It is a tomb like there are hundreds in French cemeteries.
Gray, covered, with moss, almost abandoned.
The names are almost illegible.
On a plaque which is detached from the cross which overhangs it, one can still read "Marcelle Henry Morte for France 1895-1945".
An almost anonymous destiny at the bend of an alley for a great name in the history of France.
Marcelle Henry is one of the six women Companions of the Liberation.
Marcelle Henry's grave in the cemetery of Bagneux.
© Souvenir français
An official at the Ministry of Labor, she took a stand against collaboration from the armistice and quickly joined the Resistance.
It accommodates escapees, distributes leaflets and works for the secret services of the French fighting forces.
On July 4, 1944, she was arrested by the Gestapo.
Deported to Ravensbrück on August 15, 1944 by the last convoy of resistance fighters, she was then transferred to a Kommando in Buchenwald.
Released on April 9, 1945, repatriated to Paris, she died of the consequences of deprivation and ill-treatment, shortly after her return on April 24.
Three days later, General de Gaulle appointed her Companion of the Liberation.
"When you enter the cemetery of Bagneux, there is at the entrance, a historical panel with all the big names who are buried there. Marcelle Henry is not there. It's still incredible", regrets Serge Barcellini. , the president of the French Souvenir.
"The tomb is also in a deplorable state. We therefore decided to renovate it."
The plaque with Marcelle Henry's name on her grave.
© Souvenir français
"
A big gap between men and women"
On the occasion of International Women's Rights Day on March 8, this Comptroller General of the Armies, who heads one of the oldest French memorial associations, has chosen to highlight the journey of this resistant forgotten by the greatest number.
Through her, it is all the women who played a role during the Second World War that the French Souvenir wants to honor.
"There is no memorial equality. First there was a historical inequality even if only with the Companions of the Liberation. There were only six women out of 1,038 Companions and they all have were appointed with make-up sessions at the last moment before De Gaulle left power ", underlines Serge Barcellini.
The director of the new Museum of the Liberation of Paris makes the same observation, but wants to be more nuanced.
“There is indeed a big gap between men and women, but much less than it was. There has been an almost total invisibility of resistant women, but things are changing. re-examines the role of these women even if it means overestimating it a little, but it is a necessary step for them to finally find their place ", explains Sylvie Zaidman.
A word long erased
This historian also recalls the context.
After the war, a large number of these women stayed away, consciously or not: "They were overtaken by their daily lives. They returned to their place."
At the Liberation, they were also less heard, according to Sylvie Zaidman: "The associations of deported women, for example, had a voice which was much weaker than that which was trusted by the men".
On the ground, the trend is now reversed.
During conferences or interventions in schools, the word is much more regularly female.
Benefiting from a longer life expectancy than their male counterparts, the last witnesses are often former resistance fighters.
"We regularly ask for medalists when they can still do it and those who still have all their faculties to testify, they are women", describes Lionel Boucher, the secretary of the National Commission for the Medal of the French Resistance at the Order. of the Liberation.
"Our two pillars are Odile de Vasselot and Michèle Agniel. They are two formidable women, with exceptional backgrounds who clearly show the resistance of women".
Odile de Vasselot was an intelligence officer for the Comète network: "For Stéphanie, who will surely also have to face problems like those we have known in her life. Let her know that there is always a solution. There is never a need for give up".
pic.twitter.com/62TXWiLrC8
- Stéphanie Trouillard (@Stbslam) November 30, 2019
Still very masculine memorial associations
Change also requires development within the different institutions.
At the head of Souvenir Français, Serge Barcellini is well aware that his association is still too masculine: "Of our 102 general delegates, there are only seven women and at the level of our board of directors, they are only four. for 30 people. Women say to themselves that they do not necessarily have a place in the memory of combatants. It is difficult for her to penetrate there. There is therefore an effort to be made to integrate them. play the equality of memory, but also the equality of the actors of memory ".
The battle is also being waged in the public space.
In 2014, a report by Soroptimist, a feminist NGO, found that only 2% of French streets were named after a woman.
Since then, many cities have recognized the problem.
In Paris alone, the proportion of roads paying homage to women has doubled, reaching 12% today.
Many resistance fighters such as Martha Desrumaux, Charlotte Delbo, Mila Racine, Rose Valland or Denise Vernay now have a place, a garden or a square in their name.
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On the side of cultural actors, the emphasis is also placed on their actions.
The Museum of the Liberation of Paris, which opened its doors in 2019, today gives pride of place to these shadow fighters.
"The course is marked by their portraits, whether it is General Leclerc's ambulance workers or the women who participated in the Liberation of Paris. It is a choice we wanted," explains Sylvie Zaidman.
"It is important today to underline the role of all these little hands. When we stand in line for hours to find food, when we take care of the children and, in addition, we find the time to participate in clandestine activities, that deserves a tribute. It is a resistance on an ordinary scale that it is time to promote ", she insists.
The museum is also working in this direction in the context of these upcoming exhibitions.
From March 2022, one of them will be devoted to eight women war photographers: "A subject that is 100% female and where you don't expect them".
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