Jean Moulin Jean Moulin was a World War I veteran, but never saw any action. After the war, Moulin joined the civil service and soon became the country’s youngest prefect. In June of 1940, when the German Army occupied France, Moulin refused to cooperate. Moulin attempted to commit suicide after being arrested and tortured by the Gestapo. Moulin removed himself from office after refusing to remove elected left-wing mayors. Moulin spent many months making contact with French leaders in exile and other resistance leaders. Moulin tried to bring the major resistance groups together, these were: Combat, Liberation, Francs-Tireur, Front National, Comité d'Action Socialiste, Armée Secrete. Moulin was successful in joining these groups together into what would be known as Conseil National de la Resistance (CNR). Moulin was arrested on the 21st of June, and died July 8, 1943 after being tortured (Simkin).
|
Charles de Gaulle When German forces occupied France, Charles de Gaulle refused to surrender. De Gaulle instead fled the country, finding refuge in England. There, de Gaulle would broadcast over the BBC, calling all French officers and soldiers in Britain or soon to be in Britain to come find him. He told all listening that the French resistance would not die. This broadcast would be considered the beginning of the French resistance, and Charles de Gaulle would eventually become known as the leader of the French resistance. Winston Churchill recognized de Gaulle as the leader of the “Free French”, refusing to accept the Vichy Government. De Gaulle would soon set up the Free French movement (Simkin).
|
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre joined the French Army at the start of World War II, fighting and eventually being captured during the Western Offensive. Sartre was held as a German POW for over a year, when he escaped in March of 1941. Sartre would return to Paris, where he joined the French Resistance. Alongside Albert Camus, Sartre would co-edit the resistance newspaper, Combat. Combat was one of the major resistance groups in France, aiding in the resistance with its publishing of the newspaper Combat (Simkin).
|
Conseil National de la Resistance
Charles de Gaulle wished to unite the major resistance groups in France, which included: Combat, Liberation, Francs-Tireur, Front National, and the Comité d'Action Socialiste. De Gaulle would entrust this task with Jean Moulin, who returned to France in order to meet with the leaders of each resistance group. Jean Moulin would succeed in joining the eight major resistance groups in one, the Conseil National de la Resistance (CNR). The CNR published a charter on the 15th of March 1944. This charter called for many reforms to be implemented following the liberation of France. The charter mainly called for more equality and improvements to the work sector. Many of the reforms were put in place, or at least partially put in place ("History of the French Resistance").
Citations
"History of the French Resistance - the Alliance Reseau, Maquis, FTP and FFI." History of the French Resistance - the Alliance Reseau, Maquis, FTP and FFI. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Natzweiler/History/FrenchResistance.html>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWmoulin.htm>.
Simkin, J. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FRsartre.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FRcnr.htm>.
"History of the French Resistance - the Alliance Reseau, Maquis, FTP and FFI." History of the French Resistance - the Alliance Reseau, Maquis, FTP and FFI. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Natzweiler/History/FrenchResistance.html>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWmoulin.htm>.
Simkin, J. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FRsartre.htm>.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/FRcnr.htm>.