Companion of the release

A Compagnon of the Release is a member of the “Ordre of the Release” created the November 17th 1940 by Charles de Gaulle as “a Chief of the French Free S”.

This title is decreed “to reward the people or the communities military and civil which will have been announced in the work of release of the France and for sound Empire. ” Thus, 1.038 people, five communes (Paris, Island-of-Center, Nantes, Grenoble and Vassieux-in-Vercors) but also eighteen combat units count with the number of the Companions of the Release during the signature of the decree of preclusion from the Ordre from the Release is the January 23rd 1946. Among the 1.038 Companions, 260 were named on a purely posthumous basis.

On the 1.038 Companions, one counts only six women and twelve communist, which is very in on this side proportion of these two categories of population in the rows of Resistance. The interior Résistance in the same way under-is represented compared to the free France, which represents the three quarters of decorated. The de Gaulle general indeed initially started by decorating with the combatants and the agents that him or its close relations knew; its contacts with French interior Resistance were really tied only about 1942, period which saw the unification of this one under the aegis of London by Jean Moulin. In addition, in the opacity of the clandestine fight, the chiefs of the movements had more difficulties in locate deserving militants to propose them for decorations, whereas the combatants FFL fought at the great day and generally under their true name. In theory, each movement of interior Resistance had two Crosses. But a certain number of chiefs or high figures of the resistance movements never received this one, for example the husbands Aubrac or the founders of Défense of France, and even of indéfectibles supports of the de Gaulle general such Michel Debré, Philippe Peschaud or its own son Philippe de Gaulle was not made companions.
44 foreigners of 18 different nationalities were made Compagnons; among most famous, one can quote Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, the king of Morocco Mohammed V, the king of the United Kingdom George VI.

At August 29th, 2007, 63 Companions of the Release were still in life. The last Companion will be buried in the Crypte Mont Valérien, in the 17th tomb left vacuum to accommodate it.

See too

  • List of the companions of the Release

External bonds

  • Official site about the Release.

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