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A Companion of Liberation (French : Compagnon de la Libération) is a member of the Order of the Liberation, created on November 16, 1940, by General de Gaulle as "leader of the Free French" to "reward the people or military and civilian communities who have distinguished themselves in the work of liberation of France and its empire". [1]
Five communes (Paris, Île de Sein, Nantes, Grenoble and Vassieux-en-Vercors), [2] 18 combat units including two warships, and 1,038 people count among the Companions of the Liberation during the signing of the decree of foreclosure of the order of the Liberation. [3] Of the 1,038 companions, 271 were appointed posthumously. [4] The youngest, who died at 14, is Mathurin Henrio. [5]
Seventy-three foreigners or French-born foreigners, of 25 different nationalities, were made companions. [6] Among the most famous are Dwight D. Eisenhower, King Mohammed V of Morocco, King George VI and Winston Churchill, decorated after Order foreclosure.
On October 12, 2021, Florence Parly, announced to Senate the death of Hubert Germain, the last surviving companion since the death of Daniel Cordier in November 2020. [7] [8] As such, he is buried in the crypt of the Combatant France Memorial at Mont Valérien on November 11, 2021. [9] [10]
The 'companions' represent fairly well the history of Free France, the French Resistance and the French Liberation Army, we note however that the different categories are not represented in proportions in conformity with their actual participation. The circumstances, the difficulties of the time in knowing the real action of the resistance, the criteria of General de Gaulle and his rapid departure from power in 1946, probably explain this fact.
Of the 1,038 companions, there are only six women, [11] which is far below their proportion in the ranks of the Resistance. [lower-alpha 1] The Resistance is likewise under-represented compared to Free France, which represents three-quarters of the decorated. [12] General de Gaulle indeed began by decorating combatants and agents that he or those close to him knew; its contacts with the other components of the French Resistance were not really established until around 1942, a period which saw the unification of the latter under the aegis of London by Jean Moulin. [13] Moreover, in the opacity of the clandestine struggle, the leaders of the movements had more difficulty in identifying the most deserving patriots to propose them for decorations. In principle, each movement of the internal resistance had two crosses. But a certain number of leaders or senior figures of the resistance movements never received it, for example Raymond and Lucie Aubrac or the founders of the “Defence of France” movement. Even unwavering supporters of General de Gaulle such as Philippe Peschaud or his own son Philippe de Gaulle, [14] or later like Michel Debré, [15] were not made companions, sometimes to the chagrin of the general.
It can also be noticed that the Companions were chosen from among those who, at one time or another, took the risk of opposing the Vichy regime as the Free French had done. Thus, for example, Marshal de Lattre was made a companion while Marshal Juin was not.
Ten percent of the Companions of the Liberation were under 20 years of age at the start of the war, in 1939.
Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Louis XV – and then as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1972 to 1974. A member of the French Foreign Legion, he was considered one of the historical Gaullists, and died aged 91 in the military hospital of the Val-de-Grâce in August 2007. He was elected a member of the Académie française in 1999; his seat was taken over by Simone Veil.
Michel Jean-Pierre Debré was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 1959 to 1962. In terms of political personality, Debré was intense and immovable and had a tendency to rhetorical extremism.
The Order of Liberation is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the Légion d’Honneur. Very few people, military units and communes were ever awarded it; and only for their deeds during World War II. A different order, the Médaille de la Résistance, was created and awarded for lesser but still distinguished deeds by members of the Resistance.
Berty Albrecht was a French feminist and French Resistance martyr of the Second World War.
Germain Jousse, was a member of the French Resistance during World War II.
Mathurin Henrio was a young French Resistance fighter who was shot dead by German soldiers for refusing to answer questions on the whereabouts of maquisards. At age fourteen, he is the youngest recipient of the Ordre de la Libération and a recipient of the Croix de guerre 1939-45.
The Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération is a military museum located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. The museum is dedicated to the Ordre de la Libération, France's second national order after the Légion d'honneur, which was created in 1940 by General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces. In 1967 de Gaulle moved the Order of the Liberation into Les Invalides.
The Groupe du musée de l'Homme was a movement in the French resistance to the German occupation during the Second World War.
The Mémorial de la France combattante is the most important memorial to French fighters of World War II (1939–1945). It is situated below Fort Mont-Valérien in Suresnes, in the western suburbs of Paris. It commemorates members of the armed forces from France and the colonies, and members of the French Resistance. Fifteen representative French fighters were buried here in an elaborate ceremony on 11 November 1945. The present memorial was opened on 18 June 1960. It has a wall in which are set sixteen bronze reliefs that represent in allegorical terms the different phases, places and participants in the struggle.
Alfred Touny was a French soldier, lawyer and businessman who became one of the leaders of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45). He was arrested by the Gestapo towards the end of the war and shot.
Joseph Hackin was a French archaeologist and Resistance member. He was a curator at the Musée Guimet and explored Afghanistan in 1923 with Alfred Foucher and Andre Godard.
Edgard Tupët-Thomé was a French militant. He served in the Free French Forces.
Pierre Adrien Simonet was a French militant and senior official. He was with the Free French Forces before becoming a colonial administrator and international official.
Daniel Cordier was a French Resistance fighter, historian and art dealer. As a member of the Camelots du Roi, he engaged with Free France in June 1940. He was secretary to Jean Moulin from 1942 to 1943, and his opinions evolved to the left. He was named a Companion of the Liberation in 1944, and, after the war, he became a historian and art dealer. He was an advocate for gay rights.
Hubert Germain was a French politician who was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was the last living Companion of the Order of Liberation.
François Drogou was a French Navy officer who became a Companion of Liberation posthumously by decree of 31 January 1941. An experienced naval officer, he specialized in submarine warfare shortly before World War II. After the armistice of 22 June 1940, he decided to join Free France and subsequently operated in the Mediterranean Sea, where he disappeared with the entire crew of his submarine.
Bernard Anquetil (1916–1941) was a French Resistance and a Compagnon de la Libération.
Jean-Yves Le Naour, born April 26, 1972, in Meaux, is a French historian and popularizer specializing in the First World War and the 20th century. He is also a scriptwriter for comic strips and documentary films.
Claude Lepeu, was a French resistance fighter, a companion of the Liberation in 1942.
Raymond Pognon was a French politician and resistance fighter, Companion of the Liberation. Elected locally in New Caledonia, he participated in the rallying of this territory to Free France in 1940 but, in disagreement with the representatives of General de Gaulle, retired from political life shortly after.
