Alice Jouenne ( Stein; August 14, 1873 – January 10, 1954) was a French educator and socialist activist. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Jouenne focused on education, pacifism, and feminism. She was one of the founders of (New Education in France).

Early life and education

Alice Stein was born in

Chamagne Chamagne () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (department), Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Notable people * Alice Jouenne (1873-1954), teacher and socialist activist * Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), Painting, ...

(

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

), August 14, 1873. Of Alsatian origin, her parents fled the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

after the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

which saw Alsace come under German rule. Jouenne trained as a teacher at the École Normale in Nancy, graduating in 1890.

Career

Her first appointment to a teaching position was in Badonviller where she worked for several years before moving to a private

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian institution. In 1904, she married Victor Jouenne, a socialist and cooperator who introduced her to his ideas. This led to her joining the cooperative "La Prolétarienne" in the 5th arrondissement.

Early activisism

In 1911, while a member of the (League of Women Cooperators), Jouenne published the pamphlet (Women and Cooperation). The following year, she became secretary of the education committee of the new (National Federation of Consumer Cooperatives). On May 25, 1913, with the support of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the (FCA) (Anarchist Communist Federation),

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; ), was a French socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became a social democrat and one of the first possibi ...

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...

(SFIO) organized a pacifist demonstration against the (Three Year Law). Three women made speeches at the event: Jouenne,

Louise Saumoneau Louise Saumoneau (17 December 1875 – 23 February 1950) was a French feminist who later renounced feminism as being irrelevant to the class struggle. She became a union leader and a prominent socialist. During World War I she was active in the in ...

and

Maria Vérone Maria Vérone (1874–1938) was a French feminist and suffragist. A free-thinker, she was the president of the ''Ligue Française pour le Droit des Femmes'' (French League for Women's Rights) or LFDF, from 1919 to 1938. Life Vérone was born on ...

. That year, Jouenne helped to establish the children's newspaper, , becoming a contributor. In January 1913,

, Marianne Rauze,

Élisabeth Renaud Élisabeth Renaud (August 8, 1846 – October 15, 1932), was a French teacher, socialist activist, and feminist. Early life Catherine Émilie Renaud was born in Seloncourt (Doubs), August 8, 1846. She came from a Protestant working class backgro ...

, Jouenne and others founded the Socialist Women's Group (''Groupe des Femmes Socialistes'', GDFS) for women within the SFIO. Jouenne was in the GDFS for ten years, during which time she joined

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

's ''

Le Droit Humain The International Order of Freemasonry ''Le Droit Humain'' is a global Masonic order, membership of which is available to men and women on equal terms, regardless of nationality, religion or ethnicity. This practice is known as Co-Freemasonry ...

''. Jouenne contributed to the redesign of '' La Voix des femmes'', the first issue of which came out on October 18, 1919 and included articles by Marthe Bigot, Louise Bodin, Annette Charreau, Fanny Clar, Magdeleine Marx, Marianne Rauze,

Henriette Sauret Henriette Sauret (after marriage, Sauret-Arnyvelde; 1890-1976) was a French feminist author, and feminist pacifist journalist. As a feminist literary critic, her comments were less favorable about other feminist pacifist books than other experienc ...

, Monette Thomas, as well as herself. She was also a journalist for ''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'' and secretary to

Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin (20 September 1869 – 12 February 1958) was a French Communist politician and editor of the daily newspaper ''L'Humanite''. Political career In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde's French Workers' Party (POF). In 1905, he joine ...

, director of the newspaper, until 1920 when she did not follow him in his change of direction linked to the

Third International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internation ...

Interwar period

During the interwar period, Jouenne's attention was focused on education, pacifism, and feminism, in line with the trends of the times. In 1921, she founded the (Municipal Outdoor School of Paris) with , a member of the (Paris City Council). She wrote a book about the outdoor school. She joined the (International League for New Education) (LIEN) movement, and wrote articles in the league's journal where she was presented as principal of the Municipal Outdoor School of Paris and founder of the New Education group. Chaired by , the group was established on February 16, 1922 and became known as (French New Education Group) (GFEN). In May 1929, Albert Thomas created the (Leisure Committee) in which Jouenne was involved. Jouenne retired in 1933 and left her school. Three years later,

Suzanne Lacore Suzanne Lacore was a French politician representing the SFIO (French Section of the Workers' International). She was born on 30 May 1875 in Beyssac (Corrèze, France); she died on 6 November 1975 in Milhac d'Auberoche (Dordogne, France) at the a ...

appointed Jouenne as her ''

Chef de Cabinet In some Francophone countries and international organisations, a ( French; literally 'head of office') is a senior official working for a high-ranking political or administrative figure such as a government minister. They are typically responsib ...

'' in her position as Undersecretary of State for Children in

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

's first regime.

Death

Alice Jouenne died in Paris, January 10, 1954.

Selected works

* ''La Femme et la Coopération'', 1911 * ''Les Appels du coeur chez l'institutrice'', 1925 * ''Les idées de Madame Fleury'', 1926 * ''Une expérience d’éducation nouvelle, l’école de plein air'', 1927 * ''L'enfance et la coopération'', 1929

References

External links

"Alice Jouenne, l'héroïne vosgienne du Front Populaire"

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

via

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

(1 July 2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jouenne, Alice 1873 births 1954 deaths People from Vosges (department) French socialists 20th-century French educators 20th-century French women educators Women educational theorists French educational theorists 20th-century French women politicians French pacifists French socialist feminists French women activists French activists Women founders School founders