Born in Paris on April 26, 1924, Guy Môquet was a Communist and Resistance activist who grew up in a politically committed family. His father, Prosper Môquet, was the Communist deputy for the 17th arrondissement of Paris, and his aunt, Rosalie Môquet, was known for her commitment to the French Communist Party (PCF). As a teenager, Guy Môquet studied at the Lycée Carnot, was a fervent militant of the Jeunesses Communistes and excelled at school.
Following France's defeat in World War II in June 1940, the French Communist Party - of which Guy Môquet was a strong supporter - suffered severe repression. Guy Môquet's father had already been arrested in October 1939, while Guy, his brother and his mother went to take refuge in La Manche. A few months later, Guy Môquet returned to Paris on his own, and became an underground member of the Jeunesses Communistes, distributing leaflets and sticking "butterflies" to lampposts... Guy Môquet was only 16 when he was arrested on denunciation in October 1940 (according to Wikipedia) by inspectors from the Special Brigade for Anti-Communist Repression. He was then incarcerated in Fresnes prison, and on May 14, 1941 transferred with other internees to the Choisel camp in Châteaubriant, where he made friends with other young volunteers.
In October 1941, Karl Hotz was killed in Nantes by a commando of three Communist resistance fighters: following this act, German troops (then occupying French territory) decided toexecute fifty hostages held in the camps. Guy Môquet was one of them: of the 48 hostages finally shot, 27 were executed in Châteaubriant, including the young high-school student. He was the youngest hostage to perish that day: the murder of such a young militant, not yet of age, shocked the French population and added to the cruelty of the Nazis, who wanted to be seen as merciless soldiers. The reaction of major heads of state, such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, gave this event an international dimension.
Guy Môquet's body was later transferred to Père-Lachaise cemetery, where he lies with his brother Serge, who died of natural causes (or of fear and grief, sources differ). Guy Môquet was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de la Résistance by General de Gaulle on December 28, 1944, before being made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1946, elevating him to the rank of national hero. In his honor, a street in the 17th arrondissement and a station on line 13 were named Guy Môquet.
Location
Guy Môquet - metro station line 13
guy môquet métro
