At war, or in resistance: Fougères salutes the heroines of Fougères

Therese Pierre (1908-1943). ©Coll. Republican Chronicle

Every year the city of Fougères offers a cycle of conferences and visits. The 2022-2023 cycle will be devoted to the place of women and their heritage in the history of the Pays de Fougères.

A way of echoing an evolution that highlights the crucial place that women have played in history.

“The term matrimony comes up more and more in the news. When the word patrimony refers to the heritage of the father, matrimoine recalls the heritage of the mother, and more broadly of women. Long published or minimized in history, the time has come to pay tribute to those who left their mark on their time” situates the town of Fougères.

Two first appointments will be offered on October 7 and 9.

Odile Gautry
Odile Gautry. ©Municipal Archives, Fougères

Women at War Friday

Friday, October 7, 6:30 p.m., municipal archives, Les Ateliers, free: two-voice conference, with Daniel Heudré and Eric Roulin: Women at war: the place of Fougeraises during the two world wars.

“They ensured the continuity of production in the factories, they acted in the shadows against the occupier… The Fougeraises did not sit idly by during the wars” describes the heritage department.

Huguette Gallais
Huguette Gallais ©Municipal Archives, Fougères

Resistant Women Sunday

Sunday October 9, 3 p.m., departure from the Saint-Léonard church (duration one hour), €4 and free: guided tour Women and resistance fighters. Odile Gautry, Thérèse Pierre, Huguette Gallais: three personalities from Fougères to discover through this guided walk.

Videos: currently on Actu

From 1940, Huguette Gallais (1921-2016) participated in the Resistance, within the group coordinated by his father, René. Arrested in October 1941 with the other members of the group, sentenced to death (sentence later commuted to prison) she was deported to Germany and released from the Mauthausen camp in 1945, at the same time as her mother, Andrée.

Marie-Therese “Odile” Gautry (1879-1948) taught at Fougères from 1919 to 1940, when he retired. A woman of combat, she fought against the occupier alongside Thérèse Pierre, but was arrested in mid-October 1943. Imprisoned in Rennes, she was in a convoy of deportees which did not reach Germany, at the following a bombardment. Odile (her name in the Resistance) was imprisoned in Belfort, tortured, and released in September 1944.

Therese Pierre (1908-1943) was also a committed woman, a member of the Communist Party. A teacher, she was appointed to Fougères and in September 1942 became the head of the National Front for the arrondissement, and an FTP (Francs tireurs partisans) activist. Thérèse Pierre was arrested on rue des Prés on October 23, 1943, and tortured in the Jacques-Cartier prison in Rennes. She was found hanged in her cell three days later, most likely dead from her wounds prior to this mock hanging.

Therese Pierre was an extraordinary character, mentioned by the author Claudie Hunziger in her novel-story They lived in hope (Grasset, 2010).

Later

Friday December 16 and Sunday December 18: Women of power (Jeanne de Fougères, Yolande de Lusignan, the castle of the ladies).

Friday February 24 and Sunday February 26: Women of spirituality: places of female devotion (Urban planners, La Madeleine, Rillé).

Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow La Chronique Républicaine in the My News section. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.

At war, or in resistance: Fougères salutes the heroines of Fougères