Germain Malaterre

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Germain Malaterre was born on 23 November 1920 in Aveyron, France. Raised on his family’s farm, he volunteered for the French Army at 18, joining the 115th Horse-Drawn Heavy Artillery Regiment on 24 April 1939. He was promoted to brigadier, an artillery rank equivalent to corporal, in April 1940.

During the Battle of France, his regiment advanced into Belgium before retreating towards Dunkirk, where it helped protect the evacuation of Allied troops. Unable to embark, Malaterre was captured at Malo-les-Bains on 4 June 1940, after disabling his weapon and sabotaging his artillery piece.

He spent nearly five years as a prisoner of war, assigned to the Stalag X-B system at Sandbostel and an agricultural labour detachment in Ströhen, south of Bremen. During captivity, he learned German and became his fellow prisoners’ interpreter and elected representative, mediating with the German authorities.

Returning to France in 1945, Malaterre joined the Gendarmerie, eventually reaching the rank of adjudant-chef. He received the Croix de guerre with a vermeil star for his actions at Dunkirk.