Nathalie Lemel
Nathalie Lemel (born August 26, 1827 in Brest (Finistère) ; died in Ivry-sur-Seine in 1921 ) was a socialist and feminist who took an active part in the uprising of the Paris Commune in 1871 . Written appeals to working people from 1871 are signed with the alternative spelling of their name, Nathalie Le Mel.
biography
Nathalie Lemel grew up in Brest, where her parents, Spouse Duval, owned a café. She attended school until the age of twelve and then worked as a bookbinder . In 1845 she married the eight-year-old bookbinder Jérôme Lemel, with whom she had three children. In 1849 the couple settled in Quimper , where they opened a bookbinding business. The Lemel couple pursued this professional activity until they were declared insolvent in 1861. In search of work, the couple left Brittany for Paris .
Her first occupation in Paris seems to have been selling books. Natalie Lemel turned into an active socialist during this phase of her life. The social disadvantage of large sections of the population at the time led to the founding of the International Workers' Association (IAA) in London in 1864 . This association was also called "First International" in later history. In August 1864, the members of the Paris Bookbinders Union, led by Eugène Varlin, stopped their work. At the end of December 1864, the Paris IAA section was founded under the leadership of Henri Tolain and Ernest-Édouard Friborg.
Nathalie Lemel joined the IAA in 1865. After the resumption of the strike, she not only became a member of the strike committee, but was also elected a shop steward. The assumption of such functions was considered unusual for a woman at the time. Nathalie Lemel was characterized by her determination and organizational talent. In order to end wage discrimination against women, she fought for the right to equal pay for equal work. In a police report, Nathalie Lemel was mentioned for her strong commitment and political activism. In addition to attending union events frequently, she read aloud from union newspaper articles in workshops. She was in strong opposition to the Second Empire .
In 1868, Nathalie Lemel left their apartment because of her husband's alcoholism. By gaining personal freedom, she was able to intensify her own political activities. Together with Varlin and other bookbinders, she took part in the creation of “La Ménagère”, a consumer cooperative that sold inexpensive food, and “La Marmite”, a catering cooperative.
The uprising of the Paris Commune began on March 18, 1871. During this time, Nathalie Lemel was very active in women's associations, where she often gave speeches. After Elisabeth Dmitrieff, who was in contact with Karl Marx , founded the "Union des females pour la défense de Paris et les soins aux blessés" on April 11, 1871, Nathalie Lemel became a member of the central committee of this women's union.
On March 26, 1871, after holding democratic elections, a Revolutionary Council was created, including Jules Vallès, Charles Delescluze, Raoul Rigault, Gustave Flourens and Eugène Varlin. In the following weeks until the beginning of the “Bloody May Week” (Semaine sanglante) , the city of Paris was administered by the commune. On May 21, 1871, the city was occupied by government troops of Versailles. During this time Nathalie Lemel fought on the barricades near Place Blanche on Rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle and took care of the injured. The bloody clashes ended on May 28, 1871 with the shooting of 147 Communards on the Mur des Fédérés in the Père Lachaise cemetery .
After the defeat of the Paris Commune, Nathalie Lemel was sentenced to deportation and imprisonment in New Caledonia . She refused a clemency petition that friends had filed for her with the authorities. She was brought on board the ship "La Virginie", which was part of the convoy that also brought Henri Rochefort and Louise Michel to the penal colony. They landed on December 14, 1873, five days after the deported men, on the Ducos peninsula. When asked whether the women should be separated at the deportation site, Nathalie Lemel and Louise Michel spoke out against it. Nathalie Lemel and Louise Michel shared the same prison cell for the next few years. Hence, it is possible that Nathalie Lemel exerted intellectual influence on her fellow prisoners. Nathalie Lemel returned to France on June 28, 1879. On July 10, 1880, the French National Assembly passed a full amnesty for those who had actively participated in the Paris Commune . Because of this amnesty law, Henri Rochefort was able to return to Paris from London. He founded the newspaper L'Intransigeant , where Nathalie Lemel found a job. After Henri Rochefort confessed to Boulangism , she gave up her job and also refused the small pension offered by Rochefort. She died in poverty and went blind in 1921 in the hospice of Ivry-sur-Seine in the Val-de-Marne department .
Commemoration
Today there is a square in the 3rd arrondissement (Paris) that bears Nathalie Lemel's name. The decision to name the previously unnamed place after her was made by resolution of the district council on March 27, 2006. Place Nathalie-Lemel was officially inaugurated on March 7, 2007, on the occasion of International Women's Day . The square is at the intersection of the Rue Dupetit-Thouars and the Rue de la Corderie, where the office of the Paris IAA section was for some time. Nathalie Lemel's earlier apartment was also near the square named after her. - Streets in Rennes , La Rochelle and Quimper and squares in Nanterre , Savigny-le-Temple and Évry also bear the name of Nathalie Lemel.
literature
- Eugène Kerbaul: Une Bretonne révolutionnaire et féministe , Éditions Le Temps des cerises, Pantin, 1997
- Emmanuel Salmon-Legagneur (dir.): Les noms qui ont fait l'histoire de Bretagne , Coop Breizh à Spézet & Institut culturel de Bretagne à Rennes, 1997
- Paule Lejeune: La Commune de Paris au jour le jour , Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, 2002
- Jean-Loup Avril: Mille Bretons, dictionnaire biographique , Éditions Les Portes du large, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, 2002
- Marie-Josée Christien: Nathalie Le mel, une Bretonne révolutionnaire et féministe , Bretagne Hebdo n ° 92, 2004
- Marie-Josée Christien: Nathalie Le Mel, une Bretonne révolutionnaire et féministe , Spered Gouez / L'esprit sauvage, n ° 12, 2005.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Les Femmes dans la Commune de Paris
- ↑ La Commune de Paris: chronology
- ↑ Nathalie-Le-Mel
- ↑ Chronicle 1880
- ↑ Nathalie-Le-Mel
- ↑ cf. Google Maps
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lemel, Nathalie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Le Mel, Nathalie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French socialist and feminist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 26, 1827 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brest (Finistère) |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1921 |
| Place of death | Ivry-sur-Seine |