Danielle Casanova
Encyclopedia
Danielle Casanova was a French
militant communist and member of the French resistance
. She was responsible for the French Communist Youth before founding the Union des jeunes filles de France ("French Girls' Union", abbreviated UJFF hereinafter). She died in Auschwitz.
. There she discovered the Union fédérale des étudiants ("Federal Union of Students"). She met her future husband Laurent Casanova
in this organisation. In 1928 she joined the Communist Youth.
She began to call herself "Danielle" and quickly became Group Secretary to the Faculty of Medicine. Still studying, she joined the Central Committee of the movement at the Seventh Congress of June 1932, and took up its direction in February 1934 where she was the only woman. Faced with the rapid expansion of the Communist Youth, the Eighth Congress in Marseilles of 1936 charged her with creating the UJFF. This organisation, though still close to the Communist Youth, was aimed at creating a pacifist, anti-fascist movement. She was elected Secretary General of the UJFF at its First Congress in December 1936, and organised a collection of milk for Spanish children who were victims of the Civil War
.
After the French Communist Youth was banned in September 1939, Danielle Casanova went into hiding. She wrote for the newspaper Le Trait de l'Union. From October 1940, after the fall of France, she helped set up women's committees in the Paris region, while still writing for the underground press, especially Pensée Libre ("Free Thought"). She also founded la Voix des Femmes ("Women's Voice"). She organised demonstrations against the occupying forces, including the events of 8 November and 11 November 1940 caused by Professor Paul Langevin
's arrest, and also that of 14 July 1941.
French Police arrested her on 15 February 1942 while she was aiding Georges Politzer
and his wife. Transported to Auschwitz on 24 January 1943, she served in the camp infirmiary as a dentist
. She did not stop campaigning, organising clandestine publications and events, even in a concentration camp. She died of typhus
.
also bears her name.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
militant communist and member of 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...
. She was responsible for the French Communist Youth before founding the Union des jeunes filles de France ("French Girls' Union", abbreviated UJFF hereinafter). She died in Auschwitz.
Biography
Vincentelli Perini trained at the Dental School in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. There she discovered the Union fédérale des étudiants ("Federal Union of Students"). She met her future husband Laurent Casanova
Laurent Casanova
Laurent Casanova was a French politician. Born 9 October 1906 at Souk Ahras, Algeria, he died 20 March 1972 in Paris.-Political career:Of Corsican origins, Casanova studied law at university in Paris. He became secretary of the Communist cell there, and he entered the underground apparatus of the...
in this organisation. In 1928 she joined the Communist Youth.
She began to call herself "Danielle" and quickly became Group Secretary to the Faculty of Medicine. Still studying, she joined the Central Committee of the movement at the Seventh Congress of June 1932, and took up its direction in February 1934 where she was the only woman. Faced with the rapid expansion of the Communist Youth, the Eighth Congress in Marseilles of 1936 charged her with creating the UJFF. This organisation, though still close to the Communist Youth, was aimed at creating a pacifist, anti-fascist movement. She was elected Secretary General of the UJFF at its First Congress in December 1936, and organised a collection of milk for Spanish children who were victims of the Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
After the French Communist Youth was banned in September 1939, Danielle Casanova went into hiding. She wrote for the newspaper Le Trait de l'Union. From October 1940, after the fall of France, she helped set up women's committees in the Paris region, while still writing for the underground press, especially Pensée Libre ("Free Thought"). She also founded la Voix des Femmes ("Women's Voice"). She organised demonstrations against the occupying forces, including the events of 8 November and 11 November 1940 caused by Professor Paul Langevin
Paul Langevin
Paul Langevin was a prominent French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an antifascist organization created in the wake of the 6 February 1934 far right riots...
's arrest, and also that of 14 July 1941.
French Police arrested her on 15 February 1942 while she was aiding Georges Politzer
Georges Politzer
Georges Politzer was a French philosopher and Marxist theoretician of Hungarian origin, affectionately referred to by some as the "red-headed philosopher" . He was a native of Oradea, a city in present-day Romania.-Biography:Politzer was already a militant by the time of his involvement in the...
and his wife. Transported to Auschwitz on 24 January 1943, she served in the camp infirmiary as a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
. She did not stop campaigning, organising clandestine publications and events, even in a concentration camp. She died of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
.
Legacy
A heroine of the Resistance, she has lent her name to streets, schools, and colleges throughout France. A ferry between Marseilles and CorsicaCorsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
also bears her name.
Sources
- Pierre Durand, Danielle Casanova l'indomptable, éditions Messidor, Paris, 1990.
- This article was translated from :fr:Danielle Casanova, 23 March 2009.