Overview
- Brief Narrative
- City of Ghent Commemorative Medal 1940-1945 medal with ribbon awarded to Roger Francois by the city of Ghent, Belgium, to honor his service in the Belgian resistance during the German occupation, May 1940-September 1944. The German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps in Germany, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his war time service.
- Date
-
commemoration:
1940-1945
issue: approximately 1945
- Geography
-
issue:
Ghent (Belgium)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Guy Francois
- Markings
- medal, front top, embossed : 1940 1945
medal, reverse center, embossed : GANDAVUM / CIVES MAGNÆ / VIRTUTIS COLIT [Great Citizens of Ghent Cultivate Virtue] - Contributor
-
Subject:
Roger L. François
- Biography
-
Roger Leon Francois was born on July 23, 1914, in Ledeberg, Belgium. He served in the Belgian Army throughout the 1930s. He was given leave from the Congo to marry Johanna F. on March 12, 1936. In May 1940, Germany invaded and occupied Belgium. Roger became a member of OMBR [Organisation Militaire Belge de Résistance], the Belgian Military Resistance Organization. He participated in sabotage actions and actively assisted Jews to go into hiding to avoid deportation by the German authorities. He was arrested in Brussels by the Germans in 1942, and deported to Flossenbürg, than Buchenwald concentration camp. His prisoner number was 60481. He may have been released on June 17, 1944, due to ill health pursuant to a prisoner release agreement negotiated by the Dutch. Buchenwald was liberated by American troops in April 1945, not long before the war ended in May. Roger was honored with multiple awards and medals for his wartime service by the Belgian government. Roger resumed his service in the Belgian Army. He worked as a photographer for the Belgian embassy, as a cryptographer for NATO, and was stationed in the Belgian Embassy in Washington DC for three years. In 1960, he retired from the military after twenty years. He, his wife, and their four children, two boys and two girls, remained in the US. Roger was a dedicated employee of the Piedmont School of the Wilson Boulevard Christian Church. Roger, age 79, died in 1993.
Physical Details
- Language
- Latin
- Classification
-
Military Insignia
- Category
-
Medals
- Object Type
-
Medals, Belgian (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Bronze colored, circular medal with an attached ribbon that is divided vertically with white on the right and black on the left, the colors of Ghent. The front has an embossed design of 2 men in profile: on the left is a crowned king with a broken chain in his right hand; with his left arm, he embraces a man whose forehead he is kissing. Above are the numerical years 1940 1945 and below is a shield with the lion of Ghent, and an upright laurel branch. The reverse has 2 laurel branches and Latin text. A suspension ring is attached at the top to a jump ring through which the ribbon is threaded.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm)
- Materials
- overall : metal, ribbon, adhesive
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Concentration camp inmates--Germany--Biography. Guerillas--Belgium--Biography. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Belgium--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Political prisoners--Germany--Personal narratives, Belgian. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Personal narratives, Belgian.
- Geographic Name
- Belgium--History--German occupation, 1940-1945.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The City of Ghent medal was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Guy Francois, the son of Roger Francois.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-31 14:45:38
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn516403
Also in Roger Francois collection
The collection consists of medals, books, a diary, and a scrapbook relating to the experience of Roger Francois in the Belgian resistance and in Buchenwald and Flossenburg concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Date: 1936-1946
Roger François papers
Document
The Roger François papers consist of a scrapbook and diary documenting the life and experiences of Roger François, an active member of the Belgian Resistance during World War II who was captured and imprisoned at the Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps. The diary was written in Dutch by Roger from 1944-1945 and documents his life and experiences during the war, including recounting his experiences imprisoned in Buchenwald and Flossenbürg. The scrapbook contains original and copies of wartime and post-war documents including a birth verification, identification and membership cards, a letter granting a leave of absence to get married, personal and professional correspondence, work documents, and documents and certificates relating to his various medals awarded to Roger as well as wartime and post-war photographs.
Croix du Prisonnier Politique de la Guerre 1940-1945 medal with ribbon, 2 stars, awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
Cross of the Political Prisoner of War, 1940-1945 medal with ribbon, with two stars, awarded to Roger Francois by the government of Belgium for his service to his country during World War II. The cross pattée medal had an embossed inverted red triangle with a B to represent the prison badge that identified them as Belgian political prisoners and a blue and white striped ribbon representing prison uniforms. During the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944, the German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps in Germany, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his war time service.
Commemorative Medal of the War 1940-1945 medal and ribbon awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
Medal and ribbon awarded to Roger Francois by the Belgian government in 1947 for his service to his country during World War II. During the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944, the German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his war time service.
Medal de la Resistance Armee 1940-1945 medal and ribbon awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
Medal of the Armed Resistance awarded to Roger Francois by the Belgian government in 1946 for his service in the resistance to the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944. The colors of the ribbon are symbolic: black for the period of occupation, green for hope, and red for blood lost in the fight. The German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his wartime service.
Military Decoration for Loyalty medal, ribbon, and chevron awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
Medal with ribbon and chevron awarded to Roger Francois by the government of Belgium for his service to his country during World War II. During the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944, the German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his war time service.
King Leopold III Croix de Guerre 1940-1945 medal, ribbon, and gold palm citation awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
King Leopold III Croix de Guerre medal, ribbon,and palm citation awarded to Roger Francois by the Belgian government for bravery and his service to his country during World War II. During the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944, the German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his wartime service.
Order of Leopold II Knight class medal, ribbon and silver palm citation awarded to a Belgian resistance fighter
Object
Order of Leopold II Chevalier medal, ribbon, and silver palm citation awarded to Roger Francois by the Belgian government for his service to his country during World War II. During the German occupation of Belgium, May 1940-September 1944, the German military governed alongside the Belgian civil service. The Germans sought to deport all Jews to concentration camps; the Belgian civil service did not cooperate. By 1942, there was a significant resistance movement. Francois actively assisted Jews in avoiding these round-ups and in finding places to live in hiding. He was captured and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps in Germany, and was not liberated until April 1945. Francois was honored with multiple awards for his wartime service.
Book
Object
Book owned by Roger François, an active member of the Belgian Resistance in German occupied Belgium during WWII. He was arrested by the Germans and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps.
Book
Object
Book owned by Roger François, an active member of the Belgian Resistance in German occupied Belgium during WWII. He was arrested by the Germans and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps.
Book
Object
Book owned by Roger François, an active member of the Belgian Resistance in German occupied Belgium during WWII. He was arrested by the Germans and interned at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg concentration camps. The book was written by Clark Kinnaird and published by Pilot Press in 1945.
