National Council of the Resistance

National Council of the Resistance

The Conseil National de la Résistance (CNR) 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 mid-1943.

Contents

Background

Various resistance movements had arisen in France since the start of the German occupation in June 1940. With the possible exception of the Francs-tireurs partisans and other groups loyal to the Communist Party of France, the maquis groups were mostly unorganised and unrelated to one another. This lack of coordination made them less effective in their actions against the Nazi occupiers.

Formation and Meeting of Resistance Fighters

Charles de Gaulle, exiled in London and recognized by the UK as leader of a French government in exile, began seeking the formation of a committee to unify the resistance movements. On January 1, 1942, he delegated this task to Jean Moulin. Moulin achieved the feat on May 27, 1943 with the first meeting of the Conseil National de la Résistance in the apartment of René Corbin on the second floor of 48, Rue du Four, in Paris.

Aside from Moulin and his two assistants, Pierre Meunier and Robert Chambeiron, participants in the first meeting included representatives of the eight main French resistance movements, members of six of France's major political parties and the two large pre-war trade unions all attended the Rue du Four meeting.

Representatives of the eight major resistance movements:

Under Jean Moulin's earlier influence, Combat, Franc-Tireur and Libération-Sud had already agreed to regroup themselves in January 1943 to create the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance, with their joint military arms forming the Armée secrète (Secret Army).

Representatives of the two trade unions:

Representatives of the six main political parties of the French Third Republic:

Arrest of Jean Moulin

Drawing of Jean Moulin based on iconic photo with hat and scarf, cross of Lorraine in background

However, shortly after the CNR's creation, its president Jean Moulin was arrested at Caluire by the SS. Over the next three days, Moulin was tortured by Klaus Barbie himself, and would die during his transfer to Germany. He divulged no information to his torturers and his silence likely allowed the CNR to pursue its activities.

After Moulin's capture and death, the Conseil National de la Résistance decided for security reasons to end its plenary sessions and created an executive office of five members, with each member representing his own group and two others. The new office was under the direction of Alexandre Parodi, delegate-general, and Georges Bidault, the new president. On September 9, 1944, Louis Saillant succeeded Bidault as head of the CNR.

Program of the Conseil National de la Résistance

On March 15, 1944, the CNR adopted, after months of negotiations, the Program of the Conseil National de la Résistance.[1] The document was strongly influenced by communist groups like the Front National, especially in part II, "Measures to be taken immediately after the liberation of the territory", which envisioned the establishment of a social democracy with a planned economy in France following liberation. Some of these proposed measures were applied, at least to a certain extent, after liberation, including the nationalisation of energy (Électricité de France was founded in 1946), insurance companies (AGF in 1945) and banks (Crédit Lyonnais in 1945, Société Générale in 1946), the creation of social security programs and the independence of trade unions. They constitute a large part of the so-called acquis sociaux of the second half of the twentieth century in France.

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • National Council of Maubere Resistance — The flag of the CNRT The National Council of Maubere Resistance (Portuguese: Conselho Nacional da Resistência Maubere, or CNRM) was an umbrella organization of East Timorese individuals and organizations dedicated to resisting the Indonesian… …   Wikipedia

  • National Council for the Defense of Democracy — The National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (French: Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, NCDD–FDD) was the most significant rebel group active in the …   Wikipedia

  • National Council — may refer to: Contents 1 Conservation 2 Economics 3 Education 4 Politics 4.1 Legislative …   Wikipedia

  • National Conference on Organized Resistance — The National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) is an annual event that brings together activists from a variety of issues, struggles, ideologies and backgrounds for a weekend of learning and reflecting on the state of progressive… …   Wikipedia

  • National Council of La Raza — NCLR redirects here. For other uses, see NCLR (disambiguation). National Council of La Raza Abbreviation La Raza Formation 1968 Headquarters Washington D.C. President/CEO Janet Murguía …   Wikipedia

  • National Council of Resistance of Iran — National Council of Resistance شورای ملی مقاومت ایران (Shoraye Melli e Moghavemat e Iran) Type Type Unicameral Leadership …   Wikipedia

  • National Committee of the Republic of Estonia — The September 18, 1944 appointed Government of Estonia in Riigi Teataja The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariigi Rahvuskomitee, EVRK) was formed by the underground resistance movements in German occupied… …   Wikipedia

  • The Council of the Gods — Der Rat der Götter Directed by Kurt Maetzig Produced by Adolf Fischer Written by Friedrich Wolf, Philipp Gecht Starring Fritz Tillamnn …   Wikipedia

  • Military Council for Angolan Resistance — (Portuguese: Comité Militar da Resistencia Angolana; COMIRA) is a militant organization that fought in the Angolan Civil War in the 1980s.[1] The militant wing of the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) created COMIRA on August 12, 1980. P …   Wikipedia

  • resistance — /ri zis teuhns/, n. 1. the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding. 2. the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another. 3. Elect. a. Also called ohmic resistance. a property of a conductor by virtue of which the passage… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”