Mark Collard

The extraordinary story of French Resistance hero, FRANCFORT, Albert Lucien: Shot, executed, gunned down ... His grave was recently cared for by Gilles Guinard and his daughter. Born June 15, 1915, in Versonnex (Ain); summarily executed on August 16, 1944, in Annecy (Haute-Savoie); farmer; member of the French Fighting Forces (FFC) Resistance. Albert Francfort, son of Alexis and Renée Fournier, was a farmer in his native commune at the time of the events and was passing through Annecy. Taken prisoner in 1940 in Dortmund, he escaped in 1943. He joined the Resistance as part of the Ajax network (FFC), registered in London under number F/3084. On Wednesday, August 16, 1944—three days before the liberation of Annecy—an unidentified man was arrested at a checkpoint set up by the Germans on the Avenue d’Albigny, just a few meters from Villa Schmid, the Gestapo headquarters for the department. A German soldier, pistol in hand, marched his prisoner toward the villa; however, the man managed to seize the soldier’s weapon, shoot him, and flee. In retaliation, the enemy ordered the execution of four hostages. Two were arrested immediately (some sources claim they were simply passing by on the street, though this seems unlikely): Albert Francfort* and Jean Gailliot*. Jean Alexis Bouchard*—who was undergoing interrogation at Villa Schmid—and Dr. Hubert Laurent*, a well-known figure in Annecy, were the other two victims of these reprisals. Albert Francfort was thus executed by the Germans on the Avenue d’Albigny in Annecy on August 16, 1944. (Memorial of the Oppression, 3808 W 1379). According to MémorialGenWeb, he was tortured before being executed by firing squad. He was buried in Versonnex on December 10, 1944. He was officially recognized as having "Died for France" (*Mort pour la France*) on July 18, 1946 (files no. 14,907 and 83,522), granted status as a member of the FFC (French Fighting Forces), and awarded a service certificate signed by Field Marshal Montgomery. His name appears on the stele erected at the site of the execution (in front of the present-day Sainte-Bernadette church).