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 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 ...

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 Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

during the German occupation of France in World War II. Higher deeds were rewarded with 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 ...

''. 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 medal was also awarded to 18 communities and territories, 21 military units, and to 15 other organizations including convents, high schools, and hospitals that particularly distinguished themselves.

Award statute

Insigne régimentaire de la 13e Demi-brigade de Légion étrangère

The Resistance medal is awarded by the Chief of a Fighting France to French individuals and communities: * who took an especially active part since 18 June 1940 in the resistance against Axis forces and their accomplices on French soil or in a territory under French sovereignty; * who took an effective and important part in the rallying of French territories to Fighting France or rendered services in the war effort of those territories that were confirmed and logged; * who played an eminent role in the actions of organizations of Fighting France abroad or in propaganda destined at regrouping and supporting the forces of the resistance; * who rallied troops, ships or aircraft in exceptionally difficult or dangerous conditions; * who joined the Free French Forces in particularly dangerous and meritorious conditions. The Resistance medal may be revoked by decree following any act contrary to honour or integrity, whether committed prior to or after bestowal of the medal.

Award description

The Resistance medal is a 37mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze. Its slightly concave obverse bears at center a vertical Cross of Lorraine with the relief semi circular inscription of the date of General de Gaulle's appeal of 18 June 1940 in

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

"XVIII.VI.MCMXL" (18.06.1940) bisected by the lower part of the cross. The reverse bears the relief image of an unfurling ribbon bearing the relief inscription in Latin "''PATRIA NON IMMEMOR''" translating into "THE NATION DOES NOT FORGET". The suspension is cast as an integral part of the medal. The medal hangs from a 36mm wide black silk moiré ribbon with six vertical red stripes of varying widths, 3mm wide edge stripes, two 1mm wide central stripes 2mm apart, and two 1mm wide stripes 6mm from the central stripes. A 28mm in diameter rosette is on the ribbon of the ''Officer of the Resistance'' medal.

Notable recipients (partial list)

*Resistance leader

Jean Pierre-Bloch Jean Pierre-Bloch (born Jean-Pierre Bloch; 14 April 1905 – 17 March 1999) was a French Resistant of the Second World War as an activist, being a former president of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism. Biography Socia ...

*Resistance member Josephine Baker *Resistance leader and air force pilot

Claudius Billon Claudius Billon (13 February 1896 – 1 September 1944) was a captain in the French air force and the regional controller of the ''Armée secrète'' in '' Région R1'' (Rhône) during World War II. He was captured by German police and sentenced to ...

*Resistance member Albert Haar *Resistance member Andrzej Kuśniewicz *Resistance member Georges Caussanel *Resistance member

Jane Vialle Jane or Jeanne Vialle (1906–1953) was a French journalist, politician and women's rights activist.Richard A. Bradshaw and Juan Fandos RiusJane Vialle ''Dictionary of African Biography'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Accessed on 5 July ...

*Resistance member lieutenant Henry Andraud *Resistance member Marcel Dufriche *Resistance member

Édouard Le Jeune Édouard Le Jeune (20 February 1921 – 9 April 2017) was a French World War II veteran and politician. He was the mayor of Dinéault from 1953 to 1989, and a senator for Finistère from 1971 to 1998. He was the founding president of the Parc na ...

, former Senator *Resistance leader Colonel

Émile Coulaudon Émile Coulaudon (29 December 1907 - 1 June 1977), known as Colonel Gaspard, was one of the principal leaders of the French Resistance in Auvergne during the Second World War. Life prior to the Resistance Coulaudon was born on 29 December 1907 ...

*Resistance leader Capitaine

Adrien Pommier Adrien Pommier (14 September 1919 – 22 November 1973) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Life prior to the Resistance Adrien Pommier was born on 14 September 1919 in Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne, a small village in the center o ...

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

Operative and First Aid Nursing Yeomanry member Nancy Wake *Admiral

Philippe Auboyneau Philippe Auboyneau (9 November 1899 – 22 February 1961) was an officer in the French Navy. As an admiral, he was commander of the Free French naval forces in the Pacific and the Mediterranean during the Second World War. He was awarded the Ordr ...

*Resistance movement founder, army lieutenant, businessman and politician

Antoine Avinin Antoine Louis Avinin (b. 26 January 1902 d.29 October 1962) liases Albert Arnaud, Albert Anceau, Albert Audin, Talbertwas a French businessman, resistance fighter and politician. Biography He was born in Lyon. His parents owned a food trading bu ...

*Lieutenant General Marcel Bigeard * Foreign Legion general Bernard Saint-Hillier * Foreign Legion Lieutenant Colonel

Pierre Jeanpierre Pierre Paul Jeanpierre (14 March 1912 – 29 May 1958) was a senior officer of the Foreign Legion. He initially served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis and the Algerian War, where he ...

* French paratrooper

André Zirnheld André Louis Arthur Zirnheld (March 7, 1913 – July 27, 1942) was a French paratrooper, a member of the Free French Air Force, and a member of the French Squadron, Special Air Service during World War II. He is famous for being the first French ...

(

The Paratrooper's Prayer La Prière du Para (The Paratrooper's Prayer) is a French poem found in the possession of the presumed author, Aspirant ( Brevet-Lieutenant) André Zirnheld, upon his death in Libya on July 27, 1942. The Paratrooper's Prayer has been adopted by all ...

) *Writer, statesman, resistance member André Malraux *Resistance member, union leader,

operative and politician

Yvon Morandat Yvon Morandat (25 December 1913, Buellas – 8 December 1972) liases "Léo", "Mareuil" and "Arnolphe"was a trade union leader, a member of the French Resistance as an SOE RF Section/'' Bureau central de renseignements et d'action'' operative a ...

*Writer, statesman, resistance member Paul Rassinier *Irish playwright, director, novelist

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

*Irish language teacher and resistance worker

Janie McCarthy Janie McCarthy (1885 – 20 December 1964) was an Irish Resistance during World War II, resistance worker during World War II in Paris, and language teacher. Early life and education Janie (sometimes recorded as Jane) McCarthy was born in Bohe ...

*Resistance leader Pierre Kahn-Farelle *Politician, resistance member general

Pierre de Bénouville Pierre de Bénouville (8 August 1914 – 4 December 2001) was a French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsib ...

*Resistance member doctor Charles Cliquet *Resistance member Jeanne L'Herminier *Resistance member sous-liutenant

Marina Vega A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ship ...

(Base Espagne) *Free French soldier general François Binoche *Resistance Leader Camille Nicolas *Free French Forces and

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

Captain

René Joyeuse René Joyeuse, M.D., MS, FACS (17 January 192012 June 2012) was a Swiss, French and American soldier, physician and researcher. He distinguished himself as an agent of Allied intelligence in German-occupied France during World War II. Early lif ...

*Diplomat

Louis Alexis Étienne Bonvin Louis Alexis Étienne Bonvin (6 November 1886 in Montluçon (Allier) – 23 February 1946, Montluçon (Allier)) was a French diplomat and colonial official of the French Third Republic, who served as governor of French India between 1938 and 1946. ...

*Resistance member Émile Bollaert *Resistance leader Edmond Proust *Free French soldier warrant officer Walter Grand *Resistance leader Joseph Dubar *Free French navy admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu *Resistance member, captain in the French military, French art historian and "Monuments Men" member Rose Valland *Resistance leader and general practitioner,

André Vansteenberghe André Vansteenberghe (16 April 1906 - 6 November 1984) was a general medical practitioner and a leading member of the French Resistance in southern France during World War II. Biography He was born in Orléans. His father was a clerk in t ...

*Resistance member, general practitioner, torture victim of and prosecution witness against Klaus Barbie,

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 ...

*Resistance proeminent organiser in Marseille, Jacques Baumel

Notable posthumous recipients (partial list)

*Grenoble resistance member Jean Pain *Free French aviator lieutenant Gérard Claron *Free French aviator captain Louis Flury-Hérard *Resistance leader general Aubert Frère *Captain, doctor, mayor of

Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey (, literally ''Saint-Rambert in Bugey'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. History The commune takes its name from St Rambert (or Ragnebert) who was assassinated here in the 7th century. The site soon ...

, Michel Temporal *Resistance member Pierre Guillou *Free French aviator Pierre Brisdoux Galloni d'Istria *Resistance leader Fernand Zalkinow *Resistance member colonel Émile Bonotaux *Resistance member brigadier general

Georges Journois Georges Henri Journois (13 November 1896 – 26 September 1944) was a French resistance fighter and Brigadier General who died in a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Early life Journois was born on 13 Nov ...

*Abbot René Bonpain *Resistance leader Pierre Brossolette *Resistance leader

Pierre Kaan Pierre Kaan (French: Help:IPA for French, jεʀ kɑ̃10 January 1903 – 18 May 1945) was a professor of philosophy, Marxist essayist, and prominent member of the French Resistance during World War II. Activist, writer, teacher (1919–1939 ...

*Resistance member Léger Fouris *Resistance member Gabriel Plançon *Resistance member rabbi Samuel Klein *Resistance member Laurent Matheron *Resistance leader Marc Haguenau *Resistance member Georges Lamarque *Resistance leader rear admiral Jacques Trolley de Prévaux *Resistance member Jean Chaffanjon *Resistance member Pierre Chaffanjon *Resistance member

Yvonne Chollet Yvonne Chollet (1 March 1897 – 23 February 1945) was a teacher in Vendôme, France, who surveilled the movement of German equipment on behalf of the French Resistance and reported her findings to Allies of World War II, Allied forces during Wor ...

*Resistance member Robert Duterque *Resistance member

Henri Fertet Henri Claude Fertet (27 October 1926 – 26 September 1943) was a French schoolboy and resistance fighter who was executed by the German occupying forces during World War II. He was posthumously awarded several national honours. He is known for ...

(1926-1943) *Resistance member, chemist

France Bloch-Sérazin France Bloch-Sérazin (; (21 February 1913 – 12 February 1943) was a chemist and militant communist who fought in the French resistance against German occupation during World War II. Biography Born in Paris into a Jewish family, she was ...

(1913 – 1943) *Resistance member

Agnès de La Barre de Nanteuil Agnès de La Barre de Nanteuil, also Agnès de Nanteuil, (1922–1944) was a French Resistance worker during the Second World War who helped allied airmen escape from the Nazis in occupied France. She died on 13 August 1944 at the Paray-le-Monial ...

(1922–1944)

Recipient communities and organizations (partial list)

* Oyonnax commune * University of Strasbourg * Montceau-les-Mines commune *Lalande de Bourg-en-Bresse high school *

6th Engineers Regiment The 6th Engineers Regiment (french: 6e Régiment du Génie) is a regiment of the ''génie militaire'' of the French Military constituted under the IIIrd Republic. It is the only Engineers Regiment among the Troupes de Marine (French Marine Cor ...

*Preparatory Military School of Autun * Marsoulas commune * Caniac-du-Causse commune * Miribel commune * Béthincourt commune * Meximieux commune *

1st Line Infantry Regiment , image=Insigne du 1er régiment d'infanterie (1er RI).svg , image_size=150px , caption=Insignia of the 1st Infantry Regiment. , dates=1479 – present , country=France , branch=Army , command_structure= Franco-German Brigade part of 1st Divisi ...

* Terrou commune * Nantua commune *Notre-Dame de Timadeuc abbey * * *

13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion ) and veteran foreign regiments (french: Anciens régiment étranger, link=no) of the Legion, in case of the CEPs, BEPs & REPs, the context reference is referring to the paratrooper veterans (french: Anciens legionnaires parachutistes, link=no) ...

*1st Marines Regiment * City of Brest * Caen commune

References

External links

La Commission nationale de la Médaille de la Résistance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resistance Medal Civil awards and decorations of France French campaign medals French Resistance Awards established in 1943 Military awards and decorations of World War II