parts of the correspondence comment on the political news of the time. With three letters and a small card from May 31, 1942 written by his wife Josie Arnodin (1906-1983), daughter of the engineer Georges Arnodin (1872-1956): “for the mother’s day by Tony and Josie,” plus a card written by Tony from prison addressed to Madame Guiboiseau.
In tribute to his heroism, François Morin-Forestier (1910-1980), chief of staff of the paramilitary Armée Secrète, sent a speech to Ricou’s mother – later broadcast by radio in 1946 on the second anniversary of Tony’s death. ALS to Ricou’s mother, referring to his memory. “Your son was one of my very first comrades of resistance. He has and will always have a very special place in my memory, as, I am sure, in the memory of all those who have known him, who know what he has done, what he has been.”
From Morin’s typed radio address recounting Tony Ricou’s words upon learning of his death sentence:
“Tony Ricou, in the judgment, reminded the German judges of Schiller’s words: “A people is nothing if it does not place honor above all else…” After three more months in prison, during which [Ricou and his fellow prisoners] were handcuffed…[they] were executed in Cologne on January 7, 1944, two years ago. Today, the anniversary of their death, I wanted to pay tribute to their memory. They were pioneers of the Resistance and experienced its thankless and difficult beginnings. Beyond the decorations for which they are nominated, beyond the official testimonies and citations, they deserve, from all of us, recognition and remembrance.”
Three handwritten memorials stating: “Tony Ricou founder in the northern zone of the Resistance group “Combat,” member of the Hector network, arrested on 5 February 1942, decapitated with an axe on 7 January 1944 in Cologne…” The “Hector,” or more familiarly known “Heckler” network was established by the American-born, SOE and OSS agent Virginia Hall.
Some specific examples from the archive include:
RICOU, TONY. ALS. 3pp., 8vo. Geneva, the 21st, no month or year. To his parents. A charming letter written by Ricou when he was a child or young teenager while staying with his grandparents in the Famille Hotel Geneve. Ricou describes a medical treatment very precisely and gives information about the price of the cure, the rebate the doctor gave them and the purchases they had to make for it. The treatment is to last 25 days, while they had expected it to last 21 days. Ricou says his grandmother is eating a lot and when she returns from the “cure,” one will be unable to see her eyes – for she is liable to have become very fat. Ricou ends with a touching, “Your little Toto who loves you” and begs his parents not to forget his rabbits! Someone, probably Ricou’s grandmother, has added a message to “Jeannette,” because she would like to have news from “Maman.”
RICOU, TONY. ALS. 2pp. 8vo. Pau, N.d. To his father saying he has little to do except to go for walks and play cards. Ricou mentions someone he calls ‘Indeed,’ possibly a dog, that he has had to use a stick to punish. Also, he adds that he is enclosing a photo of Indeed.
RICOU, TONY. Partially printed APCS. 1p., Postcard. Vichy, December 31, 1940. To his grandmother Madame H. Guiboiseau in Paris. Ricou says he is in the resort town of Vichy, the seat of the Vichy government after the surrender to Germany since July 1940, with his father and someone else, adding that he is a prisoner and that his hopes of travel are not dead. He also says he has found work at the Ministry of Work.
MORIN, FRANÇOIS. French Resistance leader and fighter (1910-1980). TLS. (“…Morin”). 3pp. 8vo. Berlin, April 23, N.y. To Tony Ricou’s mother in Paris sending “le souvenir que vous avez consacré à la mémoire de votre fils.” François’s letter is about his link to Ricou, whom he admires with affection and add that he plans to go to Paris and visit Ricou’s mother in the near future.
General light wear throughout otherwise fine to very fine. A rare, personal, archive from one of the heroes of the French Resistance.
