Biography Robert Brasillach

1 biography

1.1 author

1.1.1 cinema


1.2 politics , wartime activities
1.3 trial , execution
1.4 legacy

1.4.1 cultural references

biography

born in perpignan, studied @ École normale supérieure , became novelist , literary critic action française of charles maurras. after 6 february 1934 crisis in place de la concorde, brasillach openly supported fascism. politics shared several of protagonists, notably 2 male main characters in 7 colours (see below).

author

brasillach wrote both fiction , non-fiction. while fiction dealt love, life , politics in era, non-fiction dealt great variety of themes, ranging drama, great literary figures , contemporary world events. work in realm of cinema history (see below) particularly influential.

cinema

brasillach fascinated cinema , in 1935 co-wrote detailed critical history of medium, histoire du cinéma (re-edited in 1943), brother-in-law, maurice bardèche. work remained prominent aesthetic history of film @ least decade , , work exerted considerable influence, via impact on georges sadoul (who nonetheless disliked authors) until 1970s. unlike several other authors , critics of time, brasillach did not see cinema through overtly political lens, although 1943 re-edition of work did contain anti-semitic comments not included in original. despite being fervent nationalists , believing each nation , people had unique cinema, authors instead focussed on international trends rather local particularities. brasillach frequented henri langlois cercle du cinéma (cinema circle). personal tastes detailed in major work on cinema , in numerous articles of period. these tastes ranged russian cinema (battleship potemkin , alexander nevski) classics such charlie chaplin, georg wilhelm pabst, rené clair , jean renoir , hollywood films, such of john ford, frank borzage , king vidor. brasillach drawn originality , explored foreign cinema, , became first major critic in france address japanese cinema, namely yasujirō ozu, kenji mizoguchi , heinosuke gosho. while in prison, worked on third edition of work on cinema , started adapt work on falstaff hoped film raimu.

politics , wartime activities

he became editor of je suis partout, fascist paper founded dissidents action française , led pierre gaxotte. brasillach attracted fascistic rexist movement in belgium, , wrote article , later book leader of movement, leon degrelle. brasillach admired perceived degrelle s youth , charisma , degrelle s insistence on being neither left nor right, supporting striking workers, encouraging love of god, king , family , desiring see establishment of anti-communist , anti-capitalist, christian-influenced corporate state. degrelle went on collaborate german occupation of belgium , served in waffen-ss. brasillach impressed josé antonio primo de rivera , falangist movement. contrast, described mein kampf masterpiece of cretinism in hitler appeared sort of enraged teacher.

a soldier in 1940, brasillach captured germans , held prisoner several months after fall of france. @ trial prosecution alleged release due pro-german articles written while in captivity. freed in 1941 , returned editorial duties @ je suis partout. wrote in favor of vichy regime later embraced more wholehearted germanophile policy of collaboration , nazi policies , criticized vichy state. joined group of french authors , artists in trip meet german counterparts in weimar , in november 1942 supported german militarisation of unoccupied zone (case anton) under vichy government because reunited france .

he visited site of katyn massacre, toured eastern front, visited french volunteers , wrote, on return france, had gone embracing collaboration due reason , rationality being collaborator reasons of heart ( de collaborationiste de raison, je suis devenu collaborationiste de coeur. ) called death of left-wing politicians , in summer of 1944 signed call summary execution of members of french resistance. considered himself moderate anti-semite , replaced editor of je suis partout in 1943 more extreme pierre-antoine cousteau. member of groupe collaboration, initiative encouraged close cultural ties between france , germany. went on work various journals, including révolution nationale , le petit parisien. after liberation of paris brasillach hid in attic, joking in diary: jews have been living in cupboards 4 years, why not imitate them? gave himself on september 14 when heard mother had been arrested. spent next 5 months in prison , continued literary endeavours while incarcerated.

trial , execution

brasillach tried in paris on 19 january 1945. judge had served under vichy. prosecutor re-iterated brasillach s vehement anti-semitism, linked praise of germany , denunciation of resistance ss massacres in france , played upon homophobic sentiments repeatedly drawing jurors attention author s homosexuality, noting, inter alia, had slept enemy , approved of germany s penetration of france. in doing prosecution making hay brasillach s own words, had suggested, liberation approached, france had slept germany , remember experience fondly. brasillach sentenced death. brasillach responded outrage of of supporters in attendance saying s honor!

the sentence caused uproar in french literary circles , of brasillach s political opponents protested. resistance member , author françois mauriac, whom brasillach had savaged in press, circulated petition charles de gaulle commute sentence. petition signed many of leading lights of french literary world, including paul valéry, paul claudel, albert camus, jean cocteau, colette, arthur honegger, jean anouilh , thierry maulnier. de gaulle did not comply , brasillach executed firing squad in montrouge. has been argued de gaulle refused spare brasillach because author had on numerous occasions called georges mandel s execution. de gaulle admired mandel, prominent conservative politician (who happened jewish), , murdered milice during closing days of occupation. brasillach called out same, long live france! ( vive la france quand même! ) before execution. buried in cimetière de charonne in 20th arrondissement of paris. brother-in-law, maurice bardèche, later buried next him.

legacy

brasillach sought protect own legacy life drew close. composed several works while awaiting trial , execution, including collection of verse , letter french youth of future, explaining , justifying actions (lettre un soldat de la classe de soixante (lettre), see below). in lettre unrepentant fascism, anti-semitism or wartime activity, although insisted had no idea french jews being sent deaths when deported.

his biographer alice kaplan noted death made him james dean of french fascism , martyr extreme right. françois truffaut both aware , appreciative of brasillach, stating brasillach , pierre drieu la rochelle shared similar political beliefs , views earn advocates death penalty bound worthy of esteem.

dominique venner s nouvelle revue d histoire has praised author s intellectual oeuvre.

a group called association des amis de robert brasillach celebrates author s work , legacy.

cultural references

the jean-luc godard film Éloge de l amour features recitation of brasillach s testament , written before execution.
french singer jann halexander (born in 1982 in libreville, gabon) attacked author s legacy , celebrated execution in song entitled brasillach 1945 .
brasillach described in jonathan littell s novel les bienveillantes, 1 of fellow students of main character maximilian aue.




^ david bordwell, on history of film style, harvard university press, 1997, @ p. 40 , 42
^ 1943 additions: on history of film style, p.40
^ on history of film style, p.39
^ philippe d hughes, l étincelante génération brasillach 41 (march–april 2009) nrh, 25-27
^ see maurice bardeche , robert brasillach, histoire du cinéma «le cinéma japonais» tome ii, p:381-412, les sept couleurs, paris, 1964
^ lettre une provinciale: visite leon degrelle je suis partout, 20 juin 1936
^ philippe d hugues, brasillach et l allemagne , in la nouvelle revue d histoire, numero 50, 2010 @ p. 45
^ philippe d hugues, brasillach et l allemagne , in la nouvelle revue d histoire, numéro 50, 2010 @ p. 46
^ quatre procès de trahison devant la cour de justice de paris: paquis, buchard, luchaire, brasillach (réquisitoires et plaidoiries) (les éditions de paris, 1947)
^ philippe d hugues, brasillach et l allemagne , in la nouvelle revue d histoire, numero 50, 2010 @ p. 47
^ philippe d hugues, brasillach et l allemagne , in la nouvelle revue d histoire, numero 50, 2010 @ p. 47-48
^ history of je suis partout see: pierre-marie dioudonnat je suis partout (1930-1944). les maurrassiens devant la tentation fasciste (éd. la table ronde, 1973, rééd. 1987); les 700 rédacteurs de « je suis partout », éd. sedopols, 1993
^ karen fiss, grand illusion: third reich, paris exposition, , cultural seduction of france, university of chicago press, 2009, p. 204
^ philippe d hugues, brasillach et l allemagne , in la nouvelle revue d histoire, numero 50, 2010 @ p. 47
^ kaplan, alice (2006). collaborator: trial , execution of robert brasillach. chicago: university of chicago press. p. 71. isbn 0-226-42414-6. 
^ kaplan, alice (2006). collaborator: trial , execution of robert brasillach. chicago: university of chicago press. p. 187. isbn 0-226-42414-6. 
^ quatre procès de trahison
^ kaplan, alice (2006). collaborator: trial , execution of robert brasillach. chicago: university of chicago press. p. 187. isbn 0-226-42414-6. 
^ jean lacouture, la raison de l autre, montesquieu, mauriac, confluences, 2002.
^ jean-luc barré, « brasillach, robert (1909-1945) », dictionnaire de gaulle, paris, Éditions robert laffont, coll. bouquins, 2006, p. 147.
^ kaplan, alice (2006). collaborator: trial , execution of robert brasillach. chicago: university of chicago press. p. 210. isbn 0-226-42414-6. 
^ antoine de baecque , serge toubiana, truffaut: biography (university of california press, 1999)at p. 85
^ philippe d hughes, l étincelante génération brasillach 41 (march–april 2009) nrh, 25-27
^ http://www.brasillach.ch/