Simone Segouin (; 3 October 1925 – 21 February 2023), also known by her ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' Nicole Minet (), was a

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 ...

fighter who served in the ''

Francs-tireurs et partisans The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist par ...

'' group 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 ...

. Among her first acts of resistance was stealing a bicycle from a German patrol, which she then used to help carry messages. She went on to take part in large-scale or otherwise dangerous missions, such as capturing German troops, derailing trains, and acts of sabotage.

Early life

Segouin was born on 3 October 1925 in Thivars, a French village near

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

. She grew up alongside three brothers. Her father had been a decorated soldier during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She attended school until the age of 14, at which point she began to work on the family farm.

The Resistance

In an interview with Jack Belden, published in ''Life'' magazine in 1944 under the headline "The Girl Partisan of Chartres", Segouin and "Lieutenant Roland" explained that Segouin's involvement with the Resistance arose after the two met when she was 17. The lieutenant instructed her in the use of a

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

and introduced Segouin to other group members. In order to join the ''

Francs-Tireurs et Partisans The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist par ...

'' – communist resistance forces – Segouin obtained false identity papers, which established her as Nicole Minet. These papers identified her as being from the port of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. Segouin began by acting as a messenger and carrying out other small jobs, and later became more actively involved after participating in a successful "train-exploding expedition". Lieutenant Roland was Roland Boursier, with whom Segouin went on to have six children. The couple never married, and all of the children bore Segouin's name. Segouin was present at the liberation of Chartres on 23 August 1944 and the

liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germ ...

two days later. Photographs by

Robert Capa Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist as well as the companion and professional partner of photographer Gerda Taro. He is considered by some to ...

. Of her role in the Resistance, she said:

I was fighting for the resistance, that's all. If I had to start over, I would, because I have no regrets. The Germans were our enemies, we were French.

Segouin gained international fame when photographs of her by American photographer

were published in ''Life'' weeks after the capture of 25 German soldiers in which she took part. Belden concluded his piece on her by noting:

I could find no trace of what is conventionally called toughness in Nicole. After routine farm life, she finds her present job thrilling and exhilarating. Now that the war is passing beyond her own home district she does not think of going back to the farm. She wants to go on with the Partisans and help free the rest of France.

Post-war

She received the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1946, and was awarded the decoration of ''

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

'' for her service in the Resistance. After the war, Segouin became a pediatric nurse in

. A street in

Courville-sur-Eure Courville-sur-Eure () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department The following is a list of the 365 communes of the Eure-et-Loir department of France. The communes coo ...

, where she lived, was named for her. In response to the honour, Segouin said, "I'm very glad to know that people are not indifferent to this period of my life." In 2020, the village hall in Thivars was named for Segouin. She was the subject of a French documentary in 2021, broadcast on

RMC Découverte RMC Découverte is a French television channel broadcast on channel 24 and owned by NextRadioTV. Created in 2012, it mainly broadcasts documentaries such as ''Wheeler Dealers'', ''Ancient Aliens'', Swamp Loggers. RMC Découverte broadcasts the F ...

. On 14 July 2021, she was appointed a

Knight 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, ...

, France's highest

order of merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

. Segouin died on 21 February 2023, at age 97.

References

External links

* * *

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years Kodachrome was widely used ...

footage by

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, film producer, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nomi ...

from hi
"personal visual diary of the war"
Segouin appears at 5:17.

War History Online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Segouin, Simone 1925 births 2023 deaths Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Female recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Female resistance members of World War II Members of the Francs-tireurs et partisans French women in World War II People from Chartres People from Eure-et-Loir Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)