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PAUL KINN
1924: born in Pétange (L)
1941: joins the French Foreign Legion in Marrakesh (MAR)
Dec. 1942 - June 1943: volunteer in the Tunisian campaign, heavy fighting against Germans and Italians
1943-1945: member of the British Special Forces in Algeria; several secret missions in southern Italy and France
Wedding photo with his wife Bertha Schmit, 1949
Work
View of the prisoner-of-war camp at Moutfort, which Paul Kinn ran until 1947
Paul Kinn fled to unoccupied France and enlisted in the Foreign Legion at the age of 17. He took part in heavy fighting in Tunisia and, on 1 July 1943, transferred to an elite British unit. Here he trained as a parachutist and was deployed in Italy in September 1943.
After an attempt to blow up a strategically important bridge near Pescara (IT) had failed, Kinn and his injured commanding officer were forced to hide in a mountain hut for seven weeks. He did not manage to escape back to Algeria until December 1943. Once the Allies had landed in Normandy (F), Paul Kinn took part in two successful sabotage missions behind enemy lines. When his unit was disbanded in January 1945, he served in the French forces until 9 May 1945, then transferred to the Luxembourg army. After the end of the war, he commanded the camp for German prisoners of war in Moutfort (L) until July 1947.
Parachutiste Kinn.Paul.99328: French.S.Q.N. 2SAS
Regt. A.P.O. England. 25-9-44
Chers Parents, Vous allez sans doute être étonnés d’avoir de mes nouvelles, car vous devez sûrement penser que je n’étais plus de ce monde, mais voilà je m’en suis tiré de tous les pays et de tous les coins où ça chauffait. J’ai tellement de choses à vous dire que je ne sais par quoi commencer et cela m’est d’abord défendu. Je vous expliquerai cela quand je serai à la maison car j’espère vous voir bientôt. Votre fils qui pense sans cesse à vous. Je vous embrasse bien fort.
Paul Kinn, postcard to his parents, 25 Sept. 1944
Dagger handmade by German prisoners of war for Paul Kinn, Moutfort 1946-1947
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