Nicolas de Condorcet (1743–1794)
Enlightenment philosopher & mathematician, defender of human rights. Condorcet advocated for free public education, woman’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery. A leader in the 1789 revolution, he became secretary of the new Assembly. Opposed to the death penalty, he voted against the execution of the king, which led to his arrest as a traitor.
Berty Albrecht (1893-1943)
Feminist activist, co-creator of the French resistance movement Combat in 1941, Albrecht escapes a first arrest in 1942. Captured by the Gestapo in May 1943, she is taken to the Fort Mont-Valérien. On the day of her incarceration, she hangs herself in her cell.
René Char (1907-1988)
Surrealist Poet. In 1940, Char joined the resistance and in 1946 published his fragmented notes, written during his days as a network leader in Provence. The transcript, published as a prose poem titled les “Feuillets d’Hypnos”, stands as one of the most extraordinary personal accounts of the resistance to Nazism.
18 Juin 1940
Date of the speech by the general de Gaulle, emitted from London by the BBC, calling out for the French to resist against the occupation. It marks the beginning of the French resistance during World War II and established de Gaulle as the leader of the Free French Forces.
