The
Ordre de la Libération (“Order of the Liberation”) is a French
OrderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the
Légion d’Honneur (
Legion of HonourThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
) and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished during World War II. A different order, the
Médaille de la RésistanceThe French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18...
, was created and awarded for less distinguished deeds in the
ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
.
The
Ordre de la Libération was instituted on 16 November 1940 by General
de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
, in the order n° 7 signed in Brazzaville.
The
Ordre de la Libération (“Order of the Liberation”) is a French
OrderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the
Légion d’Honneur (
Legion of HonourThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
) and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished during World War II. A different order, the
Médaille de la RésistanceThe French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18...
, was created and awarded for less distinguished deeds in the
ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
.
History
The
Ordre de la Libération was instituted on 16 November 1940 by General
de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
, in the order n° 7 signed in Brazzaville. The aim of the Order is to “reward people, or military or civilian communities, who will have distinguished themselves in the work of liberation France and her Empire”.
There are no criteria relating to age, sex, rank, origin or nationality, nor are there any requirements in the nature of the deeds, apart from their exceptional quality.
The Order has one single rank, awarding the title of
Compagnon de la Libération (“Companion of the Liberation”). General de Gaulle, founder of the Order, has been the only
Grand Maître (“Grand Master”) of the Order.
The last award was given on 23 January 1946.
Insignia
The medal of the Order is called
Croix de la Libération (“Cross of the Liberation”). It is a bronze rectangular shield with a gladium carrying a
cross of LorraineThe Cross of Lorraine is a heraldic cross. The "double cross" consists of a vertical line crossed by two smaller horizontal bars. In the ancient version, both bars were of the same length...
(symbol of the
Free French ForcesThe Free French Forces were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation.-Definition:...
), and with the Latin motto “PATRIAM SERVANDO VICTORIAM TULIT” on the reverse (“By serving the Fatherland, he/she achieved Victory”). The ribbon has the colors black for mourning, and green for hope, symbolizing the state of France in 1940. The first ribbons had diagonal black stripes, British-style; from August-September 1942 on, the subsequent versions had two vertical black stripes.
The medal is usually given in the military ceremonial of the taking of arms. The relevant person would be called by his rank and name, and given the insignia while being told:
Nous vous reconnaissons comme notre Compagnon pour la libération de la France dans l’honneur et par la Victoire (“We acknowledge you as our companion for the Liberation of France, in honour and by Victory”).
Recipients
1061 crosses have been awarded :
- 1038 to people
- 18 to units of the Army, Air Force or Navy
- 5 to towns: Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, while its metropolitan area is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate....
, GrenobleGrenoble is a city in south-eastern France situated at the foot of the French Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains make the city named "Capital of Alps."The history of the...
, ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Vassieux-en-VercorsVassieux-en-Vercors is a commune in the department of Drôme in south-eastern France.-Geography:The village is built on a polje of limestone and dominated by a vast Karst landscape...
and l’Île de Sein.
People
Amongst the 1036 Fellows, 65 were killed before the end of the War (8 May 1945), and 260 received the distinction posthumously. Often, the Order was awarded to people according to their
nom de guerre, which was a common practice in the Resistance.
Notably, six women were awarded the title :
- Berty Albrecht
Berty Albrecht was a French Resistance Fighter, born Berthe Wild at Marseille, 15 February, 1893. She died in 1943 at Fresnes.-Life:Born into a middle-class Protestant family, she married the Dutch banker Frédéric Albrecht in 1918...
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/9.html, co-founder of the movement Combat, who died in the prison of Fresnes in 1943
- Laure Diebold
Laure Diebold, sometimes written Laure Diebolt was a high-profile female member of the French Resistance during World War II. She was also the private secretary of Jean Moulin before being arrested then deported from 1943 to 1945 to the Nazi camp of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and finally Buchenwald...
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/287.html, liaison agent of the “Mithridate” network and secretary to Jean MoulinJean Moulin was a high-profile member of the French Resistance during World War II. He is remembered today as an emblem of the Resistance primarily due to his courage and death at the hands of the Germans.-Before the war:...
, deported.
- Marie Hackin http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/449.html, died at sea in February 1941 on a mission
- Marcelle Henry http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/464.html of the VIC escape network, died shortly after returning from deportation
- Simone Michel-Lévy
Simone Michel-Lévy was a French Resistance worker. She had several pseudonyms - Emma, Françoise, Madame Royale, Mademoiselle Flaubert or Madame Bertrand - and is one of 6 female compagnons de la Libération .-Life:Joining the staff of the PTT in 1924, she was allowed into the...
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/678.html, of the Postmen Resistance, died while deported
- Émilienne Moreau-Evrard
Émilienne Moreau-Evrard was a French heroine of World War I, a high-profile female member of the “Brutus” Resistance network during World War II and later, a member of the “Assemblée consultative provisoire”...
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/327.html, hero of the First World War, agent for the “Brutus” network and later member of the Assemblée Consultative Provisoire
Also, nearly 10% of the recipients of the Order were younger than 20 at the beginning of the war. The youngest,
Mathurin HenrioMathurin Henrio, alias Barrioz was a young French resistant shot dead by German soldiers for refusing to answer questions on the whereabouts of maquisards. He is the youngest recipient of the Ordre de la Libération....
*
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/54.html, was 14 when he was shot dead by Nazi officers for refusing to answer questions on the whereabouts of
MaquisardsThe Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
.
The Order was re-opened twice to honor foreign personalities who helped liberate France:
- Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
(1958)
- King George VI
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death...
(1960, posthumously)
The complete list of recipients is available at
http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_doc/liste_compagnons.pdf
Military units
Military units as a whole have been awarded the title of
Compagnon de la Libération.
On 18 June 1996, at Mont Valérien, the 17 military units which had been awarded the Cross of Liberation were given a green and black
fourragèreThe fourragère is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole. The award has been firstly adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.- History :...
by President
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
.
Armée de Terre
- Bataillon de Marche n°2
- 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade
The 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade is an infantry demi-brigade in the French Foreign Legion. It is the only permanent demi-brigade in the French Army.- History :...
- Bataillon d’Infanterie de Marine et du Pacifique
- Régiment de Marche du Tchad
- 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment is one of the oldest marine units in the French Army, as part of the troupes de marine. It formed part of the 2nd Brigade of the Blue Division during the Franco-Prussian War....
- 1st Colonial Artillery Regiment
The 1st Marine Artillery Regiment is one of the oldest marine artillery units in the military of France, as part of the troupes de marine within the French Army {Founded 1692}. With two infantry marine regiments it formed the 2nd Brigade of the Blue Division during the Franco-Prussian War...
- 1/3ème Régiment d’Artillerie Coloniale
- 1er Régiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains (August 7, 1945) and Colonel Jean Rémy
Jean Stanislas Rémy, commonly known as Jean Rémy, was a French colonel, a member of the Free French, and a Companion of the Liberation.- Biography :...
in 1944
- 501ème Régiment de chars de Combat
Marine
- Sous-marin Rubis
The Rubis was a Saphir-class minelaying submarine which served in the French Navy and Free French Navy during the Second World War.During the Norwegian campaign, in May 1940, she laid mines off the Norwegian coast; her mines claimed four Norwegian vessels in May and June, and a further three...
- Corvette Aconit
- 1er Régiment de Fusiliers Marins
Armée de l’Air
- 1ère Escadrille de Chasse
- Régiment de Chasse Normandie-Niemen
The Normandie-Niemen squadron was a fighter squadron of the French Air Force. It served on the Eastern Front of the European Theatre of World War II with the 1st Air Army...
- 2ème Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes de l’Armée de l’Air
- Groupe de Bombardment Lorraine
- Groupe de Chasse Ile-de-France
- Groupe de Chasse Alsace
Cities
- Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, while its metropolitan area is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate....
: awarded on 11 November 1941
“heroical city which, since the crime of capitulation, has opposed a fierce resistance to any sort of collaboration with the enemy. Occupied by German troops and subject to the harshest sort of repression, has given to the French, by numerous individual and collective actions, a magnificent example of courage and fidelity. By the blood of her martyr children, just shown to the whole World the French will for a national Liberation”.
- Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in south-eastern France situated at the foot of the French Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains make the city named "Capital of Alps."The history of the...
: awarded on 4 May 1944
“Heroical city at the vanguard of the French Resistance and of the combat for Liberation. Clothed in her pride, opposed a fierce fight at every instant to the Germans, despite the arrest and the massacre of her best sons. Despising the interdictions given by the invaders and their accomplices, demonstrated on 11 November 1943 her certainty of Victory and her will to take part to it. On 14 November and the 2nd of December 1943, responded to the reprisals and the execution of the chiefs of the Resistance movements by the destruction of the ammunition depot, barracks, transformators and factories used by the enemy. Have served the Fatherland well.”
- Paris
Paris is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
awarded on 24 March 1945
“Capital faithful to herself and to France, demonstrated, under the enemy occupation and oppression, and in spite of the voices of abandon and treason, her unshakable resolution to fight and to win. By her courage in the presence of the invader and by the indomitable energy with which she sustained the harshest of the trials, deserved to stay as the example for the Nation in its entirety. On 19 August, in cooperation with the Allied and French armies, has stood to drive away the enemy through a series of glorious fights begun in the Cité and swiftly spread to all points of the city. In spite of heavy losses sustained by the French Force of the Interior standing within her, has liberated itself through her own efforts and, united with the vanguard of the French Army come to her rescue, has, on 25 August, reduced the German to his last stands and made him capitulate.”
- Vassieux-en-Vercors
Vassieux-en-Vercors is a commune in the department of Drôme in south-eastern France.-Geography:The village is built on a polje of limestone and dominated by a vast Karst landscape...
: Awarded on 4 August 1945
“Village of the Vercors which, thanks to the patriotism of her inhabitants, has totally sacrificed herself for the cause of the French Resistance in 1944. Main parachuting centre for the Allied air force on the plateau, has always helped by all means the military of the Maquis in the gathering of arms. Violently bombed on 14 July, attacked by 24 German gliders on the 21st and 22 July, had 72 of her inhabitants massacred and the entirety of her houses burned down by a merciless enemy. Martyr of her faith in the resurrecting of the Fatherland.”
- l’Ile de Sein
The Île de Sein is a French island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Finistère, 8 kilometres from pointe du Raz , from which it is separated by the Raz de Sein. Its Breton name is Enez Sun...
: Awarded on 1 January 1946
“Confronted to the enemy invasion, has refused to abandon the battlefield which it hers: the Sea. Has sent all of her children to the fight under the flag of Free France, hence becoming the example and symbol of all of Brittany.”
External links