Albert Ouzoulias

Vocation

French Communist leader of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45) using the name of "Colonel André". He played a major role in the 1944 liberation of Paris. Ouzoulias was active in the youth organization of the French Communist Party before the war. He was enlisted in the army when the war broke out, was captured in 1940 and interned by the Germans, but escaped and made his way back to France in July 1941. There he took charge of fighting units organized from the Communist youth. He was assigned to various senior positions in the Communist resistance organization. He was in charge of all resistance forces in the Paris region at the time of the liberation of Paris by the Allied forces in August 1944. After this he was given responsibility for integrating the resistance fighters into the regular army. Despite his role in the Resistance, Ouzoulias did not play an important role in politics after the war, but was involved in municipal politics and veterans' organizations. He died on 27 November 1995. Link to Wikipedia biography