us-005578-irn522393-irn516406
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522393-irn516406/alternateIDs/1
archival history: The medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Guy Francois, the son of Roger Francois.
record resource extent: overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm)
identifier: irn516406
has record set type: Item
biographical history: Roger Leon Francois was born on July 23, 1914, in Ledeberg, Belgium. He served in the Belgian Army throughout the 1930s. He was given leave from the Congo to marry Johanna F. on March 12, 1936. In May 1940, Germany invaded and occupied Belgium. Roger became a member of OMBR [Organisation Militaire Belge de Résistance], the Belgian Military Resistance Organization. He participated in sabotage actions and actively assisted Jews to go into hiding to avoid deportation by the German authorities. He was arrested in Brussels by the Germans in 1942, and deported to Flossenbürg, than Buchenwald concentration camp. His prisoner number was 60481. He may have been released on June 17, 1944, due to ill health pursuant to a prisoner release agreement negotiated by the Dutch. Buchenwald was liberated by American troops in April 1945, not long before the war ended in May. Roger was honored with multiple awards and medals for his wartime service by the Belgian government. Roger resumed his service in the Belgian Army. He worked as a photographer for the Belgian embassy, as a cryptographer for NATO, and was stationed in the Belgian Embassy in Washington DC for three years. In 1960, he retired from the military after twenty years. He, his wife, and their four children, two boys and two girls, remained in the US. Roger was a dedicated employee of the Piedmont School of the Wilson Boulevard Christian Church. Roger, age 79, died in 1993.
title: Medal de la Resistance Armee 1940-1945 medal and ribbon awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
has or had some members with language: lat
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
date: 1947 December 31
type: RecordSet
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn522393-irn516406/acquisitions/1
has or had holder: us-005578
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Bronze circular medal with a black ribbon with 2 narrow red center stripes and green edge stripes. The front has an embossed design of a woman’s torso, head in left profile, staring over the right shoulder, clasping the left arm with the right hand in a defiant pose. She has long flowing hair and wears a short sleeve blouse. The reverse has a laurel wreath overlaid embossed Dutch text and the numerical dates above and below. A suspension ring is attached at the top to a jump ring through which the ribbon is threaded.
is or was included in: us-005578-irn522393
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1945-12-31
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1940-01-01
scope and content: Medal of the Armed Resistance awarded to Roger Francois by the Belgian government in 1946 for his service in the resistance to the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944. The colors of the ribbon are symbolic: black for the period of occupation, green for hope, and red for blood lost in the fight. The German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his wartime service.