Call Number:

1976-20

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

0.5 linear ft.

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as Marcelle Parde materials, Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library.

Date:

1919-1994 (inclusive) and 1920-1950 (bulk)

Creator:

Parde, Marcelle

Form:

Correspondence

Abstract:

Marcelle Parde (1891-1945) was a Bryn Mawr College French professor and leader of a French Resistance unit in WWII. This collection includes miscellaneous correspondence, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and official documents.

Born in Bourgoin, France, Mlle. Parde came to Bryn Mawr in 1919 as Professor of French Literature. She taught there until 1929, at which time she returned to France. In 1935, after holding several positions in the French educational system, she was named director of the Lycee de Dijon, a secondary school for young women.

During the Second World War, M. Parde founded and headed a Resistance unit at her school, which was to provide the Allies with important information about German troop movements in her area. Arrested by the Gestapo in August 1944, she was deported to the German concentration camp at Ravensbruck. Several months later, in January 1945, she died of starvation in the camp.

On January 31st, 1946, the school of which she had been director was renamed the Lycee Marcelle Parde and on November 27th, the French government awarded her the Legion of Honor. A Bryn Mawr scholarship is named in her honor.

The Marcelle Parde papers contains the personal and professional papers of Marcelle Parde, Professor of French Literature at Bryn Mawr College from 1919-1929. This collection, which ranges from 1919-1994 (with the bulk of the material coming from 1920-1950), contains a great deal of material pertaining to Parde's life, including a biography, newspaper clippings, and correspondence.

The collection is divided into six series: "Series I: General Biographical," "Series II: Jones Biography," "Series III: Official Documents," "Series IV: Correspondence," "Series V: Bibliography," and Series VI: Published Material."

"Series I: General Biographical Material" contains copies of Bryn Mawr-specific material of Parde's life, including French Department course guides, newspaper clippings, and a College newsletter discussing the scholarship and lectureship established in her honor. "Series II: Jones Biography" contains notes on Parde's life compiled by her Bryn Mawr associate Pauline Jones. "Series III: Official Documents" includes copies of her Legion of Honor certificate and other governmental items. "Series IV: Correspondence" encompasses personal correspondence as well as secondary posthumous correspondence regarding Parde's legacy, with letters from her niece, Helene Parde-Coulliard, Pauline Jones, Harriet O'Shea, and Parde herself. This collection includes information on Parde's nephews, Maurice and Jean. "Series V: Bibliography" contains a bibliography. "Series VI: Published Material" includes two published books mentioning Parde, one honoring the 50th anniversary of WWII in Dijon and one detailing the status of the Lycee Marcelle Parde.

After teaching at Bryn Mawr, Marcelle Parde went on be the Director of the Lycee de Dijon, a secondary school for young women in France. She later founded and headed a Resistance unit at her school in France during World War II. The collection would be a valuable resource for those interested in the life of Marcelle Parde, the Bryn Mawr French Department, and French resistance against the Germans during World War II.