Rol-Tanguy, Henri

(1908-2002)

   Resistance leader

   One of France's most decorated resistance fighters and heroes, Henri Tanguy (he took as his nom de guerre the name of a comrade, Théo Rol, who was killed in combat) was born in Morlaix, Brittany. He left school at age 14 to become a metallurgical worker in Paris and, at age 17, joined the communist party. In 1936, he was named secretary of the Union of Metallurgical Workers of the Paris region, and in 1939 he married Cécile Le Bihan, who joined him in his political and Resistance activities. A lifelong Communist, Rol-Tanguy became, at the beginning of World War II, the leader of the Communist-led Francs-Tireurs et Partisans. From October 1940 to August 1941, he and other Communist leaders helped to organize resistance to the German occupation in the Paris region. He then went to Anjou before returning to Paris in 1943 and was named a captain, then a colonel, in the Forces Françaises de l'interieur. working from a base in the catacombs of Paris, he called on Parisians to take up arms and was alongside General philippe leclerc when the German governor of Paris surrendered to Leclerc (August 1944). Rol-Tanguy remained in the military until 1962, then served as a member of the Central Committee of the French Communist Party (1964-87). He received the croix de guerre and Grand Croix of the legion of honor, and is the author of books on the French Communist Party and on the Resistance.