Maurice Thorez (1900-1964) headed the French Communist Party from 1930 to 1964, developing a large working-class Marxist-Leninist party and fostering a close link between the French Communists and the Soviet Union.

Maurice Thorez was born into a poor coal-mining family on April 28, 1900, in Noyelles-Godault in the northern coastal department (state) of Pasde-Calais. At the age of 12 he himself became a miner. During World War I when his village was occupied by the Germans, Thorez was sent to his grandfather's farm in the Creuse. Following the war he returned to Pas-de-Calais, where he joined the Socialist Party (SFIO) in 1919. Although he was largely self-taught, he had a propensity for learning; during the course of his life he acquired a knowledge of Latin, Russian, and German.

In 1920 two important events occurred in Thorez's life; one was his induction into the army and the other was the socialist congress at Tours. While the...