Being on the Résistance's Side
A Salvation Army officer in France, Georges Flandre, left traces of a dedicated, uncompromising servant of God. During the Nazi era he stood up for justice, peace and brotherhood. Inspired by Christ's example, his testimony has encouraged many people to remain faithful, until death, with an undivided heart.
When the young Flandre came into contact with The Salvation Army, he was a dedicated member of the Labour Party. In the first Salvation Army meetings he attended, he not only became aware of the guilt of humankind, but also of his own sin. It became clear to him that the regeneration of others would be possible only through his own renewed personality: First he himself had to be free, cleansed and changed.
He accepted salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. and a new life began. His compassion for his brothers deepened and Jesus' words "Follow Me" echoed incessantly in his spirit. After many inner struggles, he accepted the call to become a Salvation Army officer, and gave God a definitive "Yes".
His life as an officer was marked by a self-sacrificing devotion, especially for the disadvantaged, the unfortunate and the weak. During the Second World War, General de Gaulle a called for the French People to stand together at all costs. Flandre's soul was deeply agitated because in his mind he saw imprisoned patriots, persecuted Jews, deported adolescents and families torn apart. The triumph of lies and deceitfulness had to be resisted so Flandre put this ideas into practice for three years.
In 1941, Major Flandre and his wife received Marching Orders to go to Montpellier, where they went together, with their two sons Olivier and Guy, to the new appointment. There he assumed responsibility for The Salvation Army in the city and the visiting of the prison. Much suffering and pain touched his heart where, gradually, his accommodation turned into a safe haven for deeply tested and persecuted people. With all of them, the Major wept, prayed and struggled to find solutions, which he often found. Quickly his apartment developed into a centre for practical assistance and a collection and distribution centre for food, clothes and other useful items. Parallel to this, The Salvation Army meetings took over the task of intensive prayers of intercession. All activities grew harmoniously together, with effective results, after which Flandre was called the "Soul of the Resistance Movement". As a matter of fact, the Major also saw his duty, as a Salvation Army officer, to liberate his country from the diabolical hands of the Nazis. It was no wonder that he was wanted by the Gestapo and a reward of one million French Francs was offered for information leading to his arrest).
Before an imminent house search by the police, on the third of April 1943, he was able to escape and under the pseudonym MONTCALM he went into hiding in Marseilles. This was three months before The Salvation Army was banned in France.
Despite the greatest of dangers, he continued his activities in Marseille and became chief of the resistance of two French Administrative Departments: Bouches-du-Rhone and Vaucluse. But the dark hour of betrayal moved closer. As on the twenty seventh of April 1944 one of his wards, whom he had trusted, led the Gestapo to his hiding-place.
The final stage of his rich life started in the prison of Marseille. Despite painful torture he never revealed any names of his brothers. He gave testimony to his 30 fellow prisoners of the liberating Grace of God, imparted hope and prepared them for death and the impending glory of heaven. On the thirteenth of June 1944, in a kneeling position, Flandre and his fellow patriots were shot to death, in a pine forest.
France paid tribute to the heroic soldier of Jesus Christ with a moving state ceremony. It was in November, shortly after The Salvation Army was again re-established that Pastor Jean Cadi presented his farewell speech in the context of the Biblical Text of Matthew 16.24: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” With this verse the life of Major Flandre was accurately summarised and his testimony lives on in many hearts.
(Lt.Col. L. Holland-Vogel)
A book with the Story of Georges Flandre in the Salvation Army Museum Basel