The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the

French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...

, based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, 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 ...

. It was established by a

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

of General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in the

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

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 __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

and for participation in the metropolitan clandestine Resistance during the

German occupation of France in World War II The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. Higher deeds were rewarded with the ''

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (, ) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a worn by recipients only before the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour). In the official portrait of G ...

''. Proposals for the medal ceased to be accepted on 31 March 1947. For acts that occurred in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

, 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

The Resistance medal was awarded by the Chief of a Fighting France to French, and rarely non-French, individuals and communities: * who took an especially active part since 18 June 1940 in the resistance against

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

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 Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

bears at center a vertical

Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldry, heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizontal bars are "graded" with ...

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 Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

"''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 *Resistance member

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

*Resistance leader and air force pilot Claudius Billon *Resistance member Albert Haar *Resistance member Andrzej Kuśniewicz *Resistance member Georges Caussanel *Resistance member Jane Vialle *Resistance member and imam Si Kaddour Benghabrit *Resistance member lieutenant Henry Andraud *Resistance member Marcel Dufriche *Resistance member Édouard Le Jeune, former Senator *Resistance leader Colonel Émile Coulaudon *Resistance leader Capitaine Adrien Pommier * SOE Operative and

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)) is a British independent all-female registered charity structured like a military reserve unit. which primarily provides surge relief to civil and military authoriti ...

member Nancy Wake *Admiral Philippe Auboyneau *Resistance movement founder, army lieutenant, businessman and politician Antoine Avinin *Lieutenant General

Marcel Bigeard Marcel Bigeard (; February 14, 1916 – June 18, 2010), personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. He was one of the commanders in the ...

* Foreign Legion general Bernard Saint-Hillier * Foreign Legion Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Jeanpierre * French paratrooper André Zirnheld ( The Paratrooper's Prayer) *Writer, statesman, resistance member

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

*Resistance member, union leader, SOE operative and politician Yvon Morandat *Writer, statesman, resistance member

Paul Rassinier Paul Rassinier (18 March 1906 – 28 July 1967) was a French political activist and writer who is viewed as "the father of Holocaust denial". Totten, Samuel; Bartrop, Paul Robert; Jacobs, Steven L. "Rassinier, Paul", ''Dictionary of Genoci ...

*Irish playwright, director, novelist

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

*Irish language teacher and resistance worker Janie McCarthy *Resistance leader Pierre Kahn-Farelle *Politician, resistance member general Pierre de Bénouville *Resistance member doctor Charles Cliquet *Resistance member Jeanne L'Herminier *Resistance member sous-lieutenant Marina Vega (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 first intelligence agency of the United States, formed 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 ...

Captain René Joyeuse *Diplomat Louis Alexis Étienne Bonvin *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 *Resistance member, general practitioner, torture victim of and prosecution witness against

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German officer of the ''Schutzstaffel'' and ''Sicherheitsdienst'' who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortu ...

Alice Vansteenberghe Alice Vansteenberghe (née Joly; 18 February 1908 – 9 February 1991) was a physician 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 later test ...

*Resistance proeminent organiser in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, 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, 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 *Abbot René Bonpain *Resistance leader

Pierre Brossolette Pierre Brossolette (; 25 June 1903 – 22 March 1944) was a French journalist, politician and major hero of the French Resistance in World War II. Brossolette ran a Resistance intelligence hub from a Parisian bookshop on the Rue de la Pompe, be ...

*Resistance leader Pierre Kaan *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 *Resistance member Robert Duterque *Resistance member Henri Fertet (1926-1943) *Resistance member, chemist France Bloch-Sérazin (1913 – 1943) *Resistance member Agnès de La Barre de Nanteuil (1922–1944) * Sébastienne Guyot (1896–1941), engineer, olympic athlete, died as a result of treatment in prison after attempting to rescue brother from detention camp.

Recipient communities and organizations (partial list)

* Oyonnax commune *

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

* Montceau-les-Mines commune *Lalande de Bourg-en-Bresse high school * 6th Engineers Regiment *Preparatory Military School of Autun * Marsoulas commune * Caniac-du-Causse commune * Miribel commune * Béthincourt commune * Meximieux commune * 1st Line Infantry Regiment * Terrou commune * Nantua commune *Notre-Dame de Timadeuc abbey * * * 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion *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 1943 establishments in France Charles de Gaulle in World War II