Urbain Gohier
Encyclopedia
Urbain Gohier was a French lawyer and journalist best known for his publication of the anti-Semitic forgery Protocol of the Elders of Zion in France. His nom de plume for two books was Isaac Blümchen.
Orphaned as a young man, Gohier took the surname of his adoptive father, and the issue of his family origin remained a lifelong personal issue. A brilliant high school student at College Stanislas
in Paris, he obtained a BA and a law degree.
In 1884, he became editor of the parliamentary newspaper The Sun. In 1897, upon the foundation of the socialist daily L'Aurore
, its director Ernest Vaughan called Gohier to join the writing team. He became a leading employee there, along with Georges Clemenceau
.
An indefatigable pamphleteer, Gohier - a "monarchist-unionist" - maintained a policy that was pro-Dreyfus, anti-Semitic, anti-militarist, and socialist. He took a strongly anti-military position in the Dreyfus affair
. Perhaps because his willingness to stand up for justice was stronger than his anti-Semitism, Emile Zola
was one of his friends. He provoked the resignation of Clemenceau from L'Aurore.
In 1898, he was prosecuted after the publication of the anti-militarist pamphlet L'armée contre la nation (The Army Against the Nation); he was ultimately acquitted. In December 1905 he was sentenced to a year in prison for his participation in an international anti-militarist action allied with anarchists.
At the turn of the century, he joined the neo-Malthusian movement alongside Paul Robin, André Girard, Clovis Hugues
, Albert Lantoine, A. Daudé-Bancel, Laurent Tailhade
, and George Yvetot. Gohier edited the newspaper Grenoble The Right of the People in 1902, then The Old Friar in 1903 and the Cri de Paris in 1904, then became editor of the anti-Semitic Vieille France from 1916 to 1924. Gohier was also a leading publisher of the anti-Semitic forgery Protocol of the Elders of Zion in France, circa 1920. He also contributed to The Libertarian.
During World War II
, Gohier supported the Vichy government. He wrote articles for the pro-fascist parfumier Francois Coty
in the anti-Semitic newspaper The Pillory, wherein he denounced the "Jewish complicity" of Le Figaro
and "Judeo-Bolshevik" conspiracies.
Convicted in 1944, he died in oblivion in 1951, leaving a considerable body of pamphleteering along with other such anti-Semitic polemicists of his time as Edouard Drumont
, Leon Daudet
, Henri Beraud
, Dominique Pierre and Rene Benjamin
.
Orphaned as a young man, Gohier took the surname of his adoptive father, and the issue of his family origin remained a lifelong personal issue. A brilliant high school student at College Stanislas
Collège Stanislas
Collège Stanislas is the name of three schools:*Collège Stanislas de Paris, France*Collège Stanislas, with two locations in Quebec, Canada*Stanislas College, The Netherlands...
in Paris, he obtained a BA and a law degree.
In 1884, he became editor of the parliamentary newspaper The Sun. In 1897, upon the foundation of the socialist daily L'Aurore
L'Aurore
L’Aurore was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola’s “J'Accuse”, concerning the Dreyfus Affair. It was published by eventual Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau.- External links:* Digitized issues of...
, its director Ernest Vaughan called Gohier to join the writing team. He became a leading employee there, along with Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
.
An indefatigable pamphleteer, Gohier - a "monarchist-unionist" - maintained a policy that was pro-Dreyfus, anti-Semitic, anti-militarist, and socialist. He took a strongly anti-military position in the Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
. Perhaps because his willingness to stand up for justice was stronger than his anti-Semitism, Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
was one of his friends. He provoked the resignation of Clemenceau from L'Aurore.
In 1898, he was prosecuted after the publication of the anti-militarist pamphlet L'armée contre la nation (The Army Against the Nation); he was ultimately acquitted. In December 1905 he was sentenced to a year in prison for his participation in an international anti-militarist action allied with anarchists.
At the turn of the century, he joined the neo-Malthusian movement alongside Paul Robin, André Girard, Clovis Hugues
Clovis Hugues
Clovis Hugues was a French poet, journalist, dramatist, novelist, and socialist activist. He wrote some of his works in Provençal and was the majoral of Félibrige.-Life:...
, Albert Lantoine, A. Daudé-Bancel, Laurent Tailhade
Laurent Tailhade
Laurent Tailhade was a French satirical poet, anarchist polemicist, essayist, and translator, active in Paris in the 1890s and early 1900s...
, and George Yvetot. Gohier edited the newspaper Grenoble The Right of the People in 1902, then The Old Friar in 1903 and the Cri de Paris in 1904, then became editor of the anti-Semitic Vieille France from 1916 to 1924. Gohier was also a leading publisher of the anti-Semitic forgery Protocol of the Elders of Zion in France, circa 1920. He also contributed to The Libertarian.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gohier supported the Vichy government. He wrote articles for the pro-fascist parfumier Francois Coty
François Coty
François Coty was a French perfume manufacturer, newspaper publisher, and founder of the fascist league Solidarité Française...
in the anti-Semitic newspaper The Pillory, wherein he denounced the "Jewish complicity" of Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
and "Judeo-Bolshevik" conspiracies.
Convicted in 1944, he died in oblivion in 1951, leaving a considerable body of pamphleteering along with other such anti-Semitic polemicists of his time as Edouard Drumont
Edouard Drumont
Édouard Adolphe Drumont was a French journalist and writer. He founded the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the newspaper La Libre Parole.- Early life :...
, Leon Daudet
Léon Daudet
Léon Daudet was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt.-Move to the right:...
, Henri Beraud
Henri Béraud
Henri Béraud was a French novelist and journalist.- Life :Henri Béraud was the son of a baker. In 1903 he began his work in journalism....
, Dominique Pierre and Rene Benjamin
René Benjamin
René Benjamin was a French author. In 1915, he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel Gaspard. In 1938, he became the first Goncourt laureate to be appointed a member of the Académie Goncourt, the jury that decides the winner of the prize....
.
Bibliographie
- Laurent Joly (2007), "Anti-Semitic and anti-Semitism in the House of Deputies under the Third Republic," Journal of Modern History, 3 / 2007 (No. 54-3), p. 63-90.
- Laurent Joly, Archives Juives, vol. 39, n° 2, 2006, p. 96-109. On Gohier and Coty.
- Pierre-André TaguieffPierre-André TaguieffPierre-André Taguieff is a philosopher and director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in an Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris laboratory, the CEVIPOF...
, Grégoire Kauffmann, Mickaël Lenoire, L'Antisémitisme de plume (1940–1944), études et documents, Paris , Berg International, 1999 ISBN2-911289-16-1. Contains a complete article of 7 pages on Gohier by Dr. Grégoire Kauffmann, p. 412-418.