L'Affaire Giraud

Curiouser & curiouser grew L'Affaire Giraud.

Four weeks after Henri Honore Giraud, Army General, turned up in Switzerland, crossed into Vichyfrance and told of his daring escape from a Nazi prison, some questions were still unanswered:

How could a 63-year-old slither down a makeshift rope from a cliff-walled Nazi fortress? How could a politically important prisoner escape from such a feudal bastion, guarded every hour by men alert to his potential value? Why would such an escaped prisoner walk into the arms of stooges working in handcuff harmony with his erstwhile captors?

By iron-grey, stooped General Giraud's own account, he had done all these things. As if there weren't enough mystery already, Giraud's status grew even cloudier after he crossed into Vichyfrance.

He conferred with Petain and Laval, was rumored to have seen German officials, pledged allegiance to Petain, promised not to aid De Gaulle. Last week the aging escapist was reported to have offered to surrender, in return for release of 500,000 Frenchmen imprisoned in Germany. Since Frenchmen are a burden to Germany as prisoners and could be a boon as laborers for Laval, this looked as if it might be a very pretty answer to a very curious affair.

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