During the years leading to WWII, Boris joined the Communist Party in 1935 and was appointed General Secretary for the Division of Painters and Sculptors at the Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (AEAR), where he became particularly active after 1933. He then joined the Maginot frontline and was assigned to the 11th unit of the 101 infantry regiment of the French army. Later he was assigned to Saar, then to Longuyon. It was known as the "Drole de guerre". (Funny War)
«It was a frightening winter, we were in front of Longuyon, it was -34° C. I have known only two similar winters: the one of 39-40 and later in Buchenwald the winter of 44-45. The only difference was that in 44-45 I was neither armed nor fed and that is not the same sensation of cold»1
Boris is present during the fighting on the Marne which oppose Germany to France. During this period, he produced approximately 200 drawings and survived this difficult period through the aid of poetry : « (…) protected/shielded in the island of security that poetry has created, in peace with myself in this steel barbed world in this war that curiously started with a global carnage, the second of this century and of my life as a man.2 »
On May 10th 1940, Germany invaded France and the 101st Infantry Regiment was beaten in just a few days. Boris was made prisoner in Gondreville (Loiret) during the army collapse and on June 18th 1940, was taken towards Melun. He was then assigned to the harvest in a village in Somme. However, with the aid of a school mistress who arranged a new set of civilian clothes, Boris managed to escape and reach Paris by train.
In Paris, Boris travelled secretly around the free zone and per Louis Aragon's advice, settled in Charente on October 21st 1940. He joined his friends Marcel Gromaire and Jean Lurcat in Aubusson. He worked for eight months as an assistant for the latter in the creation of tapestry cartoons. Still living in secret, he participated in the creation and distribution of leaflets against the regime of Marshal Petain. Specifically, he participated in the creation of a clandestine printing studio.
He then re-established communication with the Communist Party and took part in the covert creation and distribution of its material to the five departments of central France. Boris drawings frequently illustrated these activities.
Fearing for his safety following the Police's round controls, Boris left for Lot in May 1941. It was then where he found Louis Aragon who persuaded Boris to join the Communist organisation « National Front for the liberation and independence of France ». Boris gathered and organised many resistance groups for the National Front.
1.Christophe Cognet, The Boris' Studio, documentary, Co-production : 24 images – Corto Pacific – TV10 Angers, 94 minutes, 2003.
2.Boris Taslitzky, Tambour battant, Paris, Les Editeurs Français Réunis, 1962, p 19. Reissued by l'Harmattan in 2005.
Isabelle Rollin-Royer
GALLERY
