Yvonne Oddon (1902–1982) was one of the leaders in the reformation of French libraries and 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 ...

in World War II.

Biography

Yvonne Oddon was born in

Gap, Hautes-Alpes Gap (, ) is the prefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, the commune had a population of 40,631, making it the most populated city in Hautes-Alpes. At a height of 750 m ...

to a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

family. After secondary school studies and a year as a lecturer in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, she was admitted to the school of Library Studies in Paris built after World War I with the help of American aid. She there became an assistant and in 1926-1928 went on a training course to the United States. On her return to France in 1929 she became a librarian at the

Trocadéro The Trocadéro (), site of the Palais de Chaillot, is an area of Paris, France, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It is also the name of the 1878 palace which was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Palais ...

Museum in the

Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, France. For the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) ...

while continuing her activity in the Council of Librarians and Association of French Librarians. Her name remains attached to the ''Guide du bibliothécaire amateur'' (Guide for the amateur librarian), published in 1930 by Charles-Henri Bach; and this with the text revised and corrected became the ''Petit guide du bibliothécaire'' being considerably added to after 1945 and republished under two names with certain editions being illustrated. The Trocadéro Museum became the

Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme ( French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne' ...

, and its library, open to the public and methodically classified (according to an adaptation of the classification of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

) represents a turning point in study library management. For the

Universal Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

of 1947 she was given the task of organising the Libraries section.

French Resistance

Yvonne Oddon was an early resister of German occupation of France in the

Second World War 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 ...

. While serving as the Head Librarian of the

musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme ( French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne' ...

, she had sent books and clothing to French

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. With Lucie Boutillier du Rétail, Oddon helped prisoners escape and find shelter and food as well as safe haven. In 1940 she took part, with

Boris Vildé Boris Vildé (25 June Old Style/8 July 1908 – 23 February 1942) was a linguist and ethnographer at the Musée de l'Homme, in Paris, France. He specialised in polar civilizations. He was born in St. Petersburg into a family of Eastern Orthodox Ru ...

and

Agnès Humbert Agnès Humbert (12 October 1894 – 19 September 1963) was an art historian, ethnographer and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. She has become well known through the publication of a translation of the diary of her experience ...

, in the creation of a resistance group called the

Groupe du musée de l'Homme The ''Groupe du musée de l'Homme'' ( French for 'Group of the Museum of Man') was a movement in the French resistance to the German occupation during the Second World War. In July 1940, after the Appeal of 18 June from Charles de Gaulle, a resi ...

, initially to help prisoners and aviators to escape. She was also present at the birth of a clandestine newspaper named ''Résistance''. On 10 February 1941 the participants of the group were arrested following their denunciation by an employee. On 7 February 1942, the six men in the group were sentenced to death, but for the three women, including Yvonne Oddon,The three women were Yvonne Oddon, Sylvette Leleu and Alice Simmonet the sentence was suspended and they were deported to Germany. Yvonne went to several prisons before being sent to the camp at Ravensbrück on 20 November 1944. Freed by the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

, she arrived back in Paris on 14 April 1945 as part of an exchange negotiated between the Red Cross and

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

Post-war

After the war, Yvonne Oddon, while continuing her work at the Musée de l'Homme, took part in numerous missions under the aegis of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(

Haïti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, 1949) and took part in the organisation of education conferences based in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

in 1950 and in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

in 1954; then the creation of the

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, I ...

, for which she made a classification system; and she took part, after her retirement, in numerous missions, particularly to the Museum centre in Jos,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She was awarded the rank of ''Chevalier'' (

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

) for her resistance work and was later promoted to ''Officier''. She died in 1982, and was buried at Menglon (

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

), the cradle of her family.

Notes

References

*Humbert, Agnès (tr. Barbara Mellor), ''Résistance: Memoirs of Occupied France'', London, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2008 (American title: ''Resistance: A Frenchwoman's Journal of the War'', Bloomsbury, USA, 2008)

External links