''Preuves'' (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Proof'') was a French language monthly political and cultural magazine which existed between 1951 and 1975 and was headquartered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. It was the first publication launched by the

Congress for Cultural Freedom The Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) was an anti-communist cultural organization founded on 26 June 1950 in West Berlin. At its height, the CCF was active in thirty-five countries. In 1966 it was revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency w ...

which later started other magazines, including ''

Cuadernos ''Cuadernos'' () was a Spanish-language magazine that was published in Paris, France, in the period 1953–1965. Its full title was ''Cuadernos del Congreso por la Libertad de la Cultura''. It was one of the publications of the Congress for Cultu ...

'', '' Encounter'', ''Survey'', '' Tempo Presente'' and ''Der Monat''.

History and profile

''Preuves'' was established by the Congress for Cultural Freedom as a bulletin to publicize the political and intellectual views of the Congress members, and its first issue appeared in October 1951 with an editorial of French journalist Remy Roure. The establishment of the magazine was first discussed during the inaugural meeting of the Congress for Cultural Freedom in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1950 and finalized at the executive committee meeting in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. Russian-American composer and cultural figure Nicolas Nabokov played a significant role in the establishment of the magazine which was financed by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) like other periodicals of the Congress. Over time ''Preuves'' developed into a magazine instead of being a bulletin. ''Preuves'' was published on a monthly basis.

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

journalist

François Bondy François Bondy (1 January 1915 – 27 May 2003) was a Swiss journalist and novelist. Biography François Bondy was born on 1 January 1915 in Berlin. As a pupil at the ''lycée de Nice'' (1928–1933), he became one of the friends of Romain Gary, ...

was the long-term director of the magazine which was redesigned in November 1951. From January 1952 the number of pages was expanded. That year

Konstanty Jeleński Konstanty Aleksander Jeleński (2 January 1922 – 4 May 1987) was a Polish essayist. Biography Konstanty Aleksander Jeleński (in French: Constantin Jelenski) was born on 2 January 1922 in Warsaw, Poland. He died on 4 May 1987 in Paris, France. ...

joined the editorial board. Major contributors of ''Preuves'' included

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

, Guido Piovene,

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...

Lionel Trilling Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

and

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

who also published articles in another publication of the Congress, ''Encounter''. In fact, an article published in one of the Congress magazines was generally published in the others. For instance, it featured an article by

Albert Hourani Albert Habib Hourani, ( ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. Background and education Hourani was bo ...

Taha Hussein Taha Hussein (, ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world. His sobriquet ...

which was originally published in '' Hiwars inaugural issue in 1962. In the first year the number of subscribers was 1000. The topics which were frequently covered in the first two years were the European federalism and the need for a transatlantic debate. ''Preuves'' was subject to frequent criticisms as being an American magazine and an anti-Communist publication. The magazine became part of the Réalités Group, a subsidiary of the

Hachette Group Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette ...

, in 1969 which led to the redesign of the editorial board. François Bondy left the magazine in 1972 when it turned to be a foreign policy publication losing its original

Atlanticist Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism or North Atlanticism, is the ideology which advocates a close alliance between nations in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and in Europe on political, economic, and defense issues. The te ...

, anti-neutralist and pro-American mission. The magazine folded in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preuves 1951 establishments in France 1975 disestablishments in France Cold War propaganda Defunct political magazines published in France Defunct French-language magazines Defunct literary magazines published in France Magazines established in 1951 Magazines disestablished in 1975 Defunct magazines published in Paris Monthly magazines published in France Propaganda newspapers and magazines CIA activities in France