Yvette Lundy

A french resistant

Yvette Lundy

REsisTance

Yvette Lundy entered the French resistance at the beginning of the French occupation in 1942. She accommodated defiants to the mandatory working service in Germany, members of the Resistance that were tracked, allied crew and a jewish family. They were taken care of by the Possum escape network. She also furnished fake papers and nutrition cards to them.

Childhood

​​​​Born in the middle of World War one , on April 22, 1916, in Oger in Marne, she grew up in a large family of farmers from Beine near Reims. During the First World War, her family was forced to leave the village which was then on the front line of the battles of Champagne and settled during the war in Oger in his birthplace. If the family returns to their village once peace is restored in 1919 the young girl intends to stay in the region, and in 1938 , she took a job as a teacher in Gionges, and quickly became municipal secretary, a key position that allowed her to join the Possum resistance network. In May 1940, during Exode, she left the department.

death and books

She wrote a book with Laurence Barbarot named "Le fil de l'araignée: intinéraire d'une résistance déportée" (the spider's thread: route of a resistant deporte). She will come out of the war free after many persecutions. After the second war for more than 65 years, she sums up the pain with which she brings up these images and the comfort brought by the sharing of this story. In front of the youngest, she will tell with simplicity and sincerity what humans are capable of. She died on November 2nd 2019 in Epernay.

Military decoration

She won 4 different military decorations: - The “ Croix de guerre 1939-1945” : This is a french military decoration to distinguish people (soldier or civilian) who did something remarkable and very brave during World War II. - The Medal of resistance with rosette: it was created by Charles de Gaulle to recognise actions that contributed to french Resistance. - The "Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur": this is the highest French honorary distinction. There are several ranks: she was "grand officier", the 4th rank over 5. - "Commandeur de l'ordre national du mérite": this is a French honorary order, instituted by the general De Gaulle. It rewards the actions that were beneficial to the French nation. There are several ranks too and she had the 3rd rank over 5.

posterity

Yvette Lundy is one of the figures of the resistance in Marne. Her testimony as a resistance fighter during the Second World War made it possible to understand the issues and to never forget the horrors of this war. She continued to testify until the end of her life, especially in front of young people, especially during the National Resistance and Deportation Competition. She inspired Tony Gatlif with the character of Madame Lundi in his film "Freedom" released in 2009. In 2022, the municipal council of Epernay decided to name the Bachelin school: Yvette Lundy school.

Deportation

Y. Lundy was arrested on 19 June 1944 in her classroom at Gionges and was interrogated by the gestapo at Chalons-sur-Marne where she was subsequently imprisoned. During the interrogation, to protect her brothers and sisters who where also working for resistance, she prentented to be an only child. From there she was deported in 18 july 1944 in a concentration cap (prisonner number 47360). Yvette Lundy was freed from Schlieben by the Red Army on 20 or 21 april 1945 and, after a march of some 200 kilometers to Halle, was flown back to France, arriving at le Bourget on 8 May 1945.

by Margaux, Mathilde and Justine

"I also testify so that everyone remains vigilant that this does not happen again, neither here nor elsewhere. Great history has shown the weakness of men and their permeability to the most fanatical, vile, most unfounded doctrines" The spider's thread. Itinerary of a deported resistance fighter, by Yvette Lundy.

We choose her because she resided then died in our region : Epernay