Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Badge with the 1940 insignia of the Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs Unionistes de France {EEUdF), a Protestant division of the Boy Scouts in France (Scoutisme Français). After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940, scouting was prohibited in the German occupied north, but continued in the south under the French collaborationist Vichy regime. In fall 1943, Germany occupied the south. In the Tarn region, members of an underground fighting EIF unit, Companie Marc-Haguenau, under EIF founder Robert Gamzon, and members of Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs Unionistes de France, a Protestant division of the Scouts, under Robert Cook, formed the core of Maquis de Vabre. Also known as Corps franc de la liberation 10, they joined the French forces of the interior and American commandos to liberate Castres on August 20, 1944, capturing 4500 German soldiers. From 1940-1945, the EEUdF helped hide their Jewish brethren, assisting with false identity papers and uniforms. After the war, these actions were recognized with a Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française.
- Date
-
issue:
1940
- Geography
-
issue:
Tarn (France)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Alain Morley
- Markings
- front, embossed : S / F SOIS PRET [Scoutisme Français / Already ready]
- Contributor
-
Issuer:
Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs Unionistes de France
Physical Details
- Language
- French
- Classification
-
Identifying Artifacts
- Category
-
Badges
- Object Type
-
Badges (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Silver colored metal shield frame badge inserted into a black leather shield with sloped shoulders and a bottom point. An equilateral cross with fleur de lis tips is centered on the open shield. The bottom point rests upon a furled banner with French text and pointed tips that extend beyond the shield edge. On the left tip is the raised letter S and on the right, an F. A tied knot, symbol of the Scouts, overlays the banner and shield tip. On the back, a vertical round top pin fastens through a loop on the pin inserted through the leather.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) | Width: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal, leather
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Boy Scouts--France--Insignia.
- Corporate Name
- Éclaireuses et éclaireurs unionistes de France
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Alain Morley.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-01-29 12:55:02
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn513622
Also in Alain Morley collection
The collection consists of two Scoutisme Français [Boy Scouts in France] badges relating to the history of the Eclaireurs Israélites de France and Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs Unionistes de France during the war in German occupied France.
Date: 1940
Eclaireurs Israélites de France badge with Judean lions and tablets
Object
Bronze insignia badge of the Eclaireurs Israélites de France, the Jewish division of the Boy Scouts in France. Founded in 1923 to attract boys to Judaism, by the 1930s, EIF was very involved with Zionism. After France surrendered to Germany in June 1940, EIF could operate openly only in unoccupied southern France. EIF ran children's homes which were soon crowded by the children of Jews held in internment camps. In March 1942, when the Germans began large scale deportations of Jews, EIF formed a resistance unit, La Sixieme. They developed a rescue network for Jewish children, placing them in hiding or smuggling them out of the country and providing forged identity papers. EIF is credited with saving several thousand Jews. In the Tarn region, members of an underground fighting EIF unit, Companie Marc-Haguenau, under EIF founder Robert Gamzon, and members of Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs Unionistes de France, a Protestant division of the Scouts, under Robert Cook, formed the Maquis de Vabre. Also known as Corps franc de la liberation 10, they joined the French forces of the interior and American commandos to liberate Castres on August 20, 1944, capturing 4500 German soldiers.
