Jean Moulin
Encyclopedia
Jean Moulin was a high-profile member of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He is remembered today as an emblem of the Resistance primarily due to his role in unifying the French resistance under de Gaulle and his courage and death at the hands of the Germans.

Before the war

Moulin was born in Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...

, France, and enlisted in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

 in 1918. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he resumed his studies and obtained a degree in law in 1924. He then entered the prefectural administration as chef de cabinet to the deputy of Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...

 in 1922, then as sous préfet of Albertville
Albertville
Albertville is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.The town is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics.-Geography:...

, from 1925 to 1930. He was France's youngest sous préfet at the time.

He married Marguerite Cerruti in September 1926, but the couple divorced in 1928.

In 1930, he was the sous préfet of Châteaulin
Châteaulin
Châteaulin is a commune in the Finistère department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:...

, Brittany. During that time, he also drew political cartoons in the newspaper Le Rire
Le Rire
Le Rire, or "Laughter," was a successful humor magazine published from October 1894 through the 1950s. Founded in Paris during the Belle Époque by Felix Juven, Le Rire appeared as typical Parisians began to achieve more education, income and leisure time. Interest in the arts, culture and politics...

under the pseudonym Romanin. He also became an illustrator for the Breton poet Tristan Corbière
Tristan Corbière
Tristan Corbière , born Édouard-Joachim Corbière, was a French poet born in Coat-Congar, Ploujean in Brittany, where he lived most of his life and where he died....

's books; among others he made an etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...

 for La Pastorale de Conlie, Corbière's poem about the camp of Conlie
Camp Conlie
Camp Conlie was one of eleven military camps established by the Republican Government of National Defense under Léon Gambetta during the Franco-Prussian war. It became notable because of events which have led to it being described as a "concentration camp", in which troops from Brittany were...

 where many Breton soldiers died in 1870. He also made friends with the Breton poets Saint-Pol-Roux
Saint-Pol-Roux
Paul-Pierre Roux, called Saint-Pol-Roux was a French Symbolist poet.-Marseille:...

 in Camaret
Camaret
Camaret is part of the name of 2 communes in France:* Camaret-sur-Aigues, in the Vaucluse département* Camaret-sur-Mer, in the Finistère département...

 and Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...

 in Quimper.

He became France's youngest préfet
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...

in the Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....

 département, based in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 of Rodez
Rodez
Rodez is a town and commune in southern France, in the Aveyron department, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthénois.-History:Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts...

, in January 1937.

During the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, some believe he supplied arms from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. A more commonly accepted version of events is that he supplied French planes to the Republican
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

 forces from his position within the Aviation Ministry.

The Resistance

In 1939, Moulin was appointed préfet of the Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...

 département. The Germans arrested him in June 1940 because he refused to sign a German document that falsely blamed Senegalese
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 French Army troops for civilian massacres. In prison, he attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 by cutting his throat with a piece of broken glass. This left him with a scar that he would often hide with a scarf — the image of Jean Moulin remembered today.

In November 1940, the Vichy government
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...

 ordered all préfets to dismiss left-wing elected mayors of towns and villages. When Moulin refused, he was himself removed from office.

He then lived in Saint-Andiol
Saint-Andiol
Saint-Andiol is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...

 (Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...

), and joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

. Moulin reached London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in September 1941 under the name Joseph Jean Mercier, and met General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

, who asked him to unify the various resistance groups. On January 1, 1942, he parachuted into the Alpilles
Alpilles
The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon at approximately .-Geography:The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range...

. Under the codenames Rex and Max, he met with the leaders of the resistance groups:
  • Henri Frenay
    Henri Frenay
    Henri Frenay was a French military officer and French resistance member.Henri Frenay was born in Lyon, France on 11 November 1905, into a Catholic family with a military tradition. He studied the Germanic languages at the University of Strasbourg...

     (Combat
    Combat (French Resistance)
    Combat was a large movement in the French Resistance created in the non-occupied zone of France during the Second World War .Combat was one of the eight great resistance movements which constituted the Conseil national de la Résistance....

    )
  • Emmanuel d'Astier
    Emmanuel d'Astier
    Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie was a French journalist, politician and member of the French Resistance.-Biography:Born in Paris, he attended the Naval Academy, but resigned from the French Navy in 1923...

     (Libération
    Libération-sud
    The Libération-sud resistance group was established by a group of French people, including Emmanuel d'Astier, Lucie Aubrac and Raymond Aubrac. The first important Resistant group to emerge after the German occupation, it began publishing Libération in July 1941...

    )
  • Jean-Pierre Lévy
    Jean-Pierre Levy
    Jean-Pierre Levy is a French lawyer, author and diplomat. He was the director of the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea in 1985.-Biography:...

     (Francs-tireurs)
  • Pierre Villon
    Pierre Villon
    Pierre Villon was a member of the French Communist Party and of the French Resistance during the war. With his true name of Roger Ginsburger, he was an architect...

     (Front national
    Front National (French Resistance)
    The National Front was a World War II French Resistance movement, created in 1941 by Jacques Duclos and Pierre Villon, both members of the French Communist Party...

    , not to be confused with the present-day far-right French political party Front national)
  • Pierre Brossolette
    Pierre Brossolette
    Pierre Brossolette was a French journalist, left-wing politician, a top leader and major hero of French Resistance.-Education and journalism:...

     (Comité d'action socialiste)

He succeeded to the extent that the first three of these resistance leaders and their groups came together to form the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance (M.U.R.)
Mouvements Unis de la Résistance
Mouvements Unis de la Résistance was a French Resistance organisation, resulting from the regrouping of three major Resistance movements in January 1943 and also the merger of the military arms of these movements within the Armée secrète . Its committee was headed by Jean Moulin...

 in January 1943. In February 1943, Moulin returned to London, accompanied by Charles Delestraint
Charles Delestraint
Charles Delestraint was a French Army general and member of the French Resistance during World War II.He was born in Biache Saint-Waast, Pas-de-Calais....

, head of the new Armée secrète
Armée secrète
The Armée secrète, created in 1943, was an organisation of French resistance fighters during World War II set up by Jean Moulin. It resulted from an amalgamation of three smaller resistance groups:*Combat*Libération-Sud*Franc-Tireur...

which grouped together the M.U.R.'s military wings. He left London on March 21, 1943 with orders to form the Conseil national de la Résistance
Conseil National de la Résistance
The Conseil National de la Résistance or the National Council of the Resistance is the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance - the press, trade unions, and members of political parties hostile to the Vichy regime, starting from...

(CNR), a difficult task since the five resistance movements involved (beside the three already in the M.U.R.) wanted to retain their independence. The first meeting of the CNR took place in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on May 27, 1943.

In his work in shepherding the Resistance, Moulin was aided by his private administrative assistant
Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant is a broad job category that designates an individual who provides various kinds of administrative support to people and groups in business enterprises.-Kinds of Administrative Assistants:...

 Laure Diebold
Laure Diebold
Laure Diebold, sometimes written Laure Diebolt was a high-profile female member of the French Resistance during World War II. She was also the private secretary of Jean Moulin before being arrested then deported from 1943 to 1945 to the Nazi camp of Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and finally Buchenwald...

.

On June 21, 1943, Jean Moulin was arrested at a meeting with fellow Resistance leaders in the home of Doctor Frédéric Dugoujon in Caluire-et-Cuire
Caluire-et-Cuire
Caluire-et-Cuire is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Lyon, and lies adjacent to its north side. It is a component commune of the metropolitan Urban Community of Lyon.-External links:...

, a suburb of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

. Moulin, Dugoujon, Henri Aubry (alias Avricourt and Thomas), Raymond Aubrac
Raymond Aubrac
Raymond Aubrac is a French engineer, and was a member of the French Resistance.Born Raymond Samuel in Vesoul, Haute-Saône in a Jewish family, Aubrac and wife, Lucie in 1940 were in the Resistance in Lyon and took pseudonym Aubrac to escape the persecution of the occupation...

, Bruno Larat (alias Xavier-Laurent Parisot), André Lassagne
André Lassagne
André Lassagne was a member of the French resistance during World War II. The secretary general of "L'Armée Secrète" , he was arrested on June 21, 1943 in Caluire-et-Cuire...

 (alias Lombard), Colonel Albert Lacaze, Colonel Emile Schwarzfeld (alias Blumstein) and René Hardy
René Hardy
René Hardy was a French resistant during World War II. He was captured by the Gestapo and agreed to work with Klaus Barbie although it is not clear to what extent. He may have given information leading to the capture of Jean Moulin and of a number of other resistance leaders on 21 June 1943, at a...

 (alias Didot) were arrested.

Interrogated extensively in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

 by Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...

, head of the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

 there, and later more briefly in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Moulin never revealed anything to his captors. He died near Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

 while on a train in transit towards Germany. The cause of death was injuries, suffered either during the torture itself or in a suicide attempt; Barbie alleged that suicide was the cause, and one Moulin biographer, Patrick Marnham, supports this explanation, though it is widely believed that Barbie personally beat Moulin to death.

Who betrayed Moulin?

René Hardy
René Hardy
René Hardy was a French resistant during World War II. He was captured by the Gestapo and agreed to work with Klaus Barbie although it is not clear to what extent. He may have given information leading to the capture of Jean Moulin and of a number of other resistance leaders on 21 June 1943, at a...

 was caught and released by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

. They followed him when he came to the meeting at the doctor's house. Some believe that this was a deliberate act of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

; others think René Hardy was simply reckless. Two trials concluded that he was innocent.

A recent TV film about the life and death of Jean Moulin depicted René Hardy collaborating with the Gestapo, thus reviving the controversy. The Hardy family attempted to bring a lawsuit against the producers of the movie.

There have been many allegations in the post-war years that Moulin was a Communist because some of his friends were. No hard evidence has ever backed up this claim. Marnham looked into the allegations, but found no evidence to support the assertion (though members of the party could easily have seen him as a 'fellow traveler' due to his Communist friends and support for the Republican side in Spain). As préfet, Moulin even ordered the repression of Communist 'agitators' and went so far as to have police keep some under surveillance.

It has also been suggested, principally in Marnham's biography, that Moulin was betrayed by Communists. Marnham specifically points the finger at Raymond Aubrac
Raymond Aubrac
Raymond Aubrac is a French engineer, and was a member of the French Resistance.Born Raymond Samuel in Vesoul, Haute-Saône in a Jewish family, Aubrac and wife, Lucie in 1940 were in the Resistance in Lyon and took pseudonym Aubrac to escape the persecution of the occupation...

 and possibly at his wife, Lucie Aubrac
Lucie Aubrac
Lucie Samuel born Lucie Bernard , and better known as Lucie Aubrac, was a French history teacher and member of the French Resistance during World War II....

. He makes the case that Communists did at times betray non-Communists to the Gestapo and that Aubrac has been linked to harsh actions during the purge of collaborators after the war.

To counteract the accusations leveled at Moulin, his personal secretary during the war, Daniel Cordier, has written his own biography of his former leader.

The legend

Moulin was initially buried in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. His ashes were later transferred to The Panthéon on December 19, 1964. The speech given by André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...

, writer and minister of the Republic, upon the transfer of his ashes is one of the most famous speeches in French history.

Today, Jean Moulin is used in French education to illustrate civic virtues, moral rectitude and patriotism. He is a symbol of the Resistance. Many schools and a university
Jean Moulin University Lyon 3
Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 is a French public university, based in Lyon. It is under the supervision of the Academy of Lyon...

, as well as innumerable streets, squares and even a Paris tram station have been named after him. The Musée Jean Moulin
Musée Jean Moulin
The Musée Jean Moulin is a museum located in the XIVe arrondissement at 23, Allée de la 2e DB, Jardin Atlantique, Paris, France. It is open daily except Mondays; admission is currently free of charge....

 commemorates his life and the Resistance. Jean Moulin is the third most popular name for a French Ecole primaire, Collège, and Lycée.

The Jean Pierre Melville film Army of Shadows (based on a book of the same name) depicts several famous events in Moulin's war experience, such as his visits to London, his reliance on his female assistant, his decoration by Charles de Gaulle and his parachuting back into France during the war. These events are not specifically attributed to Moulin, but the parallels are no doubt intentional, given the film's celebration of the resistance, and Moulin's iconic status.
Jean Moulin became the most famous and honoured French Resistance fighter. He is known by practically all French people, thanks to his famous monochrome photo, with his scarf and his fedora. Other martyrs of the clandestine fight, such as Pierre Brossolette
Pierre Brossolette
Pierre Brossolette was a French journalist, left-wing politician, a top leader and major hero of French Resistance.-Education and journalism:...

, Jean Cavaillès
Jean Cavailles
Jean Cavaillès , was a French philosopher and mathematician, specialized in philosophy of science. He took part in the French Resistance within the Libération movement and was shot by the Gestapo on February 17, 1944....

 or Jacques Bingen
Jacques Bingen
Jacques Bingen was a high-ranking member of the French Resistance during World War II who, when captured by the Gestapo, chose to commit suicide rather than risk divulging what he knew under torture.-Early life:...

, all of them organizers of the underground army, are overshadowed by his legend.
In 1993, a commemorative French two franc coin was issued showing a partial image of Moulin against the Croix de Lorraine. The image was based on the iconic fedora and scarf photograph.

External links

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