The station went into service in January 1903, when the section between Anvers and Bagnolet was opened on line 2 Nord. Initially, the station was named Combat, since animal fights regularly took place not far from here, at the place de Combat(according to Wikipedia). It wasn't until August 19, 1945, that it changed its name to "Colonel Fabien", in homage to the militant and Resistance fighter of the same name.
Born in Paris in 1919, Pierre Georges, known as Colonel Fabien, was a French Communist activist and Resistance fighter. After taking part in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 (aged just 17), he returned to France under German occupation. He was soon entrusted with missions of the utmost importance within the French Communist Party, and in 1941 was responsible for setting up the first armed group within the Jeunesses Communistes. That same year, he was one of the perpetrators of themurderous attack on occupying troopsat the Barbès metro station on August 21, 1941: he killed a German soldier, Alfons Moser, in retaliation for the execution of Communist militants a few days earlier.
In August 1944, Pierre Georges, now known as Colonel Fabien, took part in the liberation of Paris and continued his fight against the occupying forces as part of the French and Allied forces. In December 1944, Colonel Fabien was killed when a mine he was examining exploded near Mulhouse. Considered a hero of the Resistance, his daughter Monique wrote a posthumous book, Le Colonel Fabien était mon père, in 2009. The square and metro station were posthumously named after him in 1945.
Location
French Communist Party
2 Place du Colonel Fabien
75019 Paris 19
