“Responding to the historical call. Here at Puits n°7 a plaque stands tall.” This unassuming plaque whispers tales of immense bravery and sacrifice. It marks the site of Puits n°7 a coal mine in Montigny-en-Gohelle. This wasn’t just any mine. Puits n°7 was at the heart of a momentous event a strike against the German occupiers during World War II.
The Puits n°7 Plaque isn’t grand. It’s a simple stone bearing a powerful message. It commemorates the miners who risked everything for freedom. Their courageous act was the largest strike in occupied Europe. It began in May-June 1941. A communist activist Michel Brulé ignited the spark. The strike spread like wildfire across the Nord-Pas-de-Calais coalfields.
Imagine the atmosphere. The tension the fear. Hundreds of miners faced brutal repression. Many were deported or executed. Michel Brulé among them. Even Émilienne Mopty a miner’s wife and resistance fighter met a tragic end. Their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. The Puits n°7 Plaque serves as a potent reminder of their resistance.
The plaque’s inscription tells a story of defiance. It speaks of the “historical call” launched by Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos. It mentions three courageous FTP fighters one of them Brulé. It recounts the armed struggle that started from this very spot. The inscription’s concluding words remain etched in time: “French people never forget”.
Puits n°7 itself ceased extraction in 1948. The shaft was filled in 1952. The Puits n°7bis followed suit three years later. The mine’s structures remain. The offices workshops and washrooms still stand. They are silent witnesses to a history of toil struggle and heroic resistance. The Puits n°7 Plaque is more than a memorial. It’s a living testament to the courage of ordinary people who dared to challenge oppression. It’s a poignant reminder of a pivotal moment in history a moment that changed the course of events in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Let’s pause a moment to remember those brave miners their struggle their sacrifice. They fought for freedom and left behind this small but powerful legacy Puits n°7 Plaque.