Perhaps a woman named Victoria piques your interest. Victoria was Berty Albrecht’s alias during the French Resistance. Today we explore Rue Berty Albrecht in Lyon. This street commemorates a remarkable woman. She was a feminist, an antifascist, and a key figure in the French Resistance during World War II.
Berty Albrecht was born Berthe Wild in Marseille in 1893. She came from a bourgeois Protestant family of Swiss origin. Berty trained as a nurse. She worked in military hospitals during World War I. Later, she married Fréderic Albrecht, a Dutch banker. They lived in the Netherlands and London.
In London, Berty became passionate about women’s rights. Historians note her discovery of feminism through Sylvia Pankhurst. Berty joined the World League for Sexual Reform in 1927.
Separated from her husband, Berty moved to Paris in 1931. She befriended Victor Basch, president of the League of Human Rights. In 1933, Berty created a feminist magazine. It was called Le Problème sexuel. The magazine advocated for abortion rights and contraception.
As the dangers of Nazism grew, Berty helped German refugees. These were mostly Jews and political dissidents. She met Captain Henri Frenay in Sainte-Maxime. Despite political differences, they became lovers and resistance partners. Together, they co-organized the Combat movement. Berty also aided Spanish Republicans.
During the war, Berty worked at the Fulmen factories. She used this position to help prisoners escape across demarcation lines. She typed propaganda for the Resistance. Berty recruited members and collected funds.
In 1941, Berty became an inspector for female unemployment in Lyon. She was watched closely by the French police. She organized social services for imprisoned militants and their families. Berty was first arrested in January 1942. After her release, she was forced to resign.
Arrested again in April 1942, Berty was interned in Vals-les-Bains. She went on a hunger strike. She demanded a trial. Transferred to Saint-Joseph prison in Lyon, she was sentenced to six months.
When the Germans invaded the free zone, Berty feigned madness. She was sent to a psychiatric hospital. A Combat commando rescued her with help from her daughter, Mireille.
Berty refused to flee to England. She continued her clandestine activities. In 1943, she was arrested in Mâcon by the Gestapo. She was tortured and imprisoned. Berty was found hanged in her cell in Fresnes prison. It was likely suicide. She chose death over betraying her comrades.
Berty Albrecht was posthumously made a Companion of the Liberation. Frenay honored her on the BBC. He said France owed her much. Her remains were found in the prison garden in 1945.
Today, Berty Albrecht rests in the crypt of the Memorial of Fighting France. It is located at Mont Valérien. This street honors her courage, her commitment to justice, and her vital role in the French Resistance. Berty Albrecht’s legacy continues to inspire.