Mandel, Georges (1885-1944)

French journalist and government official. From 1904 to 1906 and again from 1917 to 1919, Mandel was the head of the Office of the French Cabinet, and during World War I was the initiator of court trials of traitors and “defeatists.” From 1919 to 1924 and 1928 to 1940, Mandel was an independent deputy to France’s National Assembly, where his critical statements contributed to the fall of several cabinets. In 1934 and 1935, Mandel was Minister of the Posts, and from 1936 to 1940, Minister of the Colonies.

Mandel was among the first to recognize the Nazi threat to France, and he was a staunch advocate of a firm anti-Nazi policy. Following the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, he was appointed Minister of Interior Affairs in a short-lived cabinet. After France was occupied by the Nazis, Mandel led the opposition to the collaborationist policies of Henri Petain and Pierre Laval, the heads of the Vichy government. Mandel was arrested on instructions from the Vichy government and killed by the police without a court trial.