Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine ( French : " Croix de Lorraine " ) was originally a heraldic cross . The two - barred cross consists of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars . In most renditions , the horizontal bars are " graded " with the upper bar being the shorter , though variations with the bars of equal length are also seen . The Lorraine name has come to signify several cross variations , including the patriarchal cross with its bars near the top . Design . The Cross of Lorraine consists of one vertical and two evenly spaced horizontal bars . It is a heraldic cross , used by the Dukes of Lorraine . René d ’ Anjou ( also Duke of Lorraine 1431 - 1453 ) " was a major transmitter of the Hermetic tradition in Italy and had the cross of Lorraine as his personal sigil " . This cross is related to the Crusader ' s cross , and the six globes of the Medici family . History . The Lorraine cross was carried to the Crusades by the original Knights Templar , granted to them for their use by the Patriarch of Jerusalem . In the Catholic Church , an equal - armed Lorraine Cross denotes the office of archbishop . Symbol in France . In France , the Cross of Lorraine is the symbol of the Free French Forces of World War II , the liberation of France from Nazi Germany , and Gaullism and includes several variations of a two barred cross . The bars are supposed to be equally spaced as can be seen on most images relating to the Free French Forces , though variations are common . The Cross of Lorraine is part of the heraldic arms of Lorraine in eastern France . Between 1871 and 1918 ( and again between 1940 and 1944 ) , the northern third of Lorraine was annexed to Germany , along with Alsace . During that period the Cross served as a rallying point for French ambitions to recover its lost provinces . This historical significance lent it considerable weight as a symbol of French patriotism . During the War , " Capitaine de corvette " Thierry d ' Argenlieu suggested the Cross of Lorraine as the symbol of the Free French Forces led by Charles de Gaulle as an answer to the Nazi swastika . The Cross was displayed on the flags of Free French warships , and the fuselages of Free French aircraft . The medal of the Order of Liberation bears the Cross of Lorraine . De Gaulle himself is memorialised by a high Cross of Lorraine in his home village of Colombey - les - Deux - Églises . The Cross of Lorraine was later adopted by Gaullist political groups such as the Rally for the Republic . New World . French Jesuit missionaries and settlers to the New World carried the Cross of Lorraine c . 1750 - 1810 . The symbol was said to have helped the missionaries to convert the native peoples they encountered , because the two armed cross resembled existing local imagery . European heraldry . The flag and the coat of arms of Slovakia both include the double cross . It was introduced to the territory of today ' s Slovakia by Constantine and Methodius , who brought Christianity to Slavic empire of Great Moravia in the 9th century . In Slovakia , the double cross as a symbol of Lorraine is considered to have arisen when the Great Moravian king Svätopluk I " passed " it to Zwentibold of Lorraine , the godchild of Svätopluk and son of the emperor Arnulf of Carinthia . The coat of arms of Hungary depicts a double cross , which is often attributed to Byzantine influence as King Béla III of Hungary was raised in the Byzantine Empire in the 12th century , and it was during his rule when the double cross became a symbol of Hungary . A golden double cross with equal bars , known as the Cross of Jagiellons , was used by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila since his conversion to Christianity in 1386 , as a personal insignia and was introduced in the Coat of Arms of Lithuania . Initially , the lower bar of the cross was longer than the upper , since it originates from the Hungarian type of the double cross . It later became the symbol of Jagiellon dynasty and is one of the national symbols of Lithuania , featured in the Order of the Cross of Vytis and the badge of the Lithuanian Air Force . The double - barred cross is one of the national symbols in Belarus , both as the Jagiellon Cross and as the Cross of St . Euphrosyne of Polatsk , an important religious artifact . The symbol is supposed to have Byzantine roots and is used by the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church as a symbol uniting Eastern - Byzantine and Western - Latin church traditions . The Belarusian Cross can be found on the traditional coat of arms of Belarus , the Pahonia . Miscellaneous uses . The cross is used as an emblem by the American Lung Association and related organizations through the world , and as such is familiar from their Christmas Seal s program . Its use was suggested in 1902 by Paris physician Gilbert Sersiron as a symbol for the " crusade " against tuberculosis . For its defense of France in World War I , the American 79th Infantry Division was nicknamed the " Cross of Lorraine " Division ; its insignia is the cross . The German 79th Infantry Division of World War II used the cross of Lorraine as its insignia because its first attack was in the Lorraine region . In the television series " Magnum , P . I . " , Thomas Magnum and his Vietnam War comrades were all shown to wear rings that bore the cross of Lorraine . Ironically , the cross is also used as the symbol of the fascist Norsefire party in the film version of the graphic novel " V for Vendetta " . The cross of Lorraine is also used in the SABRE GDS ( global distribution system ) , a computer program used by travel agents . It was also used in the Apollo and Worldspan global distribution systems , however , the latest versions of the Graphical user interface s for both systems display it as a plus sign , while the latest Graphical user interface for Sabre displays it as a yen symbol . The " Cross of Lorraine " symbol appears in Unicode as . It is not to be confused with . The Cross of Lorraine was noted as a symbol of the Free French in the film " Casablanca " . A ring bearing the Cross was worn by Norwegian underground agent Berger and shown to one of the movies heroes ( Victor Laszlo ) as proof of loyalty . It has also been used as a symbol for the city Roeselare ( black cross ) and Ypres ( red cross ) in Belgium . 282 ( East Ham ) Squadron , Air Training Corps have the " Cross of Lorraine " on their unit crest in honour of their previous Squadron President , Odette Hallowes who worked for an independent French section of the Special Operations Executive during World War II . The Cross is also used as the symbol for the Celebritarian Corporation / art movement , created and led by musician / painter Marilyn Manson . British hard - core punk band Gallows uses Cross of Lorraine as a sign , they also have a song of the same name .