Georges Portmann

[2] After completing his studies, he served briefly as a doctor in the Marine regiment of the French Navy in the expeditionary force that was sent to the Balkans to support the Serbian Army against Austrian troops.

[2] It was during this time that he won the Croix du Guerre with palm, an award issued to military units whose members performed heroic deeds in combat.

[citation needed] After serving in the navy, Portmann followed the works of Émile Moure, who was a French doctor and pioneer in the field of otorhinolaryngology.

[3] Moure had opened a free educational institution in Bordeaux in 1880 that specialised in the study and treatment of ENT conditions.

He entered the French Resistance in 1942 and hid Jews in his hospital whilst also using his position as mayor to provide falsified ration cards.