Yvette Lundy
Yvette Lundy (born 22 April 1916) was a French centenarian who was a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War. She provided the inspiration for the character of "Mademoiselle Lise Lundi" in Tony Gatlif's 2009 film, Korkoro.[1]
Early life
She was born at Oger, the youngest of seven siblings,[1] into a family of agricultural workers originating from the Reims area.[2] In 1938 she began working as a teacher at Gionges. During May 1940, as the Battle of France began, she fled the area, but returned two months later.
Wartime activities
As a Resistance worker in occupied France, Lundy began supplying official documents to escapees from the camp at Bazancourt and to Jewish families.[2] She assisted the Communist Marcel Nautré, and others involved in the Possum network, in avoiding detection by the authorities, as well as sheltering Free French fighters parachuted into the region.
Lundy was arrested on 19 June 1944 in her classroom at Gionges and was interrogated by the Gestapo at Châlons-sur-Marne, where she was subsequently imprisoned.[2] From there she was taken to Romainville and, on 18 July 1944, was deported, first to Sarrebruck Neue Bremm and then to Ravensbrück concentration camp in transport no 47360. On 16 November of the same year, she was transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp. Her sister Berthe was also imprisoned in Germany and her older brother Lucien was interned at Auschwitz concentration camp;[3] both survived. Her other brother, Georges, did not survive his internment and died at Schörzingen.
Yvette Lundy was freed from Schlieben by the Red Army on 20 April 1945[4] and was flown back to France within a month.
Post-war
Lundy remained silent about her war experiences until 1959, for her family's sake. After that date, she began going into schools to share her testimony. Her visits proved extremely popular with pupils.[4]
Lundy's memoir, Le Fil de l'araignée, co-written with Laurence Barbarot-Boisson, was published in 2012.[5]
At the age of 101, she was awarded the honour of Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur.[4] She died in November 2019 at the age of 103. She was married.
References
- ^ a b "Yvette Lundy, 101 ans et toujours résistante". l'Express (in French). 19 May 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "Yvette Lundy, déportée à Ravensbrück, une grande figure de la Résistance marnaise". cndp.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Un Français Libre parmi 53321". Les Français Libres. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "Yvette Lundy, 101 ans et toujours résistante". La Croix (in French). 19 May 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Le Fil de l'araignée". Les Editions Border Line (in French). Retrieved 23 April 2018.
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