Maquis, Nos Coeurs Reconnaissants Se Rappèlent...

Photograph by Donald I. Grant, Department of National Defence,

now in the collection of Library and Archives Canada, PA-166396

In Honor of The French Resistance

Many of the earliest resistance groups were formed by political parties that the Nazi government had earlier banned. Communists and Socialists were persecuted under the Nazi regime. Partisan groups with political ties, such as the Socialist Comité d'Action Socialiste and the Communist Front National used their extensive media and member network to produce and distribute anti-Nazi propaganda. As resistance groups began to arm themselves and carry out acts of sabotage, the papers published coded messages that communicated instructions to members. During the course of the war, underground newspapers supplied information to over a million readers.

The resistance relied on coded messages to communicate with members and plan operations. Members were called by code names, and operational units had their own cryptonym or symbols. Underground newspaper published coded articles and drawings. Poetry was even used as a means of sending coded messages or identifying oneself as a member of a resistance group to other members.

Poetry!