France Forever () was an organization founded on June 29, 1940 as an association of French men and women living in the United States, as well as American friends of France, acting to preserve comradeship between these countries in the cause of freedom and democracy.
The organisation was created to support
Général de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
in the fight against the
Nazi occupation
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, and
Vichy France
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
. It aimed to represent de Gaulle in the United States and to acquire embassy status. It also declared to: "Assist the United States in all measures of preparedness to meet the menace to democratic institutions." In 1941, the France Forever association had forty-six sections.
Its headquarters was located on
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
NYC
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...
.
Founders & action
Founders: /ref>A Nation-Wide Organization, ''Maison Francaise'' (PDF)
*Major General William G. Price Jr. - commandeur de la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
*
Oswald Chew
Oswald Chew (March 24, 1880 — December 6, 1949) was a noted author decorated Legion of honor and active in the US for de Gaulle against Vichy.
Oswald Chew was born on 24 May 1880, in Pennsylvania, to his father, Samuel Chew, aged 48 and his mot ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Dec 10, 1972.
* Eugene J. Houdry - Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. Vocal in opposing the government of Vichy France under Marshall
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...
and its collaboration with Germany and vocally and publicly criticized Pétain, stating that he did not speak for the French people.
Houdry was its first President.
* Fred G. Hoffherr - Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, becoming its publicity director and later its executive vice-president.
*Emile G. Henno - Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
*Henri L. Laussucq
*Pierre Quilleret - industrialist, Eugene Houdry's brother-in-law
* Jacques de Sieyes - Officer de la Légion d'honneur
*Docteur
Albert Simard
Albert Charles Joseph Simard ''Albert C. J. Simard(ca. 1891 — May 2, 1973New York State Journal of Medicine. (1973). United States: Medical Society of the State of New York. p. 2918
*Maurice Garreau-Dombasle, was the Chairman Executive Committee. From the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
in September 1940:
Declaring that he would "never accept any task under German control," Maurice Garreau-Dombasle, for thirteen years commercial counselor of the French Embassy in the United States, declined yesterday to obey the order of the Petain government to return to France.
The organisation became affiliated with the
French Committee of National Liberation
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band) ...
and published a monthly bulletin promoting its ideas, fighting against Nazi propaganda and having the voice of France to be heard in the United States as well as encouraging those in France to resist and play their part in bringing about ultimate victory.
Michel Wibault
Michel Henri Marie Joseph Wibault (born 5 June 1897, died 23 January 1963) was a French aircraft designer. He was a strong advocate of metal construction, and his airliners were important in the development of French commercial aviation in the 1 ...
, De Gaulle appointed him as technical director of France Forever. On 17 June 1940 Wibault escaped with his wife Marie-Rose from Paris to London.
From there Michel and Marie-Rose travelled to England, where they made contact with General de Gaulle. Michel Wibault joined France Forever, within which he was appointed technical director by de Gaulle.
Wibault was one of its "most active men."
Fred G. Hoffherr cabledHoffherr, Fred G. Columbia Profs Support de Gaulle and "France Quand Meme" March 7, 1941, ''Columbia Alumni News''. de Gaulle, "Command, we shall obey . ... Vive la France!"
Next day, Eugene Houdry cabled him (referring to the French people): "They are entirely at your orders."
Following Charles de Gaulle's appeal on 18 June 1940, on 29 June, Dr Albert Simard, who was president of the French Veterans of the Great War, and also of the Associated French Societies of New York, had called a public meeting to launch a support movement.Nettlebeck, Colin. Forever French: Exile in the United States, 1939-1945. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, 1991. 6
Simard stated:
We are convinced that France and all enslaved European democracies can be freed only by British victory and that a German victory over Britain will be the signal for an attack on all of the Americas.
In 1943,
Richard de Rochemont
Richard de Rochemont (December 13, 1903 – August 2, 1982) was an American documentary filmmaker and producer in the mid-20th century.
Biography
De Rochemont was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1903. He was educated at Cambridge Latin Schoo ...
became the president of France Forever and continued his action until after the Liberation, giving way to Dr. Simard serving as president, Chairman of the executive committee,Year Book. United States: France Forever, Inc., 1946 p. 137 of sessions. (After being vice president.). Simard would later become involved with the
Society for the Prevention of World War III The Society for the Prevention of World War III was an organization set up in the U.S. in 1944 during World War II that advocated a harsh peace for Germany in order to completely remove Germany as a future military threat.
The Organization was a sp ...
,Murray, James Edward. Importance of United Public Opinion on Public Issues: Remarks of Hon. James E. Murray, of Montana, in the Senate of the United States, Wednesday, May 16, 1951 .... United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951 4 serving as its Secretary.Hearings. United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1958 p. 197