The Death of Jean Moulin

by Patrick Marnham

According to legend Jean Moulin was General de Gaulle's emissary to the resistance movements in occupied France and became the political head of the Resistance in 1943. But despite the fact that he has entered French history as one of the great heroes of the Second World War, surprisingly little is known about him. He was captured in Lyons and tortured by the Gestapo and is thought to have died a few days later without talking. Ever since his disappearance arguments have raged in France as to whether or not he was betrayed by other Resistance leaders. Why should they have been suspected of doing that? Was Jean Moulin just a brave civil servant who volunteered to become a secret agent? Or was he, as some believe, a French Philby, working to promote a Communist insurrection in France? But in order to find out who he was, one must first know who killed him.In this fascinating book, Patrick Marnham traces the childhood and early career of Jean Moulin and places him in the context of French political life in the 1930s, when Left and Right fought violent battles in the streets of Paris. He searches for the key to Jean Moulin's political convictions and examines the way in which a country can choose as a symbol of national unity a mysterious figure who may have been working to a private agenda.

Genres: History

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2000

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a great interest both in the history of France between WWI and II and in the complex dynamic of Vichy France and the impossibility of knowing how to the right thing within a 'collaborationist' context. I should have lapped up every page of this book but I lost interest and abandoned it.

I am to cautious to shelve as 'bad-disappointing' but it was - and you really need to be dedicated to endure this frustrating book. My three stars are probably to generous.

[Brent Giblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times I got lost in the detail of the politics of it all but boy did I learn about the complications of the French position in WWII in an entertaining way. It does read like a detective noir at times.