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The Anarchist Encyclopedia:
A Gallery of Saints & Sinners ...

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André Respaut (1898-1973).

French anarchist & resistance fighter.
Born September 22, 1898 in Vernet-les-Bains; died April 26, 1973.

André Respaut was born to a family of eight children, two of whom were killed in war.

Along with his brother, Fortuné, also an anarchist, André participated in the Spanish Revolution of 1936. André held propaganda meetings in southern France, helped get trucks of arms through, &, along with his brother, also acted as a resource for making connections & providing information.

After having been a bar keep, André then became a professor of physical culture in Narbonne.

He & his companion, Teri Sisquella, whom he met in Spain, were interned in the camps of Argelès-on-sea, along with many of the Spanish refugees.

From 1939 to 1943, André joined the resistance & the group "Combat". He was arrested October 17, 1943, & tortured before being sent to Buchenwald, where he was known for his courage & generosity — saving several deportees from death.

He was released on April 11, 1945 by the Americans.

A lifelong anarchiste, he worked with an association of deportees, & wrote the books Buchenwald terre maudite (1946), Sociologie fédéraliste libertaire (1961). The latter is dedicated thus:

"A la mémoire des compagnons qui se sont sacrifiés pour leur idéal de liberté et de justice, et aux hommes de bonne volonté qui ont porté haut le flambeau de l'humanisme sur les chemins de la vie, répandant son rayonnement vers des harmonies plus parfaites et sans cesse renouvelées".

— André Respaut