Germaine Tillion
Encyclopedia
Germaine Tillion born in Allègre
in Haute-Loire
on May 30, 1907 – April 18, 2008) was a French
anthropologist, best known for her work in Algeria
in the 1950s on behalf of the French government.
with Marcel Mauss
and Louis Massignon
. Licenciée en lettres, she receives a degree from the École pratique des hautes études
, the École du Louvre
, and the INALCO. She did four fieldwork in Algeria
between 1934 and 1940, studying the Berber
and Chaoui
people in the Aures
region of northeastern Algeria
, to prepare for her doctorate
in Anthropology
.
As she came back to Paris
from the field, France
had been defeated and, Germaine Tillion turned into one of the leading commanders in the French Resistance
in the network of the Musee de l'Homme
in Paris
. Her missions included helping prisoners to escape and organizing intelligence for the allied forces from 1940 to 1943.
Betrayed by a priest, she was captured and sent to the German concentration camp
of Ravensbrück
, near Berlin
with her mother, Émilie Tillion, also a resistante. From her arrival on the 21 October 1943 to the fall of the camp in Spring 1945, she wrote an Operetta
, called "Le Verfügbar aux Enfers", a comedy describing the poor life of the "Verfügbar" in the world of the camp, to help the other survivors to have fun, at the same time undertaking a precise ethnographic analysis of the concentration camp.
Concentration Camp Survivor
In 1973, she published Ravensbruck: An eyewitness account of a women's concentration camp, detailing both her own personal experiences as an inmate as well as her remarkable contemporary and post-war research into the functioning of the camps, movements of prisoners, administrative operations and covert and overt crimes committed by the SS. She reported the presence of a gas chamber at Ravensbruck when other scholars had written that none existed in the Western camps, and affirmed that executions escalated during the waning days of the war, a chilling tribute to the efficiency and automated nature of the Nazi "killing machines." She documents the dual but conflicting purposes of the camps; on the one hand, to carry out the Final Solution as quickly as possible, and on the other, to manage a very large and profitable slave labor force in support of the war effort (with profits reportedly going to SS leadership, a business structure created by Himmler himself). Finally, she gives chilling vignettes of prisoners, prison staff, and the "professionals" who were central to the operation and execution of increasingly bizarre Nazi mandates in an attempt to explore the twisted psychology and outright evil behavior of oftentimes average participants who were instrumental in allowing, and then nurturing the death machines.
, Tillion served as an adviser to the French government in Algeria on its social policies, helping the government to set up 'Social Centres'. During this period, at the time of the battle of Algiers and through FLN Political advisor Hadj Smaine Mohamed El Hadi (Whom later became Minister of Justice in the Algerian Government and life long friend), she served as a liaison between the National Liberation Front
leader Saadi Yacef and the French government, and helped arrange several cease-fires. Tillion was among the first to denounce the use of torture by French forces in the war.
In 1977 Germaine Tillion was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
and holds France's Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
. She was Honorary Director at France's School of High Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) at the time of her death.
Allègre
Allègre is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.-Demographics:-Notable people:*Germaine Tillion , French anthropologist, was born in Allègre.-External links:*...
in Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
on May 30, 1907 – April 18, 2008) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
anthropologist, best known for her work in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
in the 1950s on behalf of the French government.
Anthropology of the Chaoui
Studying social anthropologySocial anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
with Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss was a French sociologist. The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss' academic work traversed the boundaries between sociology and anthropology...
and Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon was a French scholar of Islam and its history. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards...
. Licenciée en lettres, she receives a degree from the École pratique des hautes études
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
, the École du Louvre
École du Louvre
The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and French Grande École located in the Aile de Flore of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France, and is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy....
, and the INALCO. She did four fieldwork in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
between 1934 and 1940, studying the Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
and Chaoui
Chaoui
The Shawia people, or Chaouis are a Berber people who live mainly in the Aurès, Nememcha and Belezma Region in the Aurès Mountains, a large part of eastern Algeria known in ancient times as Numidia...
people in the Aures
Aures, Algeria
Aures is an Amazigh language speaking geographical region in eastern Algeria. It was also a district of Algeria that existed during and after the Algerian War of Independence, from 1962 to 1974. It was in this region that Algerian War of Independence was started by Berber freedom...
region of northeastern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, to prepare for her doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
.
French resistance
Paris
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...
from the field, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had been defeated and, Germaine Tillion turned into one of the leading commanders in 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...
in the network of the Musee de l'Homme
Groupe du musée de l'Homme
The Groupe du musée de l'Homme was a movement in the French resistance to the Nazi occupation during the Second World War....
in Paris
Paris
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...
. Her missions included helping prisoners to escape and organizing intelligence for the allied forces from 1940 to 1943.
Betrayed by a priest, she was captured and sent to the German concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
of Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
, near Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
with her mother, Émilie Tillion, also a resistante. From her arrival on the 21 October 1943 to the fall of the camp in Spring 1945, she wrote an Operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, called "Le Verfügbar aux Enfers", a comedy describing the poor life of the "Verfügbar" in the world of the camp, to help the other survivors to have fun, at the same time undertaking a precise ethnographic analysis of the concentration camp.
Concentration Camp Survivor
Algerian war
In the 1950s, during the Algerian War of IndependenceAlgerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
, Tillion served as an adviser to the French government in Algeria on its social policies, helping the government to set up 'Social Centres'. During this period, at the time of the battle of Algiers and through FLN Political advisor Hadj Smaine Mohamed El Hadi (Whom later became Minister of Justice in the Algerian Government and life long friend), she served as a liaison between the National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
leader Saadi Yacef and the French government, and helped arrange several cease-fires. Tillion was among the first to denounce the use of torture by French forces in the war.
In 1977 Germaine Tillion was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca is an international literary award.-Origins and operations:It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca to continue the work of her husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca .Designed to recognize and reward an author whose work constitutes, in a...
and holds France's Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. She was Honorary Director at France's School of High Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) at the time of her death.
Honours
- Grand-croix de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(Only five women were awarded Grand Cross of the Légion of Honor) . - Grand-Croix de l'Ordre national du MériteOrdre National du MériteThe Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
- Croix de guerre 1939-1945Croix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
- 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 de la déportation et de l'internement pour faits de Résistance
- Grand Cross of the German MeritBundesverdienstkreuzThe Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
, (2004)