Talk:René Hardy

Rene Hardy portrayed as guilty of treason
I just read an account of the two trials against Hardy, written in the 50ies by the Norwegian journalist and writer Axel Kielland. He was present at the second and last trial against Hardy at Palais de Justice in Paris in 1950. What he writes is in diametrical opposition to what is written in this Wikipedia article. A couple of examples: this Wikipedia article gives the impression that Hardy was arrested along with the other resistance leaders at their secret meeting, but not handcuffed like the rest of them, and then easily escaped shortly after. Kielland on the other hand, quoting directly from the court proceedings, writes that when Gestapo stormed the meeting, Hardy immediately jumped out of the window he was sitting next to and escaped into the forest. The German officer and witness Steingritt (Bastien’s true lover, according to this Wikipedia account) verified this version in court, quoting that yes, it was truly an amazing escape, but even stranger things had also happened during the long war.

Another example: it is portrayed as fact that Hardy collaborated with Gestapo, partly through the accounts of the Gestapo collaborator (and Hardy’s false lover) Lydie Bastien. Kielland on the other hand recounts that Bastien’s testimony and trustworthiness was totally shredded in court, and that one of the chief witnesses for the prosecution was the chief of Gestapo for Lyon, named Barbier, who claimed that Hardy truly was a traitor of the French Resistance. But as Hardy’s lawyer Maurice Garçon pointed out: Barbier and Gestapo had been searching intensely for ‘Colonel Didot’ (Hardy’s cover name in the Resistance during the war) for ages, as he was responsible for countless sabotages of the German war machine in France. Barbier was also responsible for some of the worst atrocities against French civilians and members of the Resistance during the war. So why on earth trust such a man, and trust his testimony?! 212.71.89.20 (talk) 14:56, 5 February 2022 (UTC)