Early life and education

Henri Becker was born on 22 January 1925 in the 11th arrondissement of Paris into a Jewish family of Alsatian and Lorraine origin. He was brilliant and passed his baccalaureate at the age of 15 in June 1940 in Saint-Nazaire, where the family had retreated.

Education and early resistance

Returning to Paris, he continued his studies in the elementary mathematics class at the Lycée Charlemagne. Refusing the Vichy regime, he participated on 11 November 1940 in Paris in a demonstration at Place de l'Étoile to protest against the German occupation and to support the actions of General de Gaulle.

Resistance activities in Grenoble

Following the Vel d'Hiv roundup, his family decided to join the Southern Zone. Arriving in Grenoble, he entered the second year of special mathematics at the Lycée Champollion in October 1941. At the end of the year 1942, he came into contact with the Combat movement and became a liaison agent.

MUR commando involvement

At the beginning of the year 1943, after the consolidation of the main resistance movements in the Southern Zone, Henri Becker joined the commandos of the United Resistance Movements (MUR). In December 1943, he was tasked with destroying with explosives the headquarters of the LVF, located on Rue du Docteur Mazet in Grenoble, as well as the Dauphin establishments.

Operations in the Vercors

At the beginning of the year 1944, the MUR commandos established themselves in a farm in the Autrans region in the Vercors. Henri Becker then participated in attacks on town halls in order to obtain food coupons necessary for the supply of the maquis. He was also responsible for driving students who wished to join the Vercors, including the future historian Marc Ferro.

Arrest and post-war service

Following the German attack on the Vercors at the end of July 1944 and the dispersal of the maquis, Henri took refuge for a few days in the Lente forest and then rejoined Grenoble. Upon returning from a mission, he was arrested on 18 August 1944 by the Gestapo. Tortured, he was transferred to the Bonne barracks and released by the Americans after the departure of the Germans from Grenoble.

Post-war career and recognition

A mining engineer, he then had a career in construction and became a recognized specialist in the industrialization of construction. He is notably responsible for the Lyon Part-Dieu station, the Palais des festivals in Cannes, and the Grande Halle de La Villette. After retiring as a company executive in 1980, he began a career as a judicial expert and consultant, which he continued until 2005.

Later years and legacy

He had participated in the 14 July 2023 parade to commemorate the spirit of French resistance and the heroism of all those who, amid the defeats of courage, refused the yoke of fatalism. Decorated with the Legion of Honour and awarded the French Resistance Medal. Henri Becker died on 28 October 2023.