Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893, in Paris – 1 August 1985, in

Cabris Cabris is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. The ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

) was a French politician.

Biography

Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain

Gaston Moch Gaston Moch (6 March 1859 – 3 July 1935) was the secretary of the Esperantist ''Centra Oficejo'' and a member of the ''Lingva Komitato''. Moch was born in Saint-Cyr-l'École, Yvelines. He was the son of French Jewish Military officer, Col. J ...

and Rébecca Alice Pontremoli. His grandfather was Colonel

Jules Moch Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893, in Paris – 1 August 1985, in Cabris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a French politician. Biography Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain Gaston Moch and Rébecca Alice Po ...

. His upbringing occurred during a growing socialist movement in France. He was in Polytechnique along with

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

. As an engineer ('' polytechnicien'') who took part in the

X-Crise Group The Groupe X-Crise (or ''X-Crise'') was a French technocratic movement created in 1931 as a consequence of the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the Great Depression. Formed by former students of the École Polytechnique (nicknamed "X"), it ...

, he was a socialist member of Parliament for Drôme and then Hérault from 1928 to 1936 and from 1937 to 1940. He was Under-secretary of State in prime minister

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

's office (1937) and became Minister of Public Works in 1938. During World War II Moch was critical of the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

government and was jailed but later was released. He joined and helped organise the Paris underground. He also helped other French Resistance activities in France. When the Free French Naval Forces was organized, he rallied to de Gaulle in 1942 and participated in The

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

toward the Free French Liberation of France with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. After World War II, Moch was a member of the Consultative Assembly (1944) and of the two Constituent National Assemblies (1945–1946) and then of the National Assembly (1946–1958 and 1962–1967). He was eight times minister during the Fourth Republic: Public works and Transportation (1945–1947), Interior (1947–1950), Defence (1950–1951). As Transport Minister, he contributed to the rebuilding of railways, ports, road, navy and aviation. As Interior Minister, he had to deal with the communist-inspired great strikes in November 1947 and showed great firmness. In the Defence Ministry, he contributed to the modernisation of the army, organised French participation in the Korean War and the implementation of NATO. He also suggested and participated in the forming of the

Baghdad Pact The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...

for the Middle East. He fought the Gaullist and Communist Parties during the Fourth Republic and was one of the leaders of the '' Troisième Force''. Hr was deputy prime minister from 1949 to 1950. He was France's delegate at the

UN disarmament commission The United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) is a United Nations commission under the United Nations General Assembly which primarily deals with issues relating to Disarmament. History The United Nations Disarmament Commission was first estab ...

from 1951 to 1960. As rapporteur of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he opposed the

European Community of Defence The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and West Germany ...

, which was defeated by the National Assembly in 1954. His last ministerial post was in Pierre Pflimlin's government in May 1958 where he played an important role in the May 1958 crisis of French Algeria, as Interior Minister. He left the Socialist Party in 1975. He was married to Germaine Picard, one of the first woman lawyers of France. She was also an active advocate of the women's rights movement in France and Europe. Though other noted individuals lay claim, it is alleged that the name

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

was officially "coined" after a speech he made in 1948 over his concern on the growing rift that developed between the

of Western Europe and the Warsaw Pact Forces of Eastern Europe.

Publications

He has published: *''Confrontations'' (Doctrines – Déviations – Expériences – Espérances), Gallimard 1952 *''Yougoslavie, terre d'expérience'', éd. du Rocher, Monaco, 1953 *''Histoire du réarmement allemand depuis 1950'', Robert Laffont, 1954 *''Alerte, le problème crucial de la Communauté Européenne de défense'', Robert Laffont *''La folie des hommes'' (about the atomic bomb), Robert Laffont, 1954 *''En 1961, Paix en Algérie'', Robert Laffont *''Non à la force de frappe'', Robert Laffont, 1963 *''Le Front Populaire'', Perrin 1971 *''Rencontre avec Charles de Gaulle'', 1971 *''Une si longue vie'', témoignages, Robert Laffont, 1976 *''Le communisme jamais'', Plon 1978

Biography

*Eric Méchoulan has written a book: ''Jules Moch un socialiste dérangeant'', published by Bruylant. *Autobiography of Jules Moch: "Jules Moch" une si longue vie, published by Robert Laffont 1976, Paris

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moch, Jules 1893 births 1985 deaths Politicians from Paris Jewish French politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians French interior ministers French Ministers of Defence French Ministers of Public Works Transport ministers of France Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic The Vichy 80 École Polytechnique alumni French Resistance members Jews in the French resistance French military personnel of World War II