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ACompanion of Liberation (French:Compagnon de la Libération) is a member of theOrder of the Liberation, created on November 16, 1940, byGeneral de Gaulle as "leader of theFree French" to "reward the people or military and civilian communities who have distinguished themselves in the work of liberation of France andits empire".[1]
Fivecommunes (Paris,Île de Sein,Nantes,Grenoble andVassieux-en-Vercors),[2] 18 combat units including twowarships, and 1,038 people count among the Companions of the Liberation during the signing of the decree of foreclosure of the order of the Liberation.[3] Of the 1,038 companions, 271 were appointed posthumously.[4] The youngest, who died at 14, isMathurin Henrio.[5]
Seventy-three foreigners or French-born foreigners, of 25 different nationalities, were made companions.[6] Among the most famous areDwight D. Eisenhower,King MohammedV of Morocco,King GeorgeVI andWinston Churchill, decorated after Order foreclosure.
On October 12, 2021,Florence Parly, announced to Senate the death ofHubert Germain, the last surviving companion since the death ofDaniel Cordier in November 2020.[7][8] As such, he is buried in the crypt of the Combatant France Memorial atMont Valérien on November 11, 2021.[9][10]
The 'companions' represent fairly well the history ofFree France, theFrench Resistance and theFrench Liberation Army, we note however that the different categories are not represented in proportions in conformity with their actual participation. The circumstances, the difficulties of the time in knowing the real action of the resistance, the criteria of General de Gaulle and his rapid departure from power in 1946, probably explain this fact.
Of the 1,038 companions, there are only six women,[11] which is far belowtheir proportion in the ranks of the Resistance.[a] The Resistance is likewise under-represented compared to Free France, which represents three-quarters of the decorated.[12] General de Gaulle indeed began by decorating combatants and agents that he or those close to him knew; its contacts with the other components of the French Resistance were not really established until around 1942, a period which saw the unification of the latter under the aegis of London byJean Moulin.[13] Moreover, in the opacity of theclandestine struggle, the leaders of the movements had more difficulty in identifying the most deserving patriots to propose them for decorations. In principle, each movement of the internal resistance had two crosses. But a certain number of leaders or senior figures of the resistance movements never received it, for exampleRaymond andLucie Aubrac or the founders of the “Defence of France” movement. Even unwavering supporters of General de Gaulle such as Philippe Peschaud or his own sonPhilippe de Gaulle,[14] or later likeMichel Debré,[15] were not made companions, sometimes to the chagrin of the general.
It can also be noticed that the Companions were chosen from among those who, at one time or another, took the risk of opposing theVichy regime as the Free French had done. Thus, for example,Marshal de Lattre was made a companion whileMarshal Juin was not.
Ten percent of the Companions of the Liberation were under 20 years of age at the start of the war, in 1939.
