Thérèse Madeleine Pierre (; 5 November 1908 – 26 October 1943) was a

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 ...

fighter. She died after she was tortured by the German

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

Early life

Thérèse Pierre was born on 5 November 1908 in

Épernay Épernay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne ...

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

. Her parents were teachers. She got the first part of the professorship in 1929. She was appointed to Évreux, then to Felletin, and became a lecturer at Bar-le-Duc, Vitré, Redon, and Fougeres.

Resistance fighter

At Carhaix, at the beginning of 1942, she met a Finistere Resistance official, the future Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal. Thérèse Pierre was 34 years old and had a history as a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activist. Transferred to Fougères, she became the head of the borough, in September 1942, under the name of Madeleine. She participated in the organization of

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 ...

groups and their weapons. She had more than a hundred men under her responsibility. She was in contact with the regional chiefs and with the resistance fighters. She was arrested on October 23, 1943 in Fougères by the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

(SD, SS Intelligence Service), and transferred to

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. On October 27, 2013, a plaque was unveiled on the facade of the house she lived at 32, rue des Prés in Fougères. On the occasion of the inauguration of a commemorative plaque at the Thérèse Pierre de Fougères College, on October 27, 1979, Mrs. Germaine Guénée, a resister and close friend of Thérèse Pierre, stated: Testimony: "Thérèse Pierre? Her ordeal and death are in many memories, but their details are not well known. Transferred to Jacques-Cartier Prison, she was tortured hour by hour from her arrest until her death, beaten and flogged for two consecutive days. She remained in contact with her prison mates through the central heating channel. Madame Lequeu, of Dol, received her last words. The body was completely bruised, she dragged herself on the floor of her cell, sobbed, screamed in pain, repeated tirelessly: "I will not speak ... They will not make me talk." Towards the end of this second day, she said distinctly: "They got nothing from me ..." The next morning, she was found hanging from the bars of her jail with one of her stockings. This was alleged to be a German-staged suicide. Her funeral took place at the cathedral of Rennes, where her body was transported from the morgue."

Recognition

Thérèse Pierre was awarded the

Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

with silver star and made a knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. She 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 1946. Two schools bear her name: the École maternelle Thérèse Pierre of

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

and the Collège Thérèse Pierre of

Fougères Fougères (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department, located in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, no ...

. Robin Hunzinger's 2007 documentary ''Where are our lovers'' (''Où sont nos amoureuses'') retraces her story, alongside that of Emma Pitoizet. A street in the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignol ...

was named after her: the Promenade Thérèse-Pierre, which in turn gave its name to a tram stop, Thérèse Pierre on Line 3b."Dans les coulisses du prolongement du T3b"

RATP Group The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (Établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial, EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under th ...

(in French), 5 April 2024.

References

Sources

* Claudie Hunzinger, ''Elles vivaient d'espoir'', 2010 * Catherine Dufour, "Guide des métiers pour les petites filles qui ne veulent pas finir princesses," chap. 41 : ''Résistante'', éd. Fayard, 2014, () * Germaine Dulong-Guénée, "Hommage à la Résistance dans le Pays de Fougères", ''Le Pays de Fougères'', n°22, 1979

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre, Thérèse 1908 births 1943 deaths French Resistance members