Marie Politzer

Marie Politzer, née Larcade (1906–1943), also known as Maï Politzer, was a French communist activist and a member of the Resistance during World War II.

Biography

Early life Marie Politzer was born on August 15, 1906 in Biarritz. She is the daughter of Joseph Larcade and Hélène Mimiague. Joseph Larcade was a cook. In 1907, he was head cook at the French embassy in Saint Petersburg, where he lived with his wife, who worked as a linen maid. Back in Biarritz, he became head chef at the Hôtel du Palais, former residence of Empress Eugénie.

Education Her family was Catholic and went to church every Sunday, the priest being a family friend. She did her secondary education in a convent in Biarritz. In 1922, at age 16, she completed her secondary education. On October 21, 1922, she obtained a steno-typist diploma from the Pigier school in Bayonne. On July 27, 1923, she obtained a diploma in commercial correspondence and, on the following November 28, a diploma in commercial studies. Then, she persuaded her parents to let her go to Paris to study midwifery. She registered at the medical school and took courses at Pitié-Salpêtrière. She then obtained her diploma on November 5, 1929.

Meeting with Georges Politzer In 1929, she met Georges Politzer, a communist activist and Marxist philosopher, on a train, whom she married on March 5, 1931.

Death She contracted typhus and died on March 6, 1943. After the Liberation, the distinction “mort pour la France” was granted on May 18, 1946 to Marie Politzer as well as a certificate of membership to the French Internal Resistance in 1950.

Legacy A street in Biarritz is named in her honor. A street in Paris is named after her and her husband.