Emmanuel Berl
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel Berl was a French
journalist
, historian
and essayist. He was born at Le Vésinet
in the modern département of Yvelines
, and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery
, Paris. In 1937 he married the singer, composer and film actress Mireille Hartuch
; she had nicknamed him "Théodore" (which is what appears on their tomb). Berl was the cousin of Lisette de Brinon
.
before volunteering for the armed services in 1914. Discharged in 1917 with a respiratory disease after having received the Croix de guerre
(or, war cross), he joined the surrealists, especially working with Louis Aragon
, Gaston Bergery and his former schoolmate from the Lycée Carnot, Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
. In 1927, Berl and La Rochelle published a short-lived periodical: Les Derniers Jours. In 1928, with Édouard Berth, Marcel Déat
, Bertrand de Jouvenel
and Pierre Mendès-France
, he took part in the editing of the Cahiers bleus which had just launched George Valois. The same year, he met André Malraux
to whom he dedicated his Mort de la pensée bourgeoise, a satire in which Emmanuel Berl called for a more committed culture and literature.
During the 1930s, he entered politics on the side of the radicals. After working for the weekly Monde, in 1932 he launched the weekly Marianne, which was the leading weekly on the left until the appearance of Vendredi in 1935. In it, he defended a political line favourable to the Popular Front
but his intransigent pacifism
and his equal refusal of both fascist and communist totalitarianism
led him to adopt heterodox positions and to show his curiosity and sympathies in neo-socialism
. He clashed with the left because he favoured equipping France with a large and strong army. He stated: "Je suis pour la force et contre la violence" (“I am for force and against violence”).
In 1937, Éditions Gallimard
sold Marianne. Emmanuel Berl resigned from the paper and founded a new weekly: Le Pavé de Paris, which he led until the exodus from Paris in 1940. He left for the southwest before being called on 17 June to Bordeaux
, where Pierre Bouthillier asked him to work on a speech for Marshal Philippe Pétain
(then President of the Council). He also drafted the two speeches of 23 and 25 June in which were powerful phrases like "I hate the lies which hurt you so much" ("Je hais les mensonges qui vous ont fait tant de mal") and "The earth, it does not lie" ("La terre, elle, ne ment pas"), among others. After a short spell in Vichy
, he turned his back on the new regime and returned to his wife Mireille in Cannes
and settled, in July 1941, in Argentat
. There he drafted Histoire de l'Europe (History of Europe) and was reunited with Bertrand de Jouvenal, Jean Effel
and André Malraux.
After World War II, he left politics to concentrate on literature and editing autobiographical works, including the notable book Sylvia. In 1967, the Académie française
awarded him the Grand Prix de littérature.
After his death, at Paris, Patrick Modiano
and Bernard Morlino did a lot to ensure his memory. The former published Interrogatoire, and the latter published two posthumous books of his friend: Essais and Un spectateur engagé. Morlino also published his own works: Les tribulations d'un pacifiste and Berl, Morand et moi.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and essayist. He was born at Le Vésinet
Le Vésinet
Le Vésinet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center....
in the modern département of Yvelines
Yvelines
Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...
, and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery
Montparnasse Cemetery
Montparnasse Cemetery is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, part of the city's 14th arrondissement.-History:Created from three farms in 1824, the cemetery at Montparnasse was originally known as Le Cimetière du Sud. Cemeteries had been banned from Paris since the closure, owing to...
, Paris. In 1937 he married the singer, composer and film actress Mireille Hartuch
Mireille Hartuch
Mireille Hartuch was a French singer, composer, and actress. She was generally known by the stage name "Mireille"....
; she had nicknamed him "Théodore" (which is what appears on their tomb). Berl was the cousin of Lisette de Brinon
Lisette de Brinon
Lisette, Marquise de Brinon was best known as the Jewish wife of the pro-Nazi French collaborator, Fernand de Brinon....
.
Biography
Emmanuel Berl was from an upper middle class Jewish family related to Bergson and Proust and the novelist and screenwriter Monique Lange. He studied philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
before volunteering for the armed services in 1914. Discharged in 1917 with a respiratory disease after having received the Croix de guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
(or, war cross), he joined the surrealists, especially working with Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
, Gaston Bergery and his former schoolmate from the Lycée Carnot, Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Pierre Eugène Drieu La Rochelle was a French writer of novels, short stories and political essays, who lived and died in Paris...
. In 1927, Berl and La Rochelle published a short-lived periodical: Les Derniers Jours. In 1928, with Édouard Berth, Marcel Déat
Marcel Déat
Marcel Déat was a French Socialist until 1933, when he initiated a spin-off from the French Section of the Workers' International along with other right-wing 'Neosocialists'. He then founded the collaborationist National Popular Rally during the Vichy regime...
, Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins, usually known only as Bertrand de Jouvenel was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist.-Life:...
and Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.-Third Republic and World War II:...
, he took part in the editing of the Cahiers bleus which had just launched George Valois. The same year, he met André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
to whom he dedicated his Mort de la pensée bourgeoise, a satire in which Emmanuel Berl called for a more committed culture and literature.
During the 1930s, he entered politics on the side of the radicals. After working for the weekly Monde, in 1932 he launched the weekly Marianne, which was the leading weekly on the left until the appearance of Vendredi in 1935. In it, he defended a political line favourable to the Popular Front
Popular Front (France)
The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing movements, including the French Communist Party , the French Section of the Workers' International and the Radical and Socialist Party, during the interwar period...
but his intransigent pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and his equal refusal of both fascist and communist totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
led him to adopt heterodox positions and to show his curiosity and sympathies in neo-socialism
Neosocialism
Neosocialism was a political trend of socialism, represented in France during the 1930s and in Belgium, which included several revisionist tendencies in the French Section of the Workers' International...
. He clashed with the left because he favoured equipping France with a large and strong army. He stated: "Je suis pour la force et contre la violence" (“I am for force and against violence”).
In 1937, Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard is one of the leading French publishers of books. The Guardian has described it as having "the best backlist in the world". In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1418 titles....
sold Marianne. Emmanuel Berl resigned from the paper and founded a new weekly: Le Pavé de Paris, which he led until the exodus from Paris in 1940. He left for the southwest before being called on 17 June to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, where Pierre Bouthillier asked him to work on a speech for Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
(then President of the Council). He also drafted the two speeches of 23 and 25 June in which were powerful phrases like "I hate the lies which hurt you so much" ("Je hais les mensonges qui vous ont fait tant de mal") and "The earth, it does not lie" ("La terre, elle, ne ment pas"), among others. After a short spell in Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
, he turned his back on the new regime and returned to his wife Mireille in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
and settled, in July 1941, in Argentat
Argentat
Argentat is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.-Geography:Argentat is situated on the Dordogne River, to the south west of Bort-les-Orgues. It is the point where the Maronne, a tributary of the Dordogne, converges with the famous river...
. There he drafted Histoire de l'Europe (History of Europe) and was reunited with Bertrand de Jouvenal, Jean Effel
Jean Effel
Jean Effel, real name François Lejeune was French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist. Mostly he considered himself to be journalist and political commentator. His pseudonym is created by his initials F. L.- Life :Effel was born in Paris and graduated in art, music and philosophy...
and André Malraux.
After World War II, he left politics to concentrate on literature and editing autobiographical works, including the notable book Sylvia. In 1967, the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
awarded him the Grand Prix de littérature.
After his death, at Paris, Patrick Modiano
Patrick Modiano
Patrick Modiano is a French novelist born 30 July 1945 in Boulogne-Billancourt of a father of Jewish Italian origins and a Belgian mother, Louisa Colpijn . He is a winner of the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1972, the Prix Goncourt in 1978 for his novel Rue des boutiques obscures...
and Bernard Morlino did a lot to ensure his memory. The former published Interrogatoire, and the latter published two posthumous books of his friend: Essais and Un spectateur engagé. Morlino also published his own works: Les tribulations d'un pacifiste and Berl, Morand et moi.
Literary works
- Méditation sur un amour défunt (1925),
- Mort de la pensée bourgeoise (1929)
- Mort de la morale bourgeoise (1930)
- Le Bourgeois et l'Amour (1931)
- Sylvia (1952)
- Présences des morts (1956)
- Rachel et autres grâces (1965)
- Trois Faces du sacré (1971)
- Le Virage (1972)
- Essais, collected texts chosen and presented by Bernard Morlino, 1985
- Interrogatoire par Patrick ModianoPatrick ModianoPatrick Modiano is a French novelist born 30 July 1945 in Boulogne-Billancourt of a father of Jewish Italian origins and a Belgian mother, Louisa Colpijn . He is a winner of the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1972, the Prix Goncourt in 1978 for his novel Rue des boutiques obscures...
followed by Il fait beau, allons au cimetière (1976) - Tant que vous penserez à moi (in collaboration with Jean d'OrmessonJean d'OrmessonCount Jean Lefèvre d'Ormesson is a French novelist whose work mostly consists of partially or totally autobiographic novels.- Life :...
), 1992