2025Figures of the Resistance - Miniature Sheet

On November 10, 2025, La Poste (the French postal service) will issue a stamp commemorating the men and women who said no to the occupation at the risk of their lives. This issue is part of the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of France. "The flame of French resistance must not and will not be extinguished." Since the Appeal of June 18, 1940, the Resistance has been organizing, in London, around General de Gaulle, and in occupied France with the first clandestine movements. These men and women who said no joined intelligence networks, escape routes, sabotage operations, and finally the maquis (French Resistance groups) from 1943 onward. At the risk of their lives, they saved the honor of the country and placed it among the victors.

Jeanne Bohec (1919-2010)
On June 18, 1940, Jeanne Bohec joined the ranks of the Resistance in London. Enlisting in the Free French Forces (FFL), she learned sabotage techniques, which she put into practice in 1944 after being parachuted into Brittany. She was awarded the French Resistance Medal in 1947.

Charlotte Delbo (1913-1985)
A member of the Young Communists, Charlotte Delbo joined the Resistance in 1941, alongside her husband, Georges Dudach. Arrested in 1942, she was interned and then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau on the convoy of January 24, 1943. After the war, she tirelessly bore witness to the horrors of deportation through her writings.

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade (1909-1989)
In 1940, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade joined the clandestine "Alliance" network, established by her friend Georges Loustaunau-Lacau. She took over its leadership after his arrest in July 1941 and was one of the few women to head a Resistance organization. She was awarded the Resistance Medal with rosette.

Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944)
On February 8, 1943, Noor Inayat Khan joined the SOE, the British secret service created in 1940. Sent to France as a radio operator in June 1943, she was arrested in October and deported to Dachau, where she was executed on September 13, 1944.

Yvonne Oddon (1902-1982)
A librarian at the Musée de l'Homme (Museum of Man), Yvonne Oddon participated in the creation of the eponymous resistance network in 1940, notably assisting escaped prisoners. Arrested and deported to Germany in 1942, she received the French Resistance Medal after the war.

Violette Szabo (1921-1945)
Violette Szabo joined the British SOE in 1942. Parachuted near Cherbourg in April 1944, she participated in the preparations for the Allied landings of June 1944. Arrested and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she was executed there in February 1945. She was awarded the Resistance Medal.

José Aboulker (1920-2009)
A medical student, José Aboulker created one of the first Resistance networks in Algiers in 1940. In November 1942, he facilitated the Allied landings in Algeria, then joined the Free French Forces (FFL) in 1943 and participated in various missions in occupied France. He was awarded the title of Companion of the Liberation.

Daniel Cordier (1920-2020)
Having reached England at the end of June 1940, the young Daniel Cordier joined the Free French Forces (FFL). Secretary to Jean Moulin from 1942 until Moulin's arrest in 1943, he participated alongside him in the establishment of the National Council of the Resistance. He was awarded the title of Companion of the Liberation.

Jean-Pierre Levy (1911-1996)
Demobilized after the armistice of June 1940, Jean-Pierre Levy was one of the founders of "France Liberté," which in November 1941 became the "Franc-Tireur" group, one of the main French Resistance movements. He was awarded the title of Companion of the Liberation.

Georges Politzer (1903-1942)
A philosophy student in Paris between the two world wars, the young Hungarian-born communist Georges Politzer created the first university Resistance network in September 1940 with two friends. Arrested on February 14, 1942, he was executed at Mont-Valérien on May 23 of the same year. He was awarded the Resistance Medal.

Jean-Pierre Vernant (1914-2007)
Appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Toulouse Boys' High School in 1940, Jean-Pierre Vernant immediately joined the Resistance. In February 1942, he joined the Libération-Sud movement and then became the departmental head of the Secret Army (AS) in Haute-Garonne. Deputy commander of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) for the entire R4 region, he organized the Liberation of Toulouse in August 1944. He was awarded the title of Companion of the Liberation.

Théodose Morel (1915-1944)
A former student of Saint-Cyr, Théodose Morel, known as Tom Morel, participated in the Battle of France in the Alps in May-June 1940, fighting against the Italians. In November 1942, he went underground and joined the Secret Army. Leader of the maquis in Haute-Savoie, commanding the Glières battalion, he was killed by an officer of the Vichy forces (GMR) on March 10, 1944, during an operation in the village of Entremont. He was awarded the title of Companion of the Liberation.