Lucien Rebatet
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Lucien Rebatet (15 November 1903 – 24 August 1972) was a French writer, journalist, and intellectual. He is known as an exponent of
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
and virulent antisemite but also as the author of '' Les Deux étendards'', regarded by some as one of the greatest novels of the post-war era.


Biography


Early life

Rebatet was born and died in Moras-en-Valloire,
Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
. As a young man, Rebatet was educated in
Saint-Chamond, Loire Saint-Chamond () is a commune in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Situated 13 km northeast of the city of Saint-Étienne and 50 km southwest of Lyon, the town dates back to the Roman period. ...
. From 1923 to 1927 he studied at the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
, after which he became an insurance agent. It was only in 1929 that he began his career as a writer, becoming a music and film critic (the latter under the pseudonym François Vinneuil) for the far right
integralist In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics withi ...
''
Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
'' newspaper. In 1932 Rebatet became a contributor to the right-wing newspaper ''
Je suis partout ''Je suis partout'' (, lit. ''I am everywhere'') was a French newspaper founded by , first published on 29 November 1930. It was placed under the direction of Pierre Gaxotte until 1939. Journalists of the paper included Lucien Rebatet, , the illu ...
'', for which he wrote until the Allied liberation in 1944. In 1938 he became head of information for Action Française and worked closely with the movement's founder,
Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...
. Long before the outbreak of war between France and
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, Rebatet expressed sympathy for
National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
, notably in his articles for ''Je suis partout'' ("I Am Everywhere"), in which he accused
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
of fomenting a war to topple
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
’s régime. In 1940 he was drafted into the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
and, although he served, openly hoped for a "''short and disastrous war for France''".


Collaboration

After the fall of France he became a radio reporter for the
Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
. He soon left this post, as well as Action Française, to join
Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...
's newspaper '' Cri Du Peuple'', and to continue his writings for ''Je suis partout''. In 1942 Rebatet published a lengthy pamphlet entitled '' Les Décombres'' ("The Ruins"), in which he traced the forces he believed to have led France to its fall. He firmly accused Third Republic politicians and its military leadership, as well as French Jews - who he claimed were the prime cause of France's political and military woes. ''Les Décombres'' is the clearest expression of Rebatet's fascism, as well as his most virulently antisemitic work. The same year, he began writing '' Les Deux étendards'' ("The Two Standards"), his first novel. In August 1944 Rebatet fled France for Germany, travelling to the
Sigmaringen enclave The Sigmaringen enclave was the exiled remnant of France's Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government which fled to Germany during the Liberation of France near the end of World War II in order to avoid capture by the advancing Allied forces. ...
(place of refuge for Vichy authorities as well as the more famous French writer,
Céline Céline, sometimes spelled Celine, is a French female first name of Latin origin, coming from ''Caelīna'', the feminine form of the Roman cognomen ''Caelīnus'', meaning "heavenly".
). It was in Sigmaringen that Rebatet completed ''Les Deux étendards'', which would be published in 1952 by Gallimard. He was arrested in Austria in 1945.


After the war

Rebatet was sent back to France and, in 1946, received a
death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
, which was commuted to
forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
the next year. Released from prison in 1952, he returned to journalism in 1953, becoming the director of the literary section of '' Dimanche Matin''. In 1954, Gallimard published Rebatet's second novel, '' Les Épis Mûrs'' ("The Ripe Grains"). His final work was a history of music which he began writing in 1965, and which was published by Laffont in 1969. In 1969 too he said:"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" while in 1967 he said: "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". Although Rebatet continued to proclaim his adherence to fascism until his death, his antisemitism became less pronounced after the war, showing even admiration for the state of Israel. Despite his controversial biography, there are those, such as
George Steiner Francis George Steiner, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the ...
, 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
Jonathan Littell Jonathan Littell (born October 10, 1967) is a writer living in Barcelona. He grew up in France and the United States and is a citizen of both countries. After acquiring his bachelor's degree he worked for a humanitarian organisation for nine year ...
's historical novel ''
Les Bienveillantes ''The Kindly Ones'' (french: Les Bienveillantes) is a 2006 historical fiction novel written in French by American-born author Jonathan Littell. The book is narrated by its fictional protagonist Maximilien Aue, a former SS officer of French and G ...
'', where he is a friend of the main character Maximilian Aue.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebatet, Lucien 1903 births 1972 deaths People from Drôme French art critics French collaborators with Nazi Germany French fascists French literary critics French political writers People affiliated with Action Française French military personnel of World War II French anti-communists 20th-century French novelists French male essayists French male novelists French prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by France 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers