The original motivations behind the French Resistance varied from person to person.

From 1933, terrorising, suppressing and “re-educating” German society were the stated objectives of the Nazi regime. In support of this totalitarian ideology, concentration camps became an essential cog in the workings of the Third Reich from the outset.

(1890-1970)

1,038 individuals, five French communes and 18 combat units are Companions of the Liberation. Just over 700 Companions survived the war. 270 were acknowledged posthumously. 50 already-acknowledged Companions were killed in action or in the line of duty before the war ended.

General de Gaulle's consideration of the chance to create a new decoration led him to found a commission on 19 July 1942 to “recognise the remarkable acts of faith and bravery which, in France, throughout the Empire and abroad, have been contributing to the resistance of the French people against th

Free France's air arm – the Free French Air Forces (FAFL) – was officially created on 1 July 1940. But its structured units, which each bore the name of a French province, did not truly emerge until the summer of 1941. Six of them bear the title of Companion of the Liberation.