Yvonne Ziegler (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Yvonne Henriette Marie Lefeuve; 1 June 1902 – 16 January 1988) 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, painter, sculptor, engraver, and educator. She had founded and directed the Académie Ziegler in Paris. Ziegler worked in the French resistance with the network and alongside her partner Suzanne Leclézio. They were both deported to

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 ...

, and survived. Ziegler was also known by her French resistance code name, Véronique.

Early life and education

Yvonne Ziegler was born as Yvonne Henriette Marie Lefeuve on 1 June 1902, in

Garches Garches () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, with a population of 17,898 ...

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

, France. Ziegler was a student of the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris, and had also studied under artists

Lucien Simon Lucien Joseph Simon (1861 – 1945) was a French painter and teacher born in Paris. Early life and education Simon was born in Paris. After graduating from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, he studied painting at the studio of Jules Didier, then from ...

and Paul Albert Laurens.

Career

Ziegler was recognized in the 1930s for her artwork, and exhibited in 1937 at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. She was known for her landscape paintings, women's portraits, and nudes. She founded her own academy in Paris, the Académie Ziegler, at 1 rue de la Grande-Chaumière, in the Notre-Dame-des-Champs district. Starting in the early 1930s her lesbian partner was social worker Suzanne Leclézio, and together they lived in the

14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory"; named after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, ...

, at 43 rue Boissonade. Ziegler and Leclézio joined the resistance network together as second lieutenants. Ziegler took the code name "Véronique". The couple housed resistance fighters in their home, and started a health centre at 22

rue Marcadet The Rue Marcadet is a road that stretches the north side of the Butte Montmartre in Paris, France. It is located in the 18th arrondissement. History There is some discussion on the origin of the name, but it seems to be derived from a hamlet ...

, the "Marcadet Street Health Center" (also known as Centre d'hygiène sociale, chemin de fer du Nord) where they saved Jewish families in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Ziegler and Leclézio were denounced, and the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrested them on 27 July 1944, at their home on Rue Boissonade. They were tortured, then taken to the Fresnes prison and imprisoned, and followed by deportation by the last convoy of political prisoners on 15 August 1944 to the

. Ziegler and Leclézio escaped during the

death marches A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires that ...

, and in May 1945 were liberated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Upon her return, Leclézio remained the director of the Marcadet Street Health Center until 1984. Ziegler received the French military decoration

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 ...

and the

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 ...

. Leclézio was named a Chevalier (Knight) of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

, received the Croix de Guerre, and the

. They retired to

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

, at La Charretterie, a Normandy farm. They ended their lives in the retirement home of

Blangy-le-Château Blangy-le-Château () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Notable people that lived here include Suzanne Leclézio, and Yvonne Ziegler. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados depa ...

in Normandy, France.

Death and legacy

Leclézio died in 1987, the retirement home; a few months later Ziegler died on 16 January 1988, in

Lisieux Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pa ...

. The history of Leclézio and Ziegler was lost for many years, and in more recent times it has been documented by French history researcher Laurent Thévenet. In 2022, a tribute plaque was placed at 22 rue Marcadet, honoring both women and their work. The text on this plaque was deliberated on by the

Paris Council The Council of Paris ( French: ''Conseil de Paris'', ) is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental co ...

, and was the first time the word "lesbian" was used on a public plaque in France. A small park in Paris is named "Square du 21-avril-1944", in reference to the date of a nearby bombing that occurred in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, leaving 500 death, and many of the wounded had been treated at the Marcadet Street Health Center.

Exhibitions

* 1935, ''Les Femmes Artistes Modernes'',

Society of Modern Women Artists A catalogue for their 1932 Paris exhibition The Society of Modern Women Artists (''La Société des femmes artistes modernes'', FAM) was created in Paris in 1930 as an association for modern women artists. They organized an annual salon from 1931 t ...

group exhibition, 18 rue Erlanger, Paris, France * 1935, ''Exposition de peintures, sculptures, arts décoratifs'', Society of Modern Women Artists group exhibition, Bernheim-Jeune gallery, Paris, France * 1937, '' Salon d'Automne'', group exhibition, Paris, France *1937, ''Exhibition of Paintings, French Landscapes, and Portraits by Yvonne Ziegler'', solo exhibition, 27 King Street, Palser Gallery, London, England

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziegler, Yvonne 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century French artists 20th-century French women artists Académie Julian alumni French lesbian artists French Resistance members French painters French women painters French women in World War II People from Île-de-France Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Resistance Medal