The Order of Liberation () is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour). Very few people, military units and communes were ever awarded it; and only for their deeds during World War II. A different order, the Médaille de la Résistance ("Resistance Medal"), was created and awarded for lesser but still distinguished deeds by members of the Resistance.
History
The Order of Liberation was established by General de Gaulle in order n° 7, signed on 16 November 1940 in Brazzaville, the capital of France Libre from 1940 to 1943. The object of the Order was to "reward people, of the military or civilian communities, who will have distinguished themselves in the task of liberating France and her Empire".
There were no restrictions as to age, sex, rank, origin or nationality; nor any regarding the nature of the deeds, other than their exceptional quality.
The Order has a single rank, the title of Compagnon de la Libération ("Companion of the Liberation"). General de Gaulle, founder of the Order, was the only Grand Maître ("Grand Master") of the Order.
The Order was usually bestowed by the traditional French military ceremony of "prise d'armes". The recipient was summoned forward by rank and name, and given the insignia while being commended thus: Nous vous reconnaissons comme notre Compagnon pour la libération de la France dans l’honneur et par la Victoire (“We acknowledge you as our companion for the Liberation of France, in honour and by Victory”).
The last awards to French citizens, units and communes were made on 23 January 1946. Awards to foreign nationals were made until 1960.
The last living Companion, Hubert Germain, died in 2021 aged 101. He was buried in the crypt of the Memorial to Fighting France, where a tomb was set aside for the last Companion.
Award description
The medal of the Order is called the Croix de la Libération ("Cross of Liberation"). It is a 31 mm wide by 33 mm high rectangular bronze shield bearing a 60 mm high vertical gladius on its obverse. On the blade of the gladius: a black enamelled Cross of Lorraine (symbol of the Free French Forces). On the reverse, in Latin: a relief inscription in bold letters on four rows, PATRIAM SERVANDO VICTORIAM TULIT ("By serving the Fatherland, he/she achieved Victory").
The award is suspended by a rectangular loop through the hilt of the gladius to a 36 mm wide silk moiré green ribbon with 4 mm wide black edge stripes and 1 mm wide black longitudinal stripes, 11 mm from the edges. Green represents hope, black represents mourning, symbolizing the state of France in 1940. The ribbon at first had diagonal black stripes, but the Order was only awarded in that form during August–September 1942.
Recipients
The individuals, units and communities listed below were awarded the Order of Liberation
A total of 1,061 Crosses of Liberation were awarded:
1,038 to individuals; 18 to units of the Army, Air Force and Navy; Five to cities: Nantes, Grenoble, Paris, Vassieux-en-Vercors, and l’Île de Sein.
Individual recipients
Amongst the 1,036 Companions of the Order, 65 were killed before the end of the war (8 May 1945) and another 260 received the distinction posthumously. Members of the French resistance, especially the more famous ones, often received the Order under their nom de guerre.
Seven women were awarded the title: Andree Peel Berty Albrecht, co-founder of the movement Combat, who died in the prison of Fresnes in 1943 Laure Diebold, liaison agent of the "Mithridate" network and secretary to Jean Moulin, deported. Marie Hackin, died at sea in February 1941 on a mission Marcelle Henry of the VIC escape network, died shortly after returning from deportation Simone Michel-Lévy, of the Postmen Resistance, died while deported Émilienne Moreau-Evrard, hero of the First World War, agent for the "Brutus" network and later member of the Provisional Consultative Assembly
Nearly 10% of the recipients of the Order were younger than 20 at the beginning of the war. The youngest, Mathurin Henrio, was 14 when he was shot dead by Nazi officers for refusing to answer questions on the whereabouts of Maquisards.
The Order was re-opened twice to honour foreign personalities who helped liberate France:
Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1958) King George VI (1960, posthumously)
Military units
Military units as a whole have been awarded the title of Compagnon de la Libération.