Georges Blind

Georges Blind
Born 1904
Belfort, France
Died October 1944 (aged 39–40)
[By German firing squad], Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
Nationality French
Awards War Cross
Resistance medal
Honour medal for firefighters
Silver Medal
Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France
Picture taken by a German Soldier of Georges Blind smiling before being executed by a German Firing squad in 1944

Georges Blind (1904 – October 1944) was a French man who was a member of the French resistance during World War II.[1]

Biography

Blind was born in Belfort, France in 1904.[2]

In 1941, Blind became a member of the Resistance. He operated at night, between the territory of Belfort and Alsace, with ambulance paramedics and firefighters. They conveyed secretly members of the Resistance, those sought by the authorities, weapons, intelligence and clandestine newspapers.

Blind was arrested in Belfort by a Nazi patrol on 14 October 1944. On 24 October, with other prisoners he was taken from Belfort to a camp in Schirmeck, Alsace. Two days later, they were transported to Dachau concentration camp, arriving there in late October.[3] The Germans used multiple mock executions to try to make Blind give up information but Blind refused to speak to his captors.

Death

Location where Blind was killed as seen in 2015.

Blind was executed by firing squad in October 1944. The exact date of his death is not known. He gained fame when a photo of him standing against a wall in the camp smiling with Nazi marksmen pointing their weapons at Blind. A German soldier took the photo seconds before his death. The image was published across the world mostly in newspapers and magazines.[4]

Awards and decorations

Resistance medal

Blind was posthumously promoted to sergeant of the French Forces of the Interior and was awarded the following decorations:[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Musée de la résistance en ligne". museedelaresistanceenligne.org.
  2. ↑ "Photographie du "fusillé souriant"". www.fondationresistance.org.
  3. ↑ "French Resistance member Georges Blind smiling in front of a German execution squad". History.com. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Georges Blind, the man who smiled at his own firing squad..." WW2. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Retour en images sur la cérémonie du Baptême des Promotions" (in French). Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
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