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Alice Vansteenberghe
Alice Vansteenberghe (née Joly; 18 February 1908 - 9 February 1991) was a medical practitioner and a member of the French Resistance in World War II. In 1944, she was captured and tortured by the so-called "Butcher of Lyon", Klaus Barbie. She later testified against him at his trial for crimes against humanity. Vansteenberghe was born in Saint-Étienne. Her parents were teachers. She studied at the Lyon Faculty of Medicine to obtain her doctorate. There she met André Vansteenberghe - another a medical student on her course - and they married at Lyon's town hall on 21 October 1929. In December 1932, they moved into a large flat at 3 avenue Aristide-Briand, where they also held their general practice. Additionally, Vansteenberghe gave pre-natal advice and medical consultations for infants in the dispensary located in the ''Palais du Travail'' in Lyon. She and her husband joined the communist party and she became a freemason in the "Evolution and Concord Lodge". In 1940, she wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the thirteenth most populated commune in France and the second most populated commune in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its metropolis (''métropole''), Saint-Étienne Métropole, is the third most populous regional metropolis after Grenoble-Alpes and Lyon. The commune is also at the heart of a vast metropolitan area with 497,034 inhabitants (2018), the eighteenth largest in France by population, comprising 105 communes. Its inhabitants are known as ''Stéphanois'' (masculine) and ''Stéphanoises'' (feminine). Long known as the French city of the "weapon, cycle and ribbon" and a major coal mining centre, Saint-Étienne is currently engaged in a vast urban renewal program aimed at leading the transition from the industrial city inherited from the 19th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Frenay
Henri Frenay Sandoval (1905–1988) was a French military officer and French Resistance member. He was born in Lyon, France, on 11 November 1905, into a Catholic family with a military tradition. He studied the Germanic languages at the University of Strasbourg. Afterwards, he became a soldier like his father and studied in Saint Cyr and the École Supérieure de Guerre and reached the rank of captain in 1934. At the outbreak of World War II, he rejoined the French army. German forces captured him in Vosges. He arrived in Marseille after escaping from a POW camp in Alsace on 27 June 1940. At first Frenay supported the Vichy Regime but was soon disillusioned by the Nazi tendency of the Pétain regime, and he subsequently formed the French Resistance group Mouvement de Libération Nationale in 1940. He became an editor of underground newspapers such as ''Vérités'' (Truths) and had a hand in the formation of the Combat group in November 1941. In 1943, his group participated i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1991 Deaths
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet Union, Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, erupts in the Philippines, making it the List of large historical volcanic eruptions, second-largest Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruption of the 20th century; MTS Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa, but the crew notoriously abandons the vessel before the passengers are rescued; Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Flag of the Soviet Union, Soviet flag is lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the flag of the Russian Federation; The United States and soon-to-be dissolved Soviet Union sign the START I Treaty; A tropical cyclone 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, strikes Bangladesh, killing nearly 140,000 people; Lauda Air Flight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Médaille De La Résistance
The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize 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 18 June 1940". The Resistance medal was awarded to approximately 38,288 living persons and 24,463 posthumously. These awards were both for membership in the Free French forces and for participation in the metropolitan clandestine Resistance during the German occupation of France in World War II. Higher deeds were rewarded with the ''Ordre de la Libération''. Proposals for the medal ceased to be accepted on 31 March 1947. For acts that occurred in Indochina, however, that date was moved back to 31 December 1947. The m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Légion D'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained (with occasional slight alterations) by all later French governments and regimes. The order's motto is ' ("Honour and Fatherland"); its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: ' (Knight), ' (Officer), ' (Commander), ' (Grand Officer) and ' (Grand Cross). History Consulate During the French Revolution, all of the French orders of chivalry were abolished and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul, to create a reward to commend civilians and soldiers. From this wish was instituted a , a body of men that was not an order of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundesnachrichtendienst
The Federal Intelligence Service (German: ; , BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin and is the world's largest intelligence headquarters. The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign countries. In 2016, it employed around 6,500 people; 10% of them are military personnel who are formally employed by the Office for Military Sciences. The BND is the largest agency of the German Intelligence Community. The BND was founded during the Cold War in 1956 as the official foreign intelligence agency of West Germany, which had recently joined NATO, and in close cooperation with the CIA. It was the successor to the earlier Gehlen Organization, often known simply as "The Organization" or "The Org", a West German intelligence organization affiliated with the CIA whose existence had not been officially acknowledged. The most central figure in the BND's history was former W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratlines (World War II Aftermath)
Ratlines (german: Rattenlinien) were a system of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe in the aftermath of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in Latin America, particularly Argentina, though also Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as the United States, Spain and Switzerland. There were two primary routes: the first went from Germany to Spain, then Argentina; the second from Germany to Rome to Genoa, then South America. The two routes developed independently but eventually came together. The ratlines were supported by some controversial clergy of the Catholic Church, and later used by the United States Intelligence officers. While reputable scholars unanimously consider Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to have committed suicide in Berlin near the end of the war, various conspiracy theories claim that he survived the war and fled to Argentina. Early Spanish ratlines The orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counterintelligence Corps (United States Army)
The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and, in 1967, by the United States Army Intelligence Agency. Its functions are now performed by its modern-day descendant organization; United States Army Counterintelligence. The National Counter Intelligence Corps Association (NCICA), a veterans' association, was established in the years immediately following World War II by Military Intelligence agents who had served in every area of military and domestic operations. The organization meets annually. Its newsletter, the ''Golden Sphinx'', is published quarterly. Origins The CIC had its origins in the Corps of Intelligence Police founded by Ralph Van Deman in 1917. This organization, operating within the USA and on attachment to the American Expeditionary Force in France, at its peak nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villeurbanne - Plaque Réunion Résistance Du 5 Mai 1942 (mars 2019)
Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris. Villeurbanne is the second-largest city in the metropolitan area of Lyon and the 20th most populated in France. In 2013, Villeurbanne was elected the city with the best administration of France, which attracts more and more people. History The current location of downtown Villeurbanne is known to have been inhabited as far back as 6000 BC. Its current name comes from a Gallo-Roman farming area, established at about the same time as Lyon (then ''Lugdunum'') and known as the ''Villa Urbana'' ("town house"). It would then become ''Urbanum'', then ''Villa Urbane'' and, ultimately, ''Villeurbanne''. Villeurbanne has belonged to the kingdom of France since 1349. It was then separated from La Guillotière (A former city lately in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montluc Prison
Montluc prison () is a former prison located on rue Jeanne Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France. It was known for being an internment, torture and killing place by the Gestapo during the occupation of France by the Nazis. History Built in 1921 for use as a military prison, after the invasion of the unoccupied zone of Vichy France in November 1942, the Gestapo used it as a prison, interrogation centre and internment camp for those waiting for transfer to concentration camps. It is estimated that over 15,000 people were imprisoned in Montluc, and over 900 of them were executed within it. In mid-August 1944, prisoners from Montluc were taken to Bron Airfield where 109 of them, including 72 Jews, were killed in what would become known as ''Le Charnier de Bron'' ("The Charnel house of Bron"). On 20 August about 120 prisoners were taken to Fort de Côte-Lorette in Saint-Genis-Laval and shot. This event is known as the Saint-Genis-Laval massacre. Montluc was liberated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the (SD; Security Service). During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials. History After Adol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles De Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 in order to restore democracy in France. In 1958, he came out of retirement when appointed President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) by President René Coty. He rewrote the Constitution of France and founded the Fifth Republic after approval by referendum. He was elected President of France later that year, a position to which he was reelected in 1965 and held until his resignation in 1969. Born in Lille, he graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1912. He was a decorated officer of the First World War, wounded several times and later taken prisoner at Verdun. During the interwar period, he advocated mobile armoured divisions. During the German invasion of May 1940, he led an armoured divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
