Jean Moulin was one of those individuals who seems to be able to succeed at anything he attempts. At the time of the Armistice, in June 1940, in addition to being an accomplished painter and designer, he was Prefect (the representative of the central Government, with police and other responsibilities) for the city of Chartres. He refused to carry out an order from the Germans that would have accused some French colonial soldiers (Black) of committing atrocities, and was beaten for his efforts. To try to avoid being forced to carry out his orders, he attempted suicide by cutting his throat. He was subsequently fired by the Vichy government, and escaped from France in October, 1941, joining de Gaulle in London.
Upon his arrival back in France and contacting the various active groups, Jean Moulin moved throughout France, “in a myriad of train journeys, secret rendezvous in parks and labyrinthine alleys, a scarf hiding the scar on his neck, his brown felt hat pulled down over his eyes, and to his contacts the very epitome of the underground agent, elusive, authoritative, and decisive”[quote from 'La Vie en Bleu - France and the French Since 1900' by Rod Kedward]. Somehow, through his contacts, charisma, ability, and hard work he succeeded in establishing an organization called the Conseil National de Resistance (CNR), to which all the major resistance groups pledged their allegiance.
Meanwhile, General de Gaulle had issued a statement outlining future political reforms for France after the war that won the support of all major political bodies. This statement was of immense importance in the effort to unify the various factions in the Resistance; still Jean Moulin’s accomplishments cannot be overstated. He won the agreement and the respect of all the major Resistance players, even the Communists.
Continuing to work to unify the groups and to publish their war aims and post-war aims to the populace, Jean Moulin and the CNR distributed flyers in many French cities. Attracting the attention of the Germans, who had occupied the rest of France following the allied landings in French North Africa, Jean Moulin and his compatriots were increasingly at risk. At a meeting in a suburb of Lyon, the Germans burst in and captured most of the participants in June 1943, evidently learning of the meeting through the carelessness or by the betrayal of one of the Resistants. Taken to a prison at Fort Montluc in Lyon, he was imprisoned and tortured by Klaus Barbie, the notorious ‘Butcher of Lyon’. A few days later he was sent to Paris for further Gestapo ‘interrogation’. Evidently refusing to speak, he was sent to Germany for further ‘interrogation’, but died during the journey.
Today, there are many reminders of Jean Moulin’s presence in Lyon, and throughout France. His remains are interred in the Pantheon in Paris, reserved for France’s greatest patriots. Street names, markers on buildings where he lived and worked, a mural on the prison where he was held and tortured after his capture all serve to remind Frenchmen, and all of us, of his accomplishments.
In France following the war, there were periods of great soul searching and analysis as the French attempted to come to terms with both national and personal behavior during the Occupation. The fact that most people went along with the Germans has been a great source of anguish for this nation. One can compare this anguish with American attempts to deal with slavery and its aftermath. People such as Charles de Gaulle and Jean Moulin, who are able to recall us all to our better natures, stand as true heroes in a time of great moral confusion.
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