Jacques Bingen
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Jacques Bingen (16 March 1908 – 12 May 1944) was a high-ranking member of the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
who, when captured by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
, chose to commit suicide rather than risk divulging what he knew under torture.


Early life

Bingen was born in
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 ...
to a Jewish family with Italian roots. He was the brother-in-law of
André Citroën André-Gustave Citroën (; 5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist and the founder of French automaker Citroën. He is also remembered for his application of double helical gears. Life and career Born in Paris in 1878, A ...
. After graduating from the
Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
in 1924, he entered the
École des mines de Paris École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
in 1926 and studied to become an engineer. In 1930–1931, he served in the artillery branch of the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
. From 1935, he was director of the French shipping company
Société Anonyme de Gérance et d'Armement The Rothschild Bank founded the Société Anonyme de Gérance et d'Armement (also known by its acronym SAGA) in 1919 for the management of French state-owned ships. History In 1920, SAGA operated the coal fleet of the Compagnie des Chemins de Fe ...
.


World War II

He was drafted in 1939 for World War II. During the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
, he was wounded on 12 June 1940 at
Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...
. After France surrendered, he made his way to British-held
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, and from there to England, arriving in July. He joined the
Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
under General
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
, and was put in charge of its merchant marine, the little there was of it. However, Bingen longed to fight more actively for his country. He resigned on 1 October 1941 and signed up with the '' Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action'', the Free French intelligence service, in 1942. On 16 August 1943, he parachuted into France to help organize and unite the various disparate groups that comprised the Resistance.
Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and hero of the French Resistance who succeeded in unifying the main networks of the Resistance in World War II, a unique act in Europe. He served as the first Presid ...
was the key figure holding together the various Resistance groups. When Moulin was captured on 21 June 1943, there was no obvious person of sufficient stature, acceptable to all the factions, to replace him. As a temporary measure, Claude Bouchinet-Serreulles was placed in charge of the steering committee in the north and Bingen in the south.
Pierre Brossolette Pierre Brossolette (; 25 June 1903 – 22 March 1944) was a French journalist, politician and major hero of the French Resistance in World War II. Brossolette ran a Resistance intelligence hub from a Parisian bookshop on the Rue de la Pompe, be ...
was sent to France to help settle the unresolved issues after Moulin's death, but he was opposed by both Bingen and Bouchinet-Serreulles. Brossolette and his unpopular choice for Moulin's successor, Émile Bollaert, were captured by the Germans. Bouchinet-Serreulles was recalled, having been undermined by Brossolette supporter André Dewavrin, departing France on 3 March 1944; this left Bingen in charge of the General Delegation of the
French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...
. However,
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
replaced him with loyalist Alexandre Parodi. Bingen played an important role in the creation of the
French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...
in February 1944. On 10 May, Bingen left Paris, having been named delegate for the southern zone. The next day, he was betrayed by Belgian
double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
Alfred Dormal and captured at
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
. He managed to escape and hid under a porch, but was betrayed by a woman passerby. On 12 May, he committed suicide at
Chamalières Chamalières (; Auvergnat: ) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, central France. With 17,276 inhabitants (2019), Chamalières is the fourth-largest town in the department. It lies adjacent to the west of Clermo ...
by swallowing a capsule of
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
rather than risk breaking under torture. His body was never found.


Honors

Bingen was awarded the ''
Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (, ) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a worn by recipients only before the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour). In the official portrait of G ...
'' posthumously. ''Rue Jacques Bingen'', a street in the
17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignol ...
, is named after him. There is also a ''Rue Jacques Bingen'' in
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. The cargo ship '' Empire Scepter'' was given by the British government to the French and renamed ''Jacques Bingen''. On 21 April 1958, the French post office issued a postage stamp bearing his likeness.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingen, Jacques 1908 births 1944 deaths 1944 suicides Suicides by cyanide poisoning French Resistance members Companions of the Liberation 20th-century French Jews French people of Italian-Jewish descent Members of the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action French Army personnel of World War II Free French military personnel of World War II Suicides in France French Jews who died in the Holocaust Suicides by Jews during the Holocaust