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The last companion of the Liberation, who disappeared on October 12, 2021, at the age of 101, was not yet twenty when he decided to embark for England. On the way, he meets a general, friend of his family, who calls him a “thug” and “jean-foutre” … Extract from the magazine “1:15 pm on Saturday” of November 13, 2021.
“I, General de Gaulle, invite all French people who want to remain free to listen to me and follow me …” The young Hubert Germain responded to Charles de Gaulle’s call from London in June 1940. This click made him take the road to the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where he would embark for England on June 24.
“There was a whole series of young people, whether they were students, workers, peasants… Well, it was converging…” told in 2019 to the magazine “1:15 pm on Saturday” (replay), theth last Companion of the Liberation, who disappeared on October 12, 2021 at the age of 101, and buried on November 11 at Mont-Valérien. He leaves behind him his mother and his sister in Bordeaux, because his father, general of the French army, is at the front.
“I don’t give a damn about this government!”
On the way to his embarkation port, Hubert Germain crosses paths with a senior officer who knows his family well. He is addressing him: “General, I will ask you to take care of my mother and my sister if there is ever a problem.” The soldier answers him: “But you’re here! How are you leaving?” The future great resistance fighter retorts: “I will resume the war you lost.”
The general tells him: “The armistice will be signed today [le 22 juin]. The government orders you to stay there! “ Hubert Germain launches: “I don’t give a damn about this government!” The stunned senior officer said to him: “What do you mean? Thug! Jean-foutre! I didn’t believe you like that… I’ll tell your father.” The young man will succeed in boarding one of the last ships leaving for the United Kingdom.
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