Madeleine Cestari
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Madeleine Cestari (7 October 1921 – 12 August 2016) was a
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
fighter from France. A member of the Confrérie Notre-Dame network, she was arrested in 1942 and deported to the
Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...
in 1944.


Biography

Born Madeleine Alice Renault on 7 October 1921 in
Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...
to Léon Renault, professor of philosophy and English and inspector general of an insurance company and her Marie Decker, daughter of composer Théodore Decker. Madeleine Renault came from a family of ten. Her brother was
Gilbert Renault Gilbert Renault (6 August 1904 – 29 July 1984), known by the nom de guerre Colonel Rémy, was a notable French secret agent active during the Second World War and was known under various pseudonyms such as ''Raymond'', ''Jean-Luc'', ''Morin'', '' ...
, Colonel Rémy and her sister was
Maisie Renault Maisie Renault (13 December 1907 – 7 April 2003) was a French Resistance fighter and a member of the Confrérie Notre-Dame network. She was arrested in 1942 and deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in 1944. Biography Born May Renault ...
. Her other siblings included Isabelle, born on 26 August 1923 and also deported, and Philippe, born 29 March 1915, deported and later killed in Lübeck-Neustadt Bay, 3 May 1945, both members of the Confrérie Notre Dame-Castille network. With her sister, Cestari was arrested in 1942 by the Gestapo. She was imprisoned in Vannes, in the
Royallieu-Compiègne internment camp The Royallieu-Compiègne was an internment and deportation camp located in the north of France in the city of Compiègne, open from June 1941 to August 1944. French resistance fighters and Jews were among some of the prisoners held in this camp. ...
and in
Romainville Romainville () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Location It is located from the center of Paris. History On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory of Romainville was detached ...
, before being deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. She survived there, with her sister, until the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army in April 1945. She died on 12 August 2016 in Vannes.


Honors

* Knight of the
Legion of Honor 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
*
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
1939-1945 *
Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (, ) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...


References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cestari, Madeleine 1921 births 2016 deaths People from Vannes French Resistance members