Year after year, its members have left. The last of the “
companions
”, Hubert Germain, left this Tuesday, October 12 at the age of 101. With him, will the prestigious institution founded by Charles de Gaulle disappear? "
This is a question that the general had never decided,
" says Major General Christian Baptiste. Tuesday, the national delegate of the Order of the Liberation took note of a testamentary letter from Hubert Germain addressed to its members. The message of the last of the companions is clear. "
You are now custodians of the burning embers (...), sum of our commitments, made of heartbreaks, sweat, anguish, tears, blood, suffering and sorrows
, he encourages.
Your mission now is to keep these embers glowing
”.
Read alsoHubert Germain, the last companion is gone
Exceptional distinction
A heavy task for the heirs of the Order. “
The real question behind it is: what is the purpose of the Institution?
“Asks the general. On the evening of November 16, 1940, two France, two legitimates face each other. On the one hand, Marshal Pétain, at the head of an occupied France. Its regal asset, the decoration of the Legion of Honor. On the other, Charles de Gaulle and the resistance fighters who have heard his appeal over the past six months: “
To embody Free France, the general needed his own regal trump card. Hence the idea of an exceptional knighthood
”.
From London, the Order of Liberation rewards men and women who stand out for their remarkable courage and great achievement.
Out of all the resistance fighters, only 1038 received this exceptional distinction.
Its first Grand Chancellor is Admiral Thierry d'Argenlieu, a Carmelite monk.
"The general originally wanted to be part of the spirit of the Crusades, and found an order of chivalry as in the time of the Templars
", explains the Breton historian Alain Boulaire.
His friend René Cassin insisted, however, on the lay character of the Order.
Rather than "
crusaders
", the members will be called "
companions
".
Read alsoDisappearance of Hubert Germain: "
A brave
"
As a badge, the Lorraine cross, with a green and black ribbon. The motto is “
Patriam servando, victoriam tulit
”: “
By serving the Fatherland, he won the victory
”. The companions are characterized by absolute solidarity. From eminent personalities such as General Eisenhower or Mohammed V, King of Morocco, writers such as Romain Gary and André Malraux, and to fishermen, farmers, students, diplomats or African riflemen, all are linked by the idea that a higher cause: the idea that the Nation is worth all the sacrifices.
This finality will overcome political differences, even after the war.
“
Colonel Rol-Tanguy was a communist militant, Colonel Rémy from the hard right;
as for Pierre Château-Jobert, he became one of the leaders of the Organization of the Secret Army (OAS) in Algeria.
However, even in the depths of political divisions, fraternity comes first,
”underlines Alain Boulaire.
Many are appointed posthumously.
"
All those who would have deserved the title of journeyman have not been
," notes the historian.
But all those who have been highly deserve it
”.
The last of the companions, really?
When the war is over, the Order remains. "
General de Gaulle was thinking big: he expected between 3000 and 6000 nominations, responsible for maintaining the idea of fighting for the fatherland
", explains Alain Boulaire. But on leaving power, he fears seeing the Communist Party or the SFIO distinguish personalities who denote with the original spirit. In 1946, the order was foreclosed. With the exception of two posthumously named personalities, Winston Churchill and the King of England George VI, the honors are frozen.
However, among the 1038 companions of the Liberation, was Hubert Germain really the last?
In addition to individuals, 18 military corps are also distinguished, such as the Normandie-Niemen fighter squadron or the 1st Marine Rifle Regiment, but also places: Paris, Grenoble, Nantes, Vassieux-en-Vercors and Île de Sein .
On June 28, in a letter to the Élysée, the five municipalities indicated their desire to keep the flame.
"
It was precisely the will of General de Gaulle, by integrating cities into his order: that they make the spirit of resistance last beyond men,
" explains Didier Fouquet, mayor of Île-de-France. de-Sein.
Read also The confidences of Hubert Germain, last companion of the Liberation
To shine, to accompany the ceremonies, to bring to life the Museum of the Order of the Liberation located at the Invalides ... Central tasks, but still insufficient for the taste of the delegate general Christian Baptiste. “
If the Order is content to subsist, it will die,
” believes the one who, since his arrival in 2017, has taken on the task of shaping the future of the institution. Next goal: the centenary of the Second World War, in less than 20 years. “We
will have to remember a page in history marked by the total collapse of our society, at the same time military, moral and social. The task will be extremely delicate. Who better than the Order will be able to meet it?
E
etween 1941 and 1943, it is the single candle, the only light. She must not
turn off ”.
In 2018, the change in the Order was written into the military planning law. Its new mission, "to
develop the spirit of Defense through the journey of the Companions and medalists of the French Resistance
". With the younger generations, the Order wants to play a major role. Explain to adolescents who have never known war how the fate of the motherland can be greater than all the sacrifices. “
Historians say of us that we are the proponents of the uncompromising 'no'
, explains General Baptiste.
Our role, to teach our children to be free, and not to follow the dominant thought
”.
Emmanuel Macron vouched for this continuity.
During the Homage paid to the last of the companions, he will specify the future of the Order.
“
The organization must be rethought.
We are thinking in particular of an enlarged board of directors, which would welcome ex-combatants, members of the Ministry of National Education
, ”explains the mayor.
With the aim of "
transmitting the flame
", and, according to the testamentary wish of the last of them, "
imperatively to ensure that the journeys of the Companions and the last medalists of the resistance are a source of inspiration for our young compatriots
" .
