Lucien Rebatet
Lucien Rebatet | |
---|---|
Born | 15 November 1903 Moras-en-Valloire, France |
Died | 24 August 1972 Moras-en-Valloire, France | (aged 68)
Other names | François Vinneuil |
Occupation(s) | journalist, author |
Lucien Rebatet (15 November 1903 – 24 August 1972) was a French fascist, writer, journalist, and intellectual. He is known as an exponent of
Biography
Early life
Rebatet was born and died in
Long before the outbreak of war between France and Nazi Germany, Rebatet expressed sympathy for National Socialism, notably in his articles for Je suis partout, in which he accused Jews of fomenting a war to topple Adolf Hitler’s régime. In 1940 he was drafted into the French Army and, although he served, openly hoped for a "short and disastrous war for France".
Collaboration
After the
In 1942 Rebatet published a lengthy
In August 1944 Rebatet fled France for Germany, travelling to the
After the war
Rebatet was sent back to France and, in 1946, received a
Although Rebatet continued to proclaim his adherence to fascism until his death, his antisemitism became less pronounced after the war[citation needed], and he even came to show admiration for the state of Israel.[1] In 1967, he admitted: "The cause of Israel over there is that of all Westerners. It would have surprised me if I had been prophesied in 1939 that I would one day wish for the victory of a Zionist army. But this is the solution that I find reasonable today."[2] In 1969, he also observed: "savor the historical paradox that led the Jews of Israel to defend all the patriotic, moral, military values that they most violently fought during a century in their adopted country."[3]
Despite his controversial biography, there are those, such as George Steiner, who claim that Lucien Rebatet was a great writer, and that Les Deux étendards in particular deserves to be considered an important novel in French literary history.
Cultural references
- Rebatet is depicted in Les Bienveillantes, where he is a friend of the main character Maximilian Aue.
References
- ^ "" L'extrême droite était pro-israélienne jusqu'à la guerre du Kippour "". 28 July 2014.
- ^ Michaël Bloch, "L'extrême droite française face à la question israélienne", mémoire IEP, Aix-en-Provence, p. 33.
- ^ Rivarol, 25 septembre 1969.