num_pages: 232
description: Lon Blum (18721950) was many things: a socialist and political activist leader of the Popular Front; a dedicated statesman who served as France's prime minister three times; a hero who courageously opposed anti-Semitism Nazi aggression and the pro-German Vichy government; a passionate lover of women art and life. A tireless champion for workers rights Blum dramatically changed French society by establishing the forty-hour work week paid holidays and collective bargaining on wage claims. He was also a proud Jew and Zionist and a survivor who endured the horrors of Buchenwald and Dachau. Unlike previous biographies that downplay the significance of Blums Jewish heritage on his progressive politics Pierre Birnbaums enlightening portrait depicts an extraordinary man whose political convictions were shaped and driven by his religious and cultural background. The author powerfully demonstrates how Blums Jewishness was central to his milieu and mission from his earliest entry into the political arena in reaction to the infamous Dreyfus Affair and how it sustained and motivated him throughout the remainder of his life.
language: English
title: Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist
publisher: Yale University Press