Jean Paulin was born in France in 1894. He was editor of the Nouvelle Revue Francaise until France was occupied by the German Army in June 1940.

Paulin joined the French Resistance and in January 1941 he became one of the editors of Résistance , a clandestine journal published by Musée de L'Homme. As well as publishing newspapers and leaflets the group also transmitted political and military information to Britain and helped to hide escaped Allied prisoners of war.

In May, 1941, the Musée de L'Homme was infiltrated by a supporter of the Vichy government and as a result virtually all of the members, including Paulin, were arrested. However, the Gestapo did not have enough information on Paulin and he was released.

Paulin continued to write for various clandestine newspapers published by the French Resistance until the liberation of France in 1944. Jean Paulin died in 1968.