Certificate for Officier de la Légion d'Honneur medal, WWII.
On June 19th, 1940, German troops entered the city of Nantes. As the Germans invaded France their systematic tactic was to humiliate the population, taking over City Halls and turning them into command posts was very effective in that respect.
This certificate is a companion piece to ZFC1885 Officier de la Légion d'Honneur medal
Little is known about the origin of this Officier de la legion d'honneur medal received by a member of La Resistance presumably for capturing a Nazi flag from Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in Nantes on October of 1941 while it was being used as Kommandantur during the German occupation of France.
The Légion d'honneur was established by Napoleon on 19 May 1802. The Order is the utmost distinction in France and is divided into five levels: Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and Grand'Croix.
This Officier de la Légion d'Honneur medal was handed down by the recipient to his grandson, in addition to this medal the recipient also received from General Charles de Gaulle the medal of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.
Also associated to this item is ZFC1887 WWII German Banner grabbed from the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in Nantes on October of 1941.
