Simone Michel-Lévy
Encyclopedia
Simone Michel-Lévy was a French Resistance
worker. She had several pseudonyms - Emma, Françoise, Madame Royale, Mademoiselle Flaubert or Madame Bertrand - and is one of 6 female compagnons de la Libération
(decreed on 26 September 1945).
in 1924, she was allowed into the rédacteurs course in 1941 and made regional director of telephones, in which role she got involved in the "commutation" of telephonic communication, in Paris. This was a strategic position, which she used to set up a clandestine information network, in particular communication with Normandy, where her activiities allowed the establishment of a radio network later used at the time of D-Day. Her Resistance activity went further, however - she organised a courier system to get messages to England, diverted telegraph and telephone matériel to Resistance groups, and sabotaged departures for the STO
.
She was arrested by the Gestapo
on 5 November 1943 and tortured by Georges Delfanne
. Without having given away even her name, she was deported to Ravensbrück
, then Flossenbürg
, where she managed to organise a rising against the camp guards. It was for this that she was hung ten days before the camp was liberated by the Allies.
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...
worker. She had several pseudonyms - Emma, Françoise, Madame Royale, Mademoiselle Flaubert or Madame Bertrand - and is one of 6 female compagnons de la Libération
Ordre de la Libération
The Ordre de la Libération is a French Order awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the Légion d’Honneur and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished...
(decreed on 26 September 1945).
Life
Joining the staff of the PTTPostes, télégraphes et téléphones (France)
Postes, télégraphes et téléphones was the French public administration of postal services and telecommunications. Formed in 1921, it was split in 1991 into La Poste and France Télécom....
in 1924, she was allowed into the rédacteurs course in 1941 and made regional director of telephones, in which role she got involved in the "commutation" of telephonic communication, in Paris. This was a strategic position, which she used to set up a clandestine information network, in particular communication with Normandy, where her activiities allowed the establishment of a radio network later used at the time of D-Day. Her Resistance activity went further, however - she organised a courier system to get messages to England, diverted telegraph and telephone matériel to Resistance groups, and sabotaged departures for the STO
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
.
She was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
on 5 November 1943 and tortured by Georges Delfanne
Georges Delfanne
Georges Delfanne, called Christian Masuy was a Belgian collaborator and spy during the German occupation in World War II .- Life :...
. Without having given away even her name, she was deported to 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 ....
, then Flossenbürg
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
, where she managed to organise a rising against the camp guards. It was for this that she was hung ten days before the camp was liberated by the Allies.
Sources
- Messages des PTT, n° 342, December 1984: "Quarante ans après l'histoire s'entrouvre. Les agents des PTT et la Résistance."