Barot, Madeleine (1909–1995)

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Barot, Madeleine (1909–1995)

French anti-Nazi resistance leader. Born July 4, 1909, in Chateauroux, France; died Dec 29, 1995, in Paris.

Human-rights activist, Protestant leader in ecumenical movement, and celebrated hero of the French Resistance, joined the French Reformed Church and was leader at First World Conference of Christian Youth (1939); appointed general secretary of refugee relief organization, Comité Inter-Mouvement Auprés des Evacués (CIMADE); joined resistance and risked life to assist Jews escaping Spain and Switzerland; worked for social reconstruction and ecumenical cooperation after WWII; served on board of Young Women's Christian Association (1945–50); worked for World Council of Churches (1953–73) and was appointed director of Department on the Co-operation of Men and Women in Church and Society (1953–66); staunch defender of women's rights, worked to promote greater role for women in Protestant church; joined Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) and worked through Protestant relief agency CIMADE on industrial, rural and social education in developing countries. Named Righteous Gentile by Israel's Yad Vashem; received French Legion of Honor.

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