René de Chambrun
Encyclopedia
René de Chambrun was a lawyer at the Court of Appeals of Paris and of the New York State Bar Association
and a descendant of Lafayette
, as well as a Chevalier (knight
) of the Légion d'honneur
, and honorary president of the Sons of the American Revolution
in France.
–22 April 1962 Paris), General, high officer of the Legion of Honour, member of the Society of the Cincinnati
of France and of the Jockey Club (France), and Clara Eleanor Longworth (18 October 1873 Cincinnati, OH – 1 June 1954 Paris), sister of Nicholas Longworth
, (who married Alice Roosevelt
, daughter of the US President Theodore Roosevelt
).
He married, Josée Laval (1911–1992), the only daughter of Pierre Laval
in 1935. René de Chambrun was shareholder and president of crystal
manufacturer Baccarat
.
Chambrun bought the Château de la Grange-Bléneau
, a castle
in the commune
of Courpalay
in the Seine-et-Marne
département of France, from his cousin, Louis de Lasteyrie, a descendant of La Fayette, in 1935, with a life tenancy.
whom he authorized to write a biography of Adrienne de Lafayette. Chambrun produced a book using the documents he discovered covering the period of 1792–1797 when Lafayette was in an Austrian prison. He organized and described the family archives, a collection dating from 1457 to 1990. The papers were microfilmed at La Grange in 1995 and 1996, for the Library of Congress. It took two years and several microfilm teams from the Library of Congress to film the 50,000 pages. Lafayette's papers are now in the library of Cornell University.
, sent Chambrun as a special emissary to Washington to stiffen President Roosevelt's resolve to help the Allies. His mission was not a success. Between his first meeting with Roosevelt on 16 June and his last on 1 August, Reynaud's government had fallen. Later that year Chambrun published the book I Saw France Fall, which helped to alert American opinion about the fate of his country.
Chambrun, who was Marshal Petain's godson and Pierre Laval's son-in-law tried to reconcile the two men after Laval's dismissal by Pétain in December 1940. Chambrun played a part in the rapprochement between the Marshal and Laval in March 1942.
During the war, Chambrun helped some famous people to escape. Once Laval had given them permission to leave France, his son-in-law obtained visas from the State Department for Golo Mann
, Franz Werfel
, and Rene Clair
to go from Montreal to New York.
The Chambruns threw themselves into the task of assisting Laval in his defense before the High Court of Justice
. After Laval's sentence and execution, they devoted their energies over the following decades to the cause of his rehabilitation in the eyes of history. In 1971 Chambrun made an appearance in Marcel Ophuls's controversial documentary, Le chagrin et la pitié (The Sorrow and the Pity). Rene de Chambrun wrote three books on the subject between 1983 and 1990. The Chambruns set up a foundation which collected documents on Laval for publication by the Hoover Institute.
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association , with 77,000 members, is the largest voluntary bar association in the United States.-History:The State Bar was founded with a constitution that dates to 1877...
and a descendant of Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
, as well as a Chevalier (knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
) of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and honorary president of the Sons of the American Revolution
Sons of the American Revolution
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
in France.
Life
Chambrun was the son of Jacques Aldebert de Chambrun (23 July 1872 Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
–22 April 1962 Paris), General, high officer of the Legion of Honour, member of the Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
of France and of the Jockey Club (France), and Clara Eleanor Longworth (18 October 1873 Cincinnati, OH – 1 June 1954 Paris), sister of Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth IV was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century...
, (who married Alice Roosevelt
Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
, daughter of the US President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
).
He married, Josée Laval (1911–1992), the only daughter of Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
in 1935. René de Chambrun was shareholder and president of crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
manufacturer Baccarat
Baccarat (company)
Baccarat Crystal is a manufacturer of fine crystal glassware located in Baccarat, France. The company owns two museums: the Musée Baccarat in Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Galerie-Musée Baccarat, on the Place des États-Unis in Paris...
.
Chambrun bought the Château de la Grange-Bléneau
Château de la Grange-Bléneau
The Château de la Grange-Bléneau is a castle in the commune of Courpalay in the Seine-et-Marne département of France.-History:Recorded since the 13th century, the castle has belonged to several families: Courtenay, Aubusson-La Feuillade and d'Aguesseau. Ownership passed from Henriette d'Aguesseau...
, a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Courpalay
Courpalay
Courpalay is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* * *...
in the Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
département of France, from his cousin, Louis de Lasteyrie, a descendant of La Fayette, in 1935, with a life tenancy.
Lafayette Papers
Upon Louis de Lasteyrie's death in 1955, René de Chambrun discovered the large cache of documents in the attic, and founded a private museum to Lafayette. News of his discovery brought many historians to his door, but Chambrun denied access, except to André MauroisAndré Maurois
André Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was a French author.-Life:Maurois was born in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a Jewish textile manufacturer, and Alice Herzog...
whom he authorized to write a biography of Adrienne de Lafayette. Chambrun produced a book using the documents he discovered covering the period of 1792–1797 when Lafayette was in an Austrian prison. He organized and described the family archives, a collection dating from 1457 to 1990. The papers were microfilmed at La Grange in 1995 and 1996, for the Library of Congress. It took two years and several microfilm teams from the Library of Congress to film the 50,000 pages. Lafayette's papers are now in the library of Cornell University.
Second World War
When the Second World War broke out, Chambrun served as a captain, but, with the collapse of France looming by mid-May 1940, the Prime Minister, Paul ReynaudPaul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
, sent Chambrun as a special emissary to Washington to stiffen President Roosevelt's resolve to help the Allies. His mission was not a success. Between his first meeting with Roosevelt on 16 June and his last on 1 August, Reynaud's government had fallen. Later that year Chambrun published the book I Saw France Fall, which helped to alert American opinion about the fate of his country.
Chambrun, who was Marshal Petain's godson and Pierre Laval's son-in-law tried to reconcile the two men after Laval's dismissal by Pétain in December 1940. Chambrun played a part in the rapprochement between the Marshal and Laval in March 1942.
During the war, Chambrun helped some famous people to escape. Once Laval had given them permission to leave France, his son-in-law obtained visas from the State Department for Golo Mann
Golo Mann
Golo Mann , born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, was a popular German historian, essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann.-Life:...
, Franz Werfel
Franz Werfel
Franz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
, and Rene Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
to go from Montreal to New York.
Post-war
He was a defender of Laval:The Chambruns threw themselves into the task of assisting Laval in his defense before the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
. After Laval's sentence and execution, they devoted their energies over the following decades to the cause of his rehabilitation in the eyes of history. In 1971 Chambrun made an appearance in Marcel Ophuls's controversial documentary, Le chagrin et la pitié (The Sorrow and the Pity). Rene de Chambrun wrote three books on the subject between 1983 and 1990. The Chambruns set up a foundation which collected documents on Laval for publication by the Hoover Institute.