*** World War II -- island territories Caribbean Martinique








World War II Caribbean Islands: Martinique (1939-45)


Figure 1.--One of the safest escape routes from the NAZIs after the fall of France was ships sailing froim Maeseilles to Martiniue in the Caribben. This group portrtait shows European refugees saved by the American Emergency Rescue Committee on board the 'Paul-Lemerle', a converted cargo ship sailing from Marseilles to Martinique, probanly boutAugust 1940. The Britih Royal Navy cut off these Vichy ship trasits (May 19410). Source: U.S. Holocust Museum.

Martinique was one of the two principal French Caribbean possessions. The other was Guadeloupe with a smaller population . After the fall of France, Martinique authorities led by Adm Robert remained loyal to Marshall Petain's Vichy government. Elements of the French fleet, including an aircraft carrier, were interned at Martinique. Adm. Somerville at Oran offered Adm Gensoul options for the French fleet he commanded, including internment at Martinique, but he ejected them all. For a time, ships sailing to Martinique were a rare avenue of escape for Jews and anti- NAZIs long wih thir families. There were was no pleasure cruises and the refugees were harshly interrogated upon arrival on the island. Vichy authorities set up internment camps. Vichy authorities were divided. Most were happy to get rid of Jews and dissidents. Others saw allowing the dissidents to reach Martinique would destabilize the situation on the island. The American Emrrgency Rescue Committee helped assist the refugees. In the end, the British settled the issue (summer 1941). The last refugee ship out of Marseilles was the Arica (May 1941). The situation on Martinique was volatile. Unlike France itself, support for Vichy on the island was limited. Vichy was officially neutral in the War, but in many ways cooperated with the NAZIs. Many young people, les dissidents, slipped over to the nearby British islands of Dominica and Saint Lucia so they could join up with the Free French. Vichy's NAZI orientation was This was of considerable concern among American authorities because of the security of the Panama Canal, vital in American defense strategy. American policy was constrained by a desire to work with Vichy. Support for Vichy, never strong, declined over time. An insurrection was possible. The United States prepared to intervene and organized a joint Army-Marine Corps task force on Puerto Rico (the 295th Infantry and the 78th Engineer Battalion). American intervention proved unnecessary. Martinique maintained its Vichy orientation for over a year after America entered the War. Adm. Robert was never pro-German, he was loyal to Marshal Pétain. The situation began to unravel for Adm. Robert after two weeks of anti-Vichy demonstrations in Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, a French possession on the South American mainland. A military mutiny broke out (July 1943). Robert resigned and sought protection in Puerto Rico. The colony immediately declaring its support for Giraud (not for de Gaulle).







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Created: 8:27 PM 7/21/20221
Last updated: 8:27 PM 7/21/2022