The Lion of the 17th: Georges Dukson, WW2 and the Liberation of Paris

Gary Younge Hon FBA explores the French Liberation of 1944 and the story of Georges Dukson, "le Lion du 17ème", a soldier from French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) who fought for the Free French forces during the liberation of Paris. Almost a million Africans, more than a million African Americans and roughly 16,0000 Caribbeans served in the Allied forces in the Second World War, but – often partly by design – their stories have rarely been heard. From the 'blanchissement' to the allied powers’ denial of the basic civil rights of Black and Brown people, Younge argues that the Second World War cannot be meaningfully understood as one for democracy or freedom.

Speaker: Professor Gary Younge Hon FBA, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester; Journalist and author

This video is for informative and educational purposes.

Image descriptions and credits:

1. General Charles de Gaulle leads a triumphant procession down the Champs-Élysées as part of the celebration of the Liberation of Paris. Photo by Bettmann / Getty Images.

2. Georges Dukson, a Black soldier, is on the edge of the procession that General Charles de Gaulle is leading down the Champs-Élysées as part of the liberation of Paris. Photo by Serge DE SAZO / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images.

3. Georges Dukson, a Black soldier who fought in the Paris uprising, is on the edge of a photo of the procession down the Champs-Élysées as part of the Liberation of Paris. Photo provided by World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo.

4. Euro bank note with French overseas territories highlighted. Photo provided by ligora / Getty Images.

5. Map depicting French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana and their borders with Brazil. Photo provided by seungyeon kim / Getty Images.

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