Jean Bichelonne
Encyclopedia
Jean Bichelonne was a French
businessman and member of the Vichy government that existed during World War II
following the occupation of France by Nazi Germany
.
Born in Bordeaux
, Bichelonne was a graduate of the École Polytechnique
and gained an early reputation for his brilliant organisational skill as well as his photographic memory. Following the establishment of Vichy, Bichelonne assumed his first important role in September 1940 when he was appointed head of the Office central de repartition des produits industriels, a body that determined how raw materials would be proportioned between the newly established comites d'organisation (corporatist bodies in charge of each industrial sector). Along with the likes of Jacques Barnaud
, François Lehideux
and Pierre Pucheu
, Bichelonne was a member of a group of technocrats who held important positions in the early days of the Vichy regime.
As Minister of Industrial Production, Bichelonne faced the problem of demands for slave labour from the Nazi Labour Deployment Minister Fritz Sauckel
, and the impact it was having on French industry. He managed to overcome this difficulty by securing an agreement with Albert Speer
in September 1943 to the effect that the entire French industrial sector would be Sperrbetrieben, making it effectively off limits to Sauckel.
Bichelonne was one of the cabinet members taken under SS guard from Vichy to Belfort
on the night of 17–18 August as the Nazis desperately sought to maintain the collaborationist government by any means necessary. Moved to Sigmaringen
, Bichelonne fell ill and was sent to the SS hospital at Hohenlychen where it was officially recorded that he died of a pulmonary embolism
, although unsubstantiated rumours suggested that he may have been assassinated.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
businessman and member of the Vichy government that existed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
following the occupation of France by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Born in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, Bichelonne was a graduate of the École Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
and gained an early reputation for his brilliant organisational skill as well as his photographic memory. Following the establishment of Vichy, Bichelonne assumed his first important role in September 1940 when he was appointed head of the Office central de repartition des produits industriels, a body that determined how raw materials would be proportioned between the newly established comites d'organisation (corporatist bodies in charge of each industrial sector). Along with the likes of Jacques Barnaud
Jacques Barnaud
Jacques Barnaud was a French banker, businessman and member of the collaborationist Vichy regime during the Second World War....
, François Lehideux
François Lehideux
François Lehideux was a French industrialist and member of the Vichy government.-Car industry:...
and Pierre Pucheu
Pierre Pucheu
Pierre Firmin Pucheu was a French industrialist, fascist and member of the Vichy government.-Early years:...
, Bichelonne was a member of a group of technocrats who held important positions in the early days of the Vichy regime.
As Minister of Industrial Production, Bichelonne faced the problem of demands for slave labour from the Nazi Labour Deployment Minister Fritz Sauckel
Fritz Sauckel
Ernst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel was a Nazi war criminal, who organized the systematic enslavement of millions from lands occupied by Nazi Germany...
, and the impact it was having on French industry. He managed to overcome this difficulty by securing an agreement with Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
in September 1943 to the effect that the entire French industrial sector would be Sperrbetrieben, making it effectively off limits to Sauckel.
Bichelonne was one of the cabinet members taken under SS guard from Vichy to Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
on the night of 17–18 August as the Nazis desperately sought to maintain the collaborationist government by any means necessary. Moved to Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district....
, Bichelonne fell ill and was sent to the SS hospital at Hohenlychen where it was officially recorded that he died of a pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
, although unsubstantiated rumours suggested that he may have been assassinated.