Joseph Théodore Bilger (1905–1975) was an Alsatian Catholic agrarian activist and

autonomist Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose ...

politician during the late years of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

Early life and career

He was born in born September 27, 1905, in Seppois-le-Haut. Joseph Bilger began his career as a journalist in Alsatian autonomist and clerical media under the ''Alsatia'' group. He was also a member of the Union populaire républicaine (UPR). At the age of 22, he founded a farmers' union in

Sundgau Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Territoire de Belfort, Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt-Gau (territory), gowe'' ("South shire"), den ...

, which later aligned with the Elsässischer Bauernbund (''Union paysanne d'Alsace'') which had been established in February 1924 as a reaction against the pro-government agricultural federation of Alsace-Lorraine.

The Union Paysanne and the Front National du Travail

Bilger became the secretary-general of the ''Union paysanne d'Alsace'' in 1928 and led peasant protests in Alsace-Moselle during the 1930s. In 1934, Bilger transitioned the ''Bauernbund'' from a professional to a political organisation amidst a crisis affecting small farmers in Alsace and

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

. In 1935, he founded the ''Front national du travail'' (FNT), integrating the Union paysanne. The FNT was anticommunist, antiliberal, antisemitic, and antiparliamentarian. The group adopted green shirts as uniforms, adorned with a Lorraine cross emblem. Bilger unsuccessfully ran for election in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Guebwiller Guebwiller (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, département in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the de ...

, coming fourth. During this time, his movement intensified its opposition to the Popular Front, organizing protests and resisting accusations of fascism or autonomy-seeking. However, his ties to both the antiparliamentary French right, particularly Henri Dorgeres who appropriated his idea of a greenshirt uniform, and the Nazi German regime became increasingly evident.

Later life and legacy

Following the Second World War, Bilger faced accusations of collaboration with Nazi Germany. He was sentenced to ten years of forced labor and twenty years of indignité nationale in 1947. Released in the 1950s, he resumed political activity, advocating for a Christian corporatist state and supporting French Algeria. He was involved with Henri Dorgères’ Défense paysanne and other agrarian movements. He also joined the right wing

Mouvement populaire du 13-Mai The Mouvement populaire du 13-Mai (Popular Movement of 13 May), or the MP-13, was an extreme-right-wing French political party formed after the failure of the French Fourth Republic and the onset of the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic. De ...

. Joseph Bilger had four children, one daughter Marie-Christine, and three sons, economist François Bilger, businessman Pierre Bilger and magistrate Philippe Bilger. Following his imprisonment and divorce, they lived with their mother, Suzanne Gillet. He died on October 2, 1975, in Clichy.

References

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilger, Joseph 1905 births 1975 deaths Alsace independence movement Politicians from Alsace-Lorraine French collaborators with Nazi Germany People from Haut-Rhin Anti-communism in France Agrarian politics