Ginette Hamelin (4 March 1913 – 14 October 1944) was a French engineer and architect who became 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 ...

and an

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...

WWII 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 ...

. She was murdered in a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

in 1944.

Biography

Hamelin was born Ginette Sylvere in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

, Puy-de-Dôme, France on 4 March 1913. Her father was Major Antoine Sylvère. He led a major maquis group in the southwest. Her sister was the singer . Hamelin studied engineering and architecture in the School of Public Works where she was the first woman to graduate in that field. She married N. Hamelin, brother-in-law of the future Prime Minister

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d� ...

. In 1934 Hamelin became a member of the Communist youth. Place Ginette-Hamelin

Hamelin's husband was killed in 1940 and she joined the Resistance in 1941. She was part of the National Front for the Liberation and Independence of France with her sister. They fought with

André Debon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

. Hamelin joined the Snipers and Partisans where she became a second lieutenant and also head of an intelligence service. 13 April 1943 Hamelin was arrested and sent to

Romainville Romainville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Location It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory ...

. From there she was deported to

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

on 29 August. She was killed there on 14 October 1944.

Recognition

Her name is inscribed on the war memorials of Joigny and Auxerre. There is a square named after her in the 12th district of Paris since 2003.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamelin, Ginette 1913 births 1944 deaths Architects from Clermont-Ferrand French women engineers 20th-century French women French Resistance members French people who died in Nazi concentration camps French people who died in Ravensbrück concentration camp