Alias Caracalla

An English translation of Daniel Cordier’s epic portrait and memoir of the French Resistance during WWII.

Daniel Cordier’s fascinating, intimate memoir is a major contribution to our understanding of the fraught and historic relations between General Charles de Gaulle’s Free French and the fractious resistance movements under the Occupation during World War II. As the first young secretary to legendary Jean Moulin, one of the leaders of Conseil National de la Résistance, Cordier recounts Moulin’s tense negotiations to bring together the resistance movements and persuade them to join forces under de Gaulle’s banner between 1942 and ’43. Cordier was a lookout on the fateful day the National Resistance Council was created, confirming de Gaulle’s legitimacy in the eyes of the French people and, crucially, in the eyes of Roosevelt and the Allied leadership. Later in life, Cordier penned his first-hand account of his role in the creation of Jean Moulin’s secretariat in Lyon and then Paris. Alias Caracalla is a brave and passionate story of action and self-discovery in times of war, with a sensitive and nuanced translation by Rupert Swyer.

Author Biography

Daniel Cordier (1920–2020) was a French Resistance fighter and historian. In his youth he was a member of the far-right organization Camelots du Roi, and yet later engaged with the Free France resistance in June 1940 that fought the Nazi Occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime. After the war he became a prominent art dealer, historian, and advocate for gay rights. Rupert Swyer is an independent scholar, translator, and journalist. He lives in Paris.