Lucie Aubrac

Lucie Aubrac (of her true name Lucie Samuel, born Bernard ) (born the June 29th 1912 parents originating in Saône-et-Loire, dead the March 14th 2007 with Issy-les-Moulineaux), resistant Frenchwoman was a to the German Occupation and the Régime of Vichy during the Second world war.

Formation and route before war

Girl of Burgundian wine growers , Lucie Bernard succeeds of brilliant studies and passes successfully the contest of the primary Teacher training school to enter teaching. By refusal of the constraints and uniform of the boarding school, it however decides “to go up” to Paris as of its 17 years to earn its plunger living like in a restaurant. It is at this period of its life that it ties contacts with militants Communiste S. Séduite by their ideas, it refuses nevertheless to engage more before and to leave embrigader, marking already by there its spirit of independence which pushes it to refuse to follow the courses of the School of Moscow.

Its meetings during the years 1930 with young Poles, Hungarian, Germans and Roumanians fleeing the authoritarian regimes of their country sensitize it with the danger which the incipient Fascisme represents. In 1936, at the time of a voyage to Berlin at the time of the Olympic Games, it brutally takes conscience of the reality of the mode Nazi and sound Antisémitisme.

In parallel, it continues always brilliant studies of history and geography to the Sorbonne. Incorporated history, it is named professor with Strasbourg. It is there that it meets Raymond Samuel, a young engineer of the Ponts and Chaussées, that it marries in 1939. She teaches a few months with Vannes, where she has, inter alia, for pupil Simone Signoret, wedged in Brittany by the war.

Resistance

In August 1940, it organizes the escape from her husband, prisoner of war to Sarrebourg. The couple takes refuge with Lyon. In October 1940, of passage to Clermont-Ferrand, it finds Jean Cavaillès, professor of philosophy and which was his/her colleague with Strasbourg. This one presents Emmanuel to him d' Astier of Vigerie, journalist, who created two months earlier an organization anti-Nazi and anti-Vichyist called " The Colonne" last;. This meeting is decisive. Raymond and it then devote all their spare time to the activities of " The Colonne" last; : diffusion of leaflets, recruitment, sabotages… From the month of May 1941, they help Emmanuel d' Astier of Vigerie to make a newspaper of which the publication of the 1st number, two months later, mark birth of the movement " Release ".

Under the pseudonym of Aubrac, name borrowed from a character of detective novel (" Aubrac" police chief;), Lucie and Raymond contribute to make " Release " the most important resistance movement in southern zone after the movement " Combat" founded by Henri Frenay. Charged by Emmanuel d' Astier with directing the paramilitary branch of the movement, Raymond is stopped by the Lyons police force on March 15th, 1943, then slackened. Lucie organizes, perhaps with her husband, the escape from the hospital of Antiquaille of their companions Serge Asher (pseudo Ravanel), Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont (Fouquet-Valrimont) and François Morin says Marchal (alias Forestier). June 21st, it is again stopped, this time by the Gestapo, with Caluire, with Jean Moulin (pseudo Rex or max) in particular. Moreover, are stopped: Dr. Frederic Dugoujon, their host of the Castellane villa, Aubry (Avricourt and Thomas), Bruno Larat (Xavier-Laurent Parisot), Lassagne (Lombard), colonels Lacaze and Schwartzfeld (Blumstein). Rene Hardy (alias Didot) manages to flee under discussed conditions which make it suspect of treason. In September 1943, Lucie Aubrac, is made pass for a doctor during a few days, time to make contact, at the hospital of Saint-Etienne, with four resistant arrétés in this city, casualties, of which Robert Kahn, (chief of the WALL of the Loire, and brother of Pierre Kahn-Farelle, Pierre-of-False-papers) and to organize on September 6th a exfiltration of the four resistant ones with a commando of false gestapists supposed to lead them to a interrogation.

Raymond Aubrac is imprisoned with the prison of Montluc of Lyon. Refusing to leave her husband to the hands of the torturers Nazis, Lucie Aubrac assembles an operation armed to release it. As of the 28 or June 29th and in September, it went to see in person the chief of the Gestapo to Lyon, Klaus Barbie, and requested it to let it see its alleged been engaged of which it was pregnant and to authorize their marriage in prison. At the time of this visit, it forwarded to him the plans of the escape. It is during a transfer, on October 21st, 1943, that Lucie and her companions attacked, which occurred Berthelot, with 300 meters before the boulevard of the Swallows, the German truck in which fourteen resistant were of which his/her husband. German, the driver of the cellular truck, was killed and another casualty during the attack and the resistant ones managed to escape.

After this escape, pregnant Lucie, Raymond and their Jean-Pierre son enter clandestinity. They will manage to join London in February 1944.

Engagements

Once the completed war, Lucie Aubrac is charged by Charles de Gaulle with the installation with the Departmental committees with Release, and takes part in the Consultative Assembly of the Provisional government of the French Republic (GPRF), while her husband becomes Commissaire of the Republic and works for the rebuilding.

Refusing to use its notoriety and its heroin statute of Resistance to make career in policy, it continues to teach and militate with the Morocco then during the Guerre of Algeria, always in favor of the Human rights. It takes part in the leading authorities of the Mouvement of peace.

Its militancy for peace and freedom also leads it to give, often with her husband, of many conferences as well as meetings in the colleges and colleges where she testifies to her engagement in Resistance. She also told her engagement in two autobiographical books, They will leave in intoxication (1984) and This demanding freedom (1997) like in a didactic work entitled resistance explained to my small children (2000).

Its engagement is also social and political, when it signs, in March 2004, with several figures of the Resistance of which Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont and Germaine Tillion, a call to the young generations to be reacted in front of the questioning of the “base of the social conquests of the Release”; or when it signs, during the Mouvement anti-CPE, a “call of resistant” inviting the French to put a term at the “break-in of the current capacity”.

Death

She dies the March 14th 2007 at the Swiss Hospital of Paris with Issy-les-Moulineaux (where she was hospitalized since two months and half) at the 94 years age. The homage of the political community of time is unanimous, of the president of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, with the first secretary of the Socialist party, François Holland, while passing through the Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, or all the candidates with the French presidential election of 2007.

It is buried with the military honors on March 21st, with the Invalides, in the presence of the Head of the State, the Prime Minister, several ministers as well as great number of political personalities (Marie-George Buffet, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, Ségolène Royal, Nicolas Sarkozy…).

Ashes of Lucie Aubrac were transferred in the cemetery from Salornay-on-Guye, village of Clunisois where was born his/her father. Voices of all political edges rose to require its transfer to the the Pantheon.

Homages

Its life was adapted to the cinema by the realizer Claude Berri in 1997. It was incarnated with the screen by Carole Bouquet. In 1993 already, its history had given the screen of Boulevard of the swallows .

It was also member of the committee of sponsorship of the French Coordination for the Decade of the culture of peace and non-violence, like large officer of the Légion of honor

In December 2004, its name had been given to a college Villetaneuse (Seine-Saint-Denis) “to associate its name with freedom and the audacity”.

Promotions 2007 of the Political Institutes of Studies of Rennes and Aix-en-Provence, from the National school of the Treasury (ENT), promotion 2007-2008 of the National institute of the territorial studies (INET) and of the Regional Institute of Administration (WILL GO) of Lille as of WILL GO from Lyon took the name of Lucie Aubrac to pay homage to resistant hardly deceased.

In Lyon, the International School residence which until there was not officially inaugurated, was renamed in its homage Cité Lucie Aubrac to the re-entry 2007-2008.

The new college of Doubs, in the academy of Besancon which opens its doors with the re-entry 2007 bears the name of Lucie Aubrac.

The college Romain Roland of Argenteuil (Valley of oise), in the academy of Versailles changed name, it names now Lucie Aubrac as well as the public school of Mervans (the SAONE AND the LOIRE).

Bibliography, Catalog of films

Books

• By Lucie Aubrac:

• Resistance (birth and organization) , 1945, R. Lang
• They will leave in intoxication , 1984, the Threshold
• Resistance explained to my grandchildren , 2000, the Threshold
• On Lucie Aubrac:
• Robert and Jeanne of Annette Kahn with the Editions Payot, which is held to a large extent with Lyon under the Occupation.
• Aubrac, Lyon 1943 , Gerard Chauvy, 1997, ED. Albin Michel
• scientific Work:
• heroins of resistance: images, representations, memories , Callewaert Dawn, Thesis of 3rd cycle (in progress), under the direction of Serge Wolikow, University of Burgundy.
• Aubrac, facts and calumny of François Delpla (Puppet, the Time of cherries, 1997) (partially on line on the site of the author)

Films

• In the Army of the shades of Jean-Pierre Melville, left in 1969, the character of Mathilde played by Simone Signoret is freely inspired by the figure of Lucie Aubrac.
• Boulevard of the swallows realized in 1993 by Josée Yanne, is the first fiction which evokes the history of Lucie Aubrac, incarnated in the Film by Elizabeth Bourgine.
• Lucie Aubrac realized in 1997 by Claude Berri is inspired by the true story of Lucie Aubrac, told in her work They will leave in intoxication . The role of Lucie Aubrac is held by Carole Bouquet.

Documentary

• '' Lucie of all times '' carried out in 2003 by Julie Perron

See too

Lucie Aubrac was German cousin, by alliance, of Annette (Norgeu) Van Cleef. Annette Norgeu, girl of the painter Louis Norgeu was the second woman of Jack Van Cleef. Jack Van Cleef, whose father Eduard Van Cleef is deceased on March 14th, 1944 with Auschwitz, had married in first weddings Claude Combeau, girl of Andree (Leon) Papon, and German cousin of Maurice Papon.