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Mertzisen-Boitte, Suzanne Camille

Date of birth:
May 15th, 1919 (Colombes/Hauts-de-Seine, France)
Date of death:
January 18th, 1945 (Ravensbrück KZ)
Nationality:
French

Biography

In 1938 Suzanne Boitte married fighter pilot Gabriel Mertzisen. After the birth of their daughter Danielle, they left for Algiers to escape the German occupation of France. Suzanne then decided to enlist in the Corps Femenin des Transmissions (CFT). After her training, she joined the Deuxième Bureau (French Intelligence Service). Subsequently she was given the opportunity to operate behind enemy lines in occupied France with other "Merlinettes".
After training, she was parachuted near Jouéc on the night of 5/6 April 1944, together with Marie-Louise Cloarec and Pierette Louin, among others. It is not known exactly what her activities were there, but some articles suggest that she reached Paris with the other two women on 10 April.
However, on 27 April, the trio was betrayed and arrested. Interrogated by the German police, she refused to give her information and was deported to the Ravensbrück camp, where she reunited with her three comrades from the CFT. They were executed together on 18 January 1945.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Unit:
Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action, Free French Forces
Awarded on:
August 2012

Awarded by the city of Colombes
Chevalier de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur

Sources

Photo