PRUNUS circuit members -

Chef: Maurice Pertschuk,
aka Martin Perkins, Gerard Henri Perreau, Eugène, Martial

Dr. Marcel Petit aka Mercier,
Director Toulouse Veterinary College

Baron Philippe de Gunzbourg aka Philibert,
“Barsalous” Pont du Casse, near Agen

Lucien Fayman, aka Louis,
Regional Director Eclaireurs Israelites de France

Viscount Jean d’Aligny, aka Nano,
Chateau d’Esquiré, Fonsorbes

Pierre Labayle, a brewer who led the Montréjeau PRUNUS cell, before and after his time in concentration camp

Dr. Gaston Fernand Hanon aka Roger Martin

Many PRUNUS members (M. Pertschuk, P. de Gunzbourg, O. Laroque, L. Fayman, Dr. F. Hanon, M. Bloom, A. Rabinovitch) were secular Jews, as were its allies (Dr. Elie Lévy, Denise Bloch), which exposed them to greater risk.

Radio operators for PRUNUS

PRUNUS Couriers

Using cultural expectations to their advantage, these women were able to operate under the radar of security forces. In addition to acting as couriers they played critical roles, producing false identity papers, providing ration tickets, shelter, transportation, connections and intelligence. Although they downplayed their importance, the couriers I interviewed were extraordinary resources: they knew the extent of PRUNUS’ reach and its connections, albeit without real names or an understanding of who funded them. Unsung by history, these women were denied even the right to vote until after the war, and kept quiet about their resistance work for decades.