Stosskopf, Jacques Camille Louis, born 27-11-1898 in Paris, son of Albert Jean Charles Stosskopf (1860-1928), also born in Paris, bank clerk, and Jeanne, Emmanuelle, born Martin (1873-1959), born in Reims. The latter married in 1893 and had three children: Roben born in 1896, Jacques born in 1898 and Jeanne born in 1911. The paternal grandparents came from Alsace, the maternal grandparents from Belgium.
He therefore spoke German fluently. During the First World War he was mobilized as an artillery officer in 1917. He was decorated with the French War Cross. In 1920 he went to study at the Polytechnic school in Paris and in 1924 he became a maritime engineer. As a shipbuilder he became head of the construction department of the Lorient arsenal in 1939.In 1940 the Kriegsmarine took possession of the military installations of Lorient. Stosskopf remained in his post and won the German occupier’s confidence through his command of the German language and his authoritarian attitude towards the French workers. He was closely involved in the construction of the German submarine base in Lorient and closely monitored the works – for the benefit of the enemy. As a resistance man, he was a member of the Alliance network. His reputation as a collaborator with the residents of Lorient offered him the ideal cover for doubles. Thanks to his access to the secret German infrastructure, he was able to gather information for four years on the activities of the German submarines entering and exporting the base and the sunken ships that were reported. He did not take any notes or photos, but memorized all data, and passed it on to the British Royal Navy through Alliance. This information was of great importance in the Battle of the Atlantic (1939 – 1945).
Death and burial ground of Stosskopf, Jacques Camille Louis.
An agent from the Alliance network arrested and tortured by the Gestapo dropped the name of Stosskopf. As a result, he was arrested on 21-02-1944, interrogated by the Gestapo, tortured and subsequently deported as a Night-and-Nebel prisoner to the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Josef Kramer,
former commandant of Natzweiler-Struthof, in leg irons at Belsen before being removed to the POW cage at Celle, 17-04-1945.Stosskopf was killed in Natzweiler-Struthof on 01-09-1944, age 45, with a gun shot. His departure to Germany was wrongly viewed by the residents of Lorient as a promotion with great responsibilities, as a reward for his collaboration.Jacques Stosskopf is buried at Cimetière de Montparnasse in Paris, City of Paris, Île-de-France, France
Jacques Stosskopf was posthumously awarded the title of Chief Engineer in Maritime Engineering in 1945 and the Commander of the Legion of Honor. In 1946 the French navy gave its name to the submarine base of Lorient . The class of military students of 2010 at the École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées Bretagne bears his name.
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