Jean Frydman (26 June 1925 – 14 March 2021) was a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 and businessman. He received the ''Légion d'honneur'' in 2016 for his wartime efforts.

Resistance

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 ...

, at the age of 15 he rallied the ''France libre'' (

Free France 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 ...

). In the summer of 1944, he escaped from the deportation train that was taking him and many others from the

Drancy internment camp Drancy internment camp () was an assembly and detention camp for confining Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps during the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German occupation of France duri ...

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

. One of the deportees in the same train car was Marcel Dassault. Jean-Francois Chaigneau, “Le Dernier Wagon”, Paris, ''France Loisirs'', 1982 For his brave patriotism, he was bestowed the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

'' by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

in May 2016.

Man of communication

He was among the first managers of radio station

Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...

between 1957 and 1962; he headed Télé Monte Carlo, and was then director of the advertising agency Régie n°1. He was dubbed "the secret gardener of the French audiovisual sector".

Businessman

After having been forced to leave the Board of Paravision, audiovisual branch of

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

, he revealed the past life of

André Bettencourt André Bettencourt (; 21 April 1919 – 19 November 2007) was a French politician. He had been a member of La Cagoule, a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-communist group, before and into the Second World War; he then joined the anti-G ...

during WW2, Michael Bar-Zohar, ''Bitter Scent: The Case of L'Oréal, Nazis, and the Arab Boycott'', London, ''Dutton Books'', 1996 forcing him to express regrets about "past mistakes".�
André Bettencourt
», ''Telegraph'', 23 novembre 2007

Politics

Since resisting the Nazis' control over France in his teens, Frydman spent his life following, advocating liberty and peace. That led him to become involved at the highest level of negotiation between Israel and Palestine, as he advised

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, and

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

. As such, he was instrumental in starting the

Oslo Peace Accords The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...

. Frydman served as a member of the advisory board of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations.

Personal life

Jean Frydman had six children, ten grandchildren, and was married to his third wife, Daniela Frydman at the time of his death. He was a friend of former French President

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

, former Israeli President

, former Israeli Prime Minister

, and former IMF Managing Director

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...

. Frydman died in Savyon, Israel, on 14 March 2021, at the age of 95.Mort de Jean Frydman, résistant, homme d’affaires et militant pour la paix en Israël

References

External links

Élie Barnavi Élie Barnavi (; born 1946) is an Israeli historian and diplomat, who was the Israeli ambassador to France between 2000 and 2002. Born in Bucharest he moved as a child to Tel Aviv, Israel. He authored some fifteen books on France and Europe in t ...

, "Jean Frydman, Tableaux d'une vie", , 2008 * Jean-Pierre Chaline, « André Bettencourt (1919-2007) », dans '' Études normandes'' , 2008-1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Frydman, Jean 1925 births 2021 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour 20th-century French businesspeople French people of Polish-Jewish descent 20th-century French politicians Jews in the French resistance L'Oréal people