In our ongoing series #WomenThatDid, ENTITY profiles inspirational and famous women in history whose impact on our world can still be felt today. If you have a suggestion for a historical powerhouse you would like to see featured, tweet us with the hashtag #WomenThatDid.
Name: Simone Segouin
Lifetime: October 3, 1925-present day
What She’s Known For: Not every resistance fighter who fought in World War II was a man. They were rarer, yes, but they existed all the same. And they weren’t there for just show. Just look at Simone Segouin. At just 18 years old, French resistance fighter Simone Segouin, who was known by her war name Nicole Minet in order to protect her family, was described by a French newspaper Independent Eure-et-Loir as “one of the purest fighters of heroic French Resistance who prepared the way for the Liberation.” In 1944 she joined the Francs Tireurs et Partisans. She’s taken part in missions to derail a train, blow up trains, and the exact number of Germans she’s killed is unknown, but she’s helped captured at least 25 German soldiers in Thivars, France. She helped liberate Chartres, and then after headed to help liberate Paris. After the war Simone was promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Croix de Guerre. After the war she became a paediatric nurse, and today she’s still alive, happily surrounded by her grandchildren.
Why We Love Her: April 29th, 1945 French women voted for the first time in local elections, then 6 months later in the national elections. Although female fighters made up of only about 10% of French Resistance, several politicians, such as General de Gaulle, made it clear that the role of female resistance fighters in the war were partly responsible for women’s suffrage.
Fun Fact: Segouin fell in love with Roland Boursier during the war, and even though the two had 6 children. They never married.
