Fernande Volral
Fernande Volral | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 October 1920 |
| Died | 7 August 1944 (aged 23) |
Fernande Volral (7 October 1920 – 7 August 1944) was a Belgian resistance fighter during World War II who was murdered in a German prison.[1]
Biography[edit]
Fernande Volral was born in Champigneulles, near Nancy, in October 1920. During the 1930s, her family moved to Charleroi, in Belgium. When she became an adult, she moved to Jette, launching a career in fashion.
In 1941, she met Raoul Baligand, the leader of the Partisans Armés, and joined the Belgian underground resistance. She originally served as a liaison agent, before joining the 10 de la rue de la Perle de Molenbeek-Saint-Jean group. The group was affiliated with the Front de l'Indépendance, which mainly consisted of Italian anti-fascists who had fought in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.[2]
In late-1942, she led a number of successful sabotage missions with the group.[3]
On 23 February 1943, she was betrayed to the fascist authorities. When German police came to arrest her at her home, she fought back, wounding one before being subdued.
She was imprisoned in Saint-Gilles Prison until being deported to Germany to be held in a prison in Leer and to be tried by the People's Court. Her trial was held on the same day as that of Marguerite Bervoets, and both women were issued with the same sentence: death. She was then transferred to Wolfenbüttel, where she was executed by beheading in early August 1944.
Legacy[edit]
- In 1955, the town of Jette named a road after her[4]
- A commemorative plaque about her was placed on the Avenue des Alliés in Charleroi in 2003[5]
- A road in Charleroi was named after her in August 2020[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^ Suzanne van Rokeghem, Jacqueline Aubenas, Jeanne Vercheval-Vervoort, Des femmes dans l'histoire en Belgique, depuis 1830, Luc Pire éditions, 2006, 303 p.
- ^ Anne Morelli (1983). La participation des émigrés italiens à la Résistance belge (in French). Rome: Ministero Affari Esteri.
- ^ Musée national de la Résistance, Front de l'indépendance, Femmes dans la Résistance, Musée national de la Résistance, 1985, 120 p.
- ^ "eBru | rue Fernande Volral | Jette (1090 Bruxelles)". www.ebru.be.
- ^ "Charleroi - Plaque à la mémoire de Fernande VOLRAL". bel-memorial.org.
- ^ "Procès-verbal de la séance du Conseil communal de la Ville de Charleroi" (PDF). charleroi.be.
- ^ "Charleroi: pourquoi pas une rue au nom de Fernande Volral?". Édition digitale de Charleroi. February 20, 2020.