Jean Pierre-Bloch facts for kids

Jean Pierre-Bloch (born Jean-Pierre Bloch; 14 April 1905 – 17 March 1999) was a brave French Resistant during World War II. He was also a former president of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, working to fight against unfair treatment of people.

Jean Pierre-Bloch's Life Story

Early Life and Politics

Jean Pierre-Bloch was born in 1905. He studied law at the Sorbonne. In the late 1920s, he joined a socialist political party called the SFIO. He became a journalist for their newspaper, Populaire.

His political career started in 1934. He was elected as a local councilor for the Aisne area in France. He kept this job until 1967. The next year, he became an assistant to the mayor of Laon. In 1936, he became the youngest member of the French National Assembly (like a parliament) when the Popular Front won the elections.

In 1938, Jean Pierre-Bloch was one of the few politicians who disagreed with the Munich Agreement. This agreement allowed Adolf Hitler's Germany to take over parts of Czechoslovakia. As a Jew, he was very worried about what would happen to Jewish people in Germany.

Fighting in the Resistance

In 1939, Jean Pierre-Bloch joined the army. He was captured on June 23, 1940. While in prison, he changed his name to Jean Pierre-Bloch (adding a hyphen). He managed to escape and joined the Resistance in Dordogne, France.

He and his wife, Gaby Pierre-Bloch, helped organize the first drops of agents, weapons, and supplies from London for the Resistance. He was arrested again with his wife in Marseille in October 1941. He was accused of treason.

In July 1942, he escaped from prison with about a dozen others. An American agent named Virginia Hall helped him. His wife, who had been released earlier, had hidden saws, keys, and money in parcels she sent him.

After escaping, he went to London to join General de Gaulle. From 1942 to 1943, he led the civilian part of the Free French secret services (BCRA). In this role, he saw the names of all the Resistance fighters. Because of this, he was an important witness in a big trial much later, when he was 93 years old.

In 1943, Jean Pierre-Bloch became an assistant minister in the Free French government. He helped bring back a law from 1871 called the Crémieux decree. This law had made Algerian Jews French citizens, but the Vichy government had canceled it. He also tried to pass a similar law for Muslim Algerians, but it did not happen.

Views on General de Gaulle

Jean Pierre-Bloch supported General de Gaulle during the war. However, he later wrote a book where he said that some people close to de Gaulle in 1942 had been linked to extreme right-wing groups before the war. He believed that de Gaulle's support for the Republic was just a tactic. He also felt that de Gaulle's followers presented themselves as the only important Resistance group, forgetting about socialists and Christian Democrats.

After the War

In 1945, Jean Pierre-Bloch easily won back his seat in parliament. He supported working with the French Communist Party. In 1947, he left parliament to lead a group that managed the money of newspapers that had worked with the enemy during the war. He was also a juror in the trial of Philippe Pétain, a leader who had cooperated with the Germans.

He also worked to improve the lives of Algerians and helped create a new law for them in 1947, but it was not put into practice. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was involved in the peace movement. He tried to get back into parliament in 1956 and 1967 but did not win. He supported de Gaulle's return to power in 1958.

Fighting Racism

Jean Pierre-Bloch was very active in the fight against racism. He was a member of the International League against Anti-Semitism (LICA) from 1937 to 1968. Then, he became the president of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) for 24 years, from 1968 to 1992. After that, he was the honorary president until he passed away.

He became president of LICA after its founder, Bernard Lecache, died. He also ran the group's magazine, The Right to Live. It was his idea to add "the fight against racism" to the group's name, so LICA became LICRA in 1979. His work against racism started in 1934 when he looked into violent attacks against Jewish people in Constantine, Algeria.

From 1987 to 1989, he led a special group that advised the Prime Minister on human rights.

Family Life

Jean Pierre-Bloch had three children with his wife, Gabrielle Sadourny:

• Michèle
• Claude Pierre-Bloch, who became a producer and political adviser.
• Jean-Pierre Pierre-Bloch, who was also a politician for Paris.

His grandson, David Pierre-Bloch, is a producer and a politician.

Awards and Recognition

Jean Pierre-Bloch received many awards for his service and bravery:

• Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour
• Knight of the Order of Academic Palms
• Commander of the Order of Public Health
• 1939 War Cross (with 6 mentions for bravery)
• Resistance Medal with rosette
• Cross of the resistance volunteer combatant
• Escapees' Medal
• Medal of the Supreme Soviet
• Volunteer combatant's cross
• Grand Officer of the National Order of Benin
• Medal of a liberated France
• Grand Cordon of the Order "Nicham Ephticar"
• Silver-gilt Honour Medal of the Local Collectivities
• Cross of Valor (Poland)
• Plaque from the Millennium of the city of Paris

In March 2003, a street in Paris was renamed Jean Pierre-Bloch street in his honor.

Images for kids

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  Jean Pierre-Bloch photographed in 1986 by Olivier Meyer