Maurice Bunau-Varilla (1856 – 1 August 1944) was a French press magnate, and proprietor of the newspaper ''
Le Matin''. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he made the newspaper's editorial line pro-German and
pro-collaborationist, and it ceased publication 16 days after his death. Bunau-Varilla admired
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
more out of his anti-Communist leanings than out of Nazi conviction.
Bunau-Varilla developed and promoted
Synthol as a cure-all tonic. Now known as a mouthwash and hair product, as well as a treatment for muscular pain, it is still sold in France.
He was the brother of
Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla
Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla (; 26 July 1859 – 18 May 1940) was a French engineer, soldier and political lobbyist. With the assistance of American lobbyist and lawyer William Nelson Cromwell, Bunau-Varilla greatly influenced Washington's de ...
, engineer and diplomat who was instrumental in the building of the Panama Canal.
References
Sources
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online
1856 births
1944 deaths
French mass media owners
French anti-communists
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