André Girard (1909-1993)
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the CARTE network resistance worker André Girard (1901–1968).
André Girard (born 22 April 1909 in Cahors
Cahors
Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula...
, died 4 June 1993 in La Mulatière
La Mulatière
La Mulatière is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. The city is known, among other things, for its Aquarium du Grand Lyon.-References:*...
, near Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
) was a French civil servant and Resistance worker with the ALLIANCE network.
Pre-war
Girard worked for the Société d'exploitation industrielle des tabacs et des allumettes in France from 1929 onwards.French Resistance
He was captured at the Battle of DunkirkBattle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
in 1940, but escaped from Germany in 1941 to Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
and soon joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
Under the pseudonym "Pointer", Girard was the regional head of the Alliance or "Arche de Noé" resistance network in occupied France from 1940 to 1945, the only network whose supreme commander was a woman, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance," after the arrest of its former leader Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, during the occupation of France in the Second World War,...
(Alias "Hérisson"). This network was notable for giving almost all of its three thousand agents codenames based on animals : Bleu d'Auvergne
Braque d'Auvergne
The Braque d'Auvergne is a breed of dog originating in the mountain area of Cantal, in the historic Auvergne province in the mid-south of France. It is a pointer and versatile gundog. The breed descends from ancient regional types of hunting dogs....
, Setter, Labrador, Bichon, Abeille, Aigle... Divided up by region, the network's central command was "Hôpital" (centre-west sector), which Girard led from 1943 to September 1944. In 1944, his sector numbered 185 main agents across 16 départements, from south of the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
to north of the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...
, a sector particularly marked by the Tulle
Tulle murders
The Tulle Murders refer to the actions committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich in June 1944, at the end of World War II. After a successful FTP offensive on 7 and 8 June 1944, the arrival of Das Reich forces forced the guerillas to evacuate the city...
and Oradour-sur-Glane massacres. Its agents were from diverse social backgrounds – the mayor of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
and colonel in the reserve Léonce Vieljeux
Léonce Vieljeux
Léonce Vieljeux was a colonel in the French reserve army, industrialist and mayor of La Rochelle.-Life:...
, the student Roland Creel, the vicar of Tulle cathedral Charles Lair, the ussel
Ussel
Ussel is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Ussel, Cantal, in the Cantal département* Ussel, Corrèze, a sous-préfecture in the Corrèze département* Ussel, Lot, in the Lot département...
ois doctor Jean Sirieix, the intelligence
Direction centrale des renseignements généraux
The Direction Centrale des Renseignements Généraux , often called Renseignements Généraux , was the intelligence service of the French police, answerable to the Direction Générale de la Police Nationale , and, ultimately, the Ministry of the Interior...
commissioner Henry Castaing, the briviste
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
businessman Pierre Bordes, the secretary-general to the council of Guéret
Guéret
Guéret is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France.-Geography:A light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland and a little farming not far from the town centre...
Roland Deroubaix, the creusois lawyer René Nouguès or the electrician Vincent Renaud, as well as civil servants, peasants, surgeons, railway workers, architects, and ushers.
On 30 June 1945, charged with a mission of the utmost importance for the Direction générale des études et recherches and promoted to captain, he was demobbed at his own request. Returning to his pre-war job, he was transferred to the tobacco factory at Riom
Riom
Riom is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the seat of the dukes of Auvergne. The city was of Gaulish origin, the Roman Ricomagus...
before becoming administrative director and inspector of the tobacco factory at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
until his retirement. He also succeeded Jacques Soustelle
Jacques Soustelle
Jacques Soustelle was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces and an anthropologist specializing in pre-Columbian civilizations. He became vice-director of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris in 1938. He was elected to the Académie française in 1983.- Biography :Jacques Soustelle was...
on the municipal council of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in 1962 under Louis Pradel. He was for several years the national treasurer of the Old Comrades association for the ALLIANCE network. He published his war memoirs in 1965 with éditions France-Empire under the title "Le temps de la méprise".
He is buried in the cemetery at Saint-Sauves d'Auvergne
Saint-Sauves-d'Auvergne
Saint-Sauves-d'Auvergne is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
.
Medals
- Officier de la Légion d'honneur
- Croix de guerre 1939–1945, 2 citations
- Médaille de la RésistanceMédaille de la RésistanceThe French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
- Médaille des évadésMédaille des ÉvadésThe Médaille des Évadés is a medal given by the government of France, to individuals who were prisoners of war and who escaped....
- Croix du combattant volontaireCroix du combattant volontaire 1939–1945The Croix du combattant volontaire 1939–1945 is a French decoration that recognizes those who have volunteered to serve in a combat unit during World War II. It is the World War II equivalent of the Croix du Combattant Volontaire 1914–1918.-History:This decoration is equivalent to that awarded to...
- Croix du combattant volontaire de la RésistanceCroix du combattant volontaire de la RésistanceThe Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in one of the resistance groups, or have been deported or interned for acts of the Resistance, or have been killed or injured in acts of resistance during World War...
- Insigne des blessés militairesInsigne des blessés militairesThe Insigne des blessés militaires is a French military decoration for wounds received in the line of duty.-History:It was instituted by a law of 11 December 1916, after an idea by the nationalist writer Maurice Barrès...
- Croix du combattant de l'Europe
- Croix d'honneur du mérite Franco-britannique
- King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of FreedomKing's Medal for Courage in the Cause of FreedomThe King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted on 23 August 1945 to reward those, mainly foreigners, who during the Second World War with the danger of life had contributed to helping British military personnel to escape the enemy and escape from occupied areas...
(UK)
Sources
- Le temps de la méprise, by André GirardAndré GirardAndré Girard may refer to:*André Girard , French resistance worker, leader of the CARTE network*André Girard , French resistance worker, member of the ALLIANCE network...
, éditions France-Empire, 1965 - L'arche de noé, by Marie-Madeleine FourcadeMarie-Madeleine FourcadeMarie-Madeleine Fourcade was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance," after the arrest of its former leader Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, during the occupation of France in the Second World War,...
, éditions Fayard, 1968 - Les SS en Limousin, Quercy et Périgord, by Georges Beau and Léopold Gaubusseau, éditions des Presses de la Cité, 1969
- Marie-Madeleine FourcadeMarie-Madeleine FourcadeMarie-Madeleine Fourcade was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance," after the arrest of its former leader Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, during the occupation of France in the Second World War,...
, un chef de la Résistance, by Michèle Cointet, éditions Perrin, 2006 - Centre national d'études de la Résistance et de la Déportation Edmond MicheletEdmond MicheletEdmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...
, 4 rue Champanatier, 19100 Brive-la-GaillardeBrive-la-GaillardeBrive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
External links
- Site on André Girard and the Alliance network