André Bollier (May 30, 1920 – June 17, 1944) was a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Bollier was born in Paris and enrolled in the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1938. He was called up for military service after his first year of studies, in September 1939, at the start of the

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germ ...

. He trained in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

and was sent to

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

in February 1940 assigned to the 68th Artillery Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division. He saw combat there and was severely wounded and captured in an engagement with German troops on June 21, 1940. Due to his injuries he was released by the Germans in November 1940 and returned to study at the Polytechnique. In 1941, Bollier became active in the resistance participating in the distribution of the underground newspaper '' Les Petites Ailes'' (''Small Wings''). Following his graduation from the Polytechnique he made contact with the resistance organization

Combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

. He wrote in the group's newspaper, also named ''Combat'', under the pseudonym ''Lefranc''. His participation in effecting the escape of

Berty Albrecht Berty Albrecht (15 February 1893 – 31 May 1943) was a French feminist and Resistance martyr. Life Albrecht was born Berthe Wild in Marseilles on 15 February 1893 to a middle-class Protestant family. She married the Dutch banker Frédéric Alb ...

on December 23, 1942, caused him to be briefly arrested and subsequently to go underground. In 1943–44 he devoted himself to organizing the printing of ''Combat'', taking over as printer from the first printer, Martinet, and turning it into a significant operation that printed over a million newspapers in several regions. During this period he used the pseudonyms ''Carton'' and ''Vélin''. Bollier was arrested in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

on March 8, 1944, and subjected to interrogation and torture. He eventually escaped on May 2, 1944, and rejoined the resistance. A little over a month later, however, on June 17, 1944, a large

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 organi ...

and

Milice The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy regime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) t ...

force surrounded his clandestine printing office. In a shootout, Bollier was shot, and then shot himself to avoid being taken alive. Following the war, he was posthumously awarded the ''

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) 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'' (Legion of Honour ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollier, Andre 1920 births 1944 deaths People from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Suicides by firearm in France École Polytechnique alumni Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) French Army soldiers Companions of the Liberation 1944 suicides French Army personnel of World War II French prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany French Resistance members French escapees Escapees from German detention