Addi Bâ Mamadou (25 December 1916 – 18 December 1943) was part of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

as a member of the first Maquis des Vosges during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, known to the Germans as "the Black Terrorist" (''Der schwarze Terrorist'').

Biography

Addi Bâ arrived in France in 1938 with the family of a colonial tax collector and spent a year in Langeais in

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He enlisted in the French army in 1939 as part of the 12th regiment of

Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs () were a corps of Troupes coloniales, colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Saint-Louis, Senegal, the initial colonial capital city of French West Africa and subsequently throughout W ...

. Bâ was taken prisoner, but managed to escape and joined others in the maquis des Vosges. He was arrested on 18 November 1943 by Germans after the attack of the maquis of the ''Délivrance'' group. Bâ was tortured but did not speak. On 18 December 1943, Bâ was shot at Épinal along with the leader of the maquis, Marcel Arburger.

Legacy

On 13 July 2003, Bâ was posthumously awarded the

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (, ) 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 on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...

. In 2010, the former footballer

Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French author, Philanthropy, philanthropist and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

devoted a chapter to Addi Bâ in his work ''Mes étoiles noires'' ("My Black Stars") on historically important black individuals. Some extracts of this chapter were published on 4 September 2010 in the journal ''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'', as part of a feature titled "Portraits de résistants."Site on Addi Bâ
produced by the independent journalist Étienne Guillermond. His life was recounted in a romanticised manner by Tierno Monénembo in his novel '' le Terroriste noir'', published by éditions du Seuil in 2012. In September 2013, Étienne Guillermond published ''Addi Bâ, résistant des Vosges'', with éditions Duboiris, the result of ten years of research into the young Guinean. A street in Tollaincourt and another in Langeais are named in his honour.

References

Bibliography

* * *

, with the collaboration of Bernard Fillaire, ''Mes étoiles noires'', Éditions Philippe Rey, 2010 *

External links

Addi Bâ Mamadou, héros méconnu de la résistance

Étienne Guillermond, "Sur les traces d'Addi Bâ, héros vosgien d'origine guinéenne," ''Hommes et migrations'' n° 1247, January-February 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ba, Addi 1916 births 1943 deaths Recipients of the Resistance Medal People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Guinean emigrants to France 20th-century Guinean people French Maquis French guerrillas