When, in September 1792, enemy troops stood just outside Paris, a rumor spread that the royalists intended to take bloody revenge on the revolutionaries in the event of an invasion. The mob then stormed the prisons. At first, the agitated crowd massacred imprisoned enemies of the Revolution, later also ordinary prisoners. Danton as the responsible Minister of Justice did nothing. In the heat of the political situation – the king had just been overthrown and the Republic had not yet even been officially proclaimed – some politicians found the bloodbath convenient. It ultimately spread fear and terror among the opponents of the Revolution. Marat later boasted that the people had followed his call for revenge.
1792
September 2, 1792 · Verdun falls. In Paris, the news fuels fear of an enemy invasion. Isolated groups of people storm the prisons of l’Abbaye and the Carmes and kill numerous prisoners.
September 3, 1792 · The massacres spread. Provisional courts question prisoners in summary proceedings. If found guilty, they are handed over to the murderous crowd. Princess Lamballe is beheaded after an interrogation in the Petite-Force prison.
September 4, 1792 · Even ordinary criminals now fall victim to popular rage. Numerous women are killed at the Salpêtrière. The killings continue to follow the same pattern: brief interrogations followed by execution in the prison courtyard.
September 5, 1792 · The violence subsides. Only in La Force prison does a tribunal continue to sit.
September 6, 1792 · The tribunal in La Force prison ceases its activity. The September Massacres come to an end. In total, more than a thousand people were murdered.
Quotes
When justice fails, the people have the duty to make themselves judges. Danton shortly before the beginning of the massacres in Paris.
People, you are killing your enemies! You are only doing your duty! Billaud-Varenne
The people obeyed my voice. They saved France by granting themselves dictatorial powers to kill traitors. Marat in the National Convention. This statement provoked a storm of outrage.
When, in September 1792, enemy troops stood just outside Paris, a rumor spread that the royalists intended to take bloody revenge on the revolutionaries in the event of an invasion. The mob then stormed the prisons. At first, the agitated crowd massacred imprisoned enemies of the Revolution, later also ordinary prisoners. Danton as the responsible Minister of Justice did nothing. In the heat of the political situation – the king had just been overthrown and the Republic had not yet even been officially proclaimed – some politicians found the bloodbath convenient. It ultimately spread fear and terror among the opponents of the Revolution. Marat later boasted that the people had followed his call for revenge.
