Hélène Laetitia Marie Nautré, born on 15 March 1904 in

Villers-Faucon Villers-Faucon () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Saint-Quentin, at the D72 and D101 crossroads, in the far east of the départem ...

and died on 26 October 1976 in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, was a French

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

and politician.

Biography

Daughter of Paul Gorguet and Marie Olivier, Hélène Gorguet was born into a working-class family. She attended primary school and worked as a cleaner and then as a cloakroom employee in Reims. Married in 1922 in Reims to André Nautré, she joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

in September 1929 and was secretary of the Reims section of the World Women's Committee. Involved in the communist resistance during the

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 ...

, she was in charge of collecting funds, distributing material and acting as a liaison officer. She was arrested by the Germans in May 1943, then deported in May 1944 to Ravensbrück, before being transferred to

Belsen Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

, then

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Liberated in June 1945, she returned to Reims and continued to be active in the French Communist Party. She became the departmental secretary of the Union of French Women, was elected as a municipal councillor in Reims (at the same time as her husband, André, also a communist) and came third on the communist list in the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

for the election of the second constituency, then in the 1946 legislative elections. After the successive resignations of , then , she became a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from June 1948 to July 1951. Still the departmental secretary of the Union of French Women in 1953, she sat with her husband André and her son, Marcel, on the federal communist committee. Her name disappeared from this committee after that date.

References

Distinctions

Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm France - ribbon bar

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

with palm * Croix du Combattant Volontaire de la Resistance ribbon

Cross of the Resistance Volunteer Combatant A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

Croix du Combattant (1930 France) ribbon

Combatant's Cross The Combatant's Cross (french: "Croix du combattant") is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the governm ...

1939-1945 * Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

1939–1945 Commemorative war medal

Legacy

* A street and a park are named after her in Reims. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nautre, Helene 1904 births 1976 deaths 20th-century French women French feminists 20th-century French women politicians Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic