Madeleine Riffaud facts for kids

Madeleine Riffaud (born August 23, 1924 – died November 6, 2024) was a brave French writer and reporter. She was also a war correspondent, meaning she reported from war zones. Madeleine was a very important member of the French Resistance, a secret group that fought against the Nazis during World War II.

A Young Fighter in World War II

Madeleine grew up in a part of France called the Somme. This area had many memories from World War I. She was just 15 years old when World War II started.

In May 1940, German planes attacked a group of people, including Madeleine, who were trying to escape. After this scary event, she decided to move to Paris. She wanted to fight against Nazi Germany with the Resistance.

Joining the Resistance

When she was 18, Madeleine joined the French Forces of the Interior, which was part of the Resistance. Her secret code name was "Rainer." She took part in many missions against the Nazi soldiers. She even helped capture 80 German soldiers from a supply train.

Soon after, someone who helped the Nazis captured her. They handed her over to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. She was taken to their headquarters and then to Fresnes Prison. Luckily, she was later set free in a prisoner exchange. This meant she was traded for other prisoners.

Madeleine immediately went back to fighting with the Resistance. Her goal was to free Paris from Nazi control. After Paris was freed, she and her friends kept fighting until the war ended in 1945.

Life as a Journalist and Writer

After the war, Madeleine became a journalist. She wrote for a French newspaper called Ce soir. Later, she reported on the Algerian War for another newspaper, L'Humanité.

In 1946, she met Ho Chi Minh, a leader from Vietnam. She promised to dedicate her life to helping Vietnam. She moved to South Vietnam and lived with the Viet Cong resistance for seven years. She reported on their fight during the Vietnam War.

While there, she wrote a book called Au Nord-Vietnam: écrit sous les bombes. She also made a documentary film called Dans le maquis du Sud-Vietnam. This film showed how the Viet Cong used guerrilla warfare, which is a type of fighting with surprise attacks. She fell in love with a Vietnamese poet, Nguyễn Đình Thi. But they could not marry because of an old Vietnamese law.

Returning to France

When Madeleine returned to France, she worked as a nursing assistant in a Paris hospital. During this time, she wrote a very popular book called Les Linges de la nuit. She also published a collection of her poems, Cheval rouge: anthologie poétique, 1939-1972.

Madeleine Riffaud received important awards for her work. In 2013, she got the French National Order of Merit. In 2005, she received the Vietnamese Friendship Medal.

Madeleine turned 100 years old on August 23, 2024. She passed away on November 6, 2024, in her home in Paris.

Her Books and Poems

Madeleine wrote poetry throughout her life, even during the war and her time as a journalist. The famous artist Pablo Picasso drew her picture for the front of her poetry book, Le Poing fermé (The Closed Fist), which came out in 1945.

In 1994, she wrote a book about her time in the Resistance. It was called On l'appelait Rainer, which was her secret code name. She also appeared in several documentaries about her amazing life.

Publications

• Le Poing fermé (1945)
• Le Courage d'aimer (1949)
• Les Carnets de Charles Debarge, documents recueillis et commentés par Madeleine Riffaud (1951)
• Les Baguettes de jade (1953)
• Le Chat si extraordinaire (1958)
• Ce que j'ai vu à Bizerte (1961)
• Merveille et douleurs : l'Iran (1963)
• De votre envoyée spéciale... (1964)
• Dans les maquis "Vietcong" (1965)
• Au Nord-Vietnam : écrit sous les bombes (1967)
• Nguyễn Đinh Thi : Front du ciel (Mãt trãn trên cao) (1968)
• Cheval rouge : anthologie poétique, 1939–1972 (1973)
• Les Linges de la nuit (1974)
• On l'appelait Rainer : 1939–1945 (1994)
• La Folie du jasmin : poèmes dans la nuit coloniale (2001)
• Bleuette (2004)