Jean-Jacques Becker

Jean-Jacques Becker is a French historian, born 14 May 1928 in Paris. He is a specialist of contemporary history.
He is the brother of historian Annie Kriegel and the father of World War I specialist Annette Becker.
Biography.
Jean-Jacques Becker was born into a family descended from the Jewish community of Alsace-Lorraine, located in Paris. In July 1942, he entered the South zone with his parents who settled in Grenoble (Isère). He continued his studies at the Lycée Champollion. Following the popularity of his family to communism, he became a member of the Communist Party from 1947 to 1960. Because of his membership in the Communist Party, he did not participate in the war in Algeria. Having left the Communist Party, he continued to engage in trade unions as a member of the National Union of Secondary Education (SNES), of which he was secretary of the section of the school of Auxerre, then that of Arago school. He was actively involved in the strikes of May–June 1968.
After teaching in secondary education (Peronne, Auxerre, Arago - Paris-) until 1968, he was a lecturer at the University of Paris-X Nanterre until 1977, a university professor in Clermont-Ferrand 1977 to 1985 (and Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1982 to 1985) and Paris-X Nanterre from 1985 to 1994 (and vice-president of the University from 1986 to 1989). He chaired the jury of the aggregation of History in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He argued in 1976 his doctoral thesis on "French public opinion and the beginning of the War of 1914" prepared under the direction of Pierre Renouvin. He dedicated his work to two major historical areas, World War I and the political history of France in the 20th century, particularly the labor movement and communism. He is also Honorary President of the International Research Center of the Museum of the Great War in Peronne, and winner of JF Mege Academy of Science, Literature and Arts Clermont-Ferrand. He succeeded Léo Hamon as vice-president of the Society for the Study jaurésiennes.