French Resistance Leader Raymond Aubrac and Algerian Resistance Leader Ahmed Ben Bella -- RIP

Raymond Aubrac obit,
from the leftist French newspaper Liberation

In a curious coincidence, two people familiar to francophones and their political history died recently. One of the deceased, Raymond Aubrac, was a French Resistance leader during World War II. His courage and daring exploits helped save France and especially salvage its self-respect. A grateful Charles de Gaulle became the godparent of one of Aubrac's children.

Aubrac's story, including his remarkable marriage with his gutsy wife (who could match her spouse's chutzpah), is a fascinating one. The New York Times' obituary on Mr. Aubrac provides some fascinating details.

Sharing the obit column's A-list was Ahmed Ben Bella, a cagey Algerian who led the North African country during the mid-1960s after its bitter war of independence from France. Ben Bella was smart, ruthless, and a little lucky throughout his life. He died at age 93 and had endured house arrest for over a decade.

Ahmed Ben Bella (right) and Che Guevara (left), 1964
Photo credit: GTRES

Ben Bella's story, which includes escapes from French assassination attempts and navigating internal coups in Algeria, is nearly as interesting as Aubrac's tale of survival. Ben Bella's world was nearly as rough as Occupied France during the darkest days of the Second World War. He, too, received an honor from Charles de Gaulle: a Medal Militaire, "the highest decoration of the Free French forces," according to Ben Bella's obit in The New York Times. Ironically, Ben Bella won the honor for his spirited defense of Marseille during a 1940 German bombing attack. His perspective would change after the war, and this proudly Muslim, proudly Arab, proudly Algerian man became a tenacious foe of French colonialism. The Times obit offers a useful overview of Ben Bella's life.