Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac
| Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 January 1917 Colombes, France |
| Died |
8 April 2015 (aged 98) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Historian |
Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac (22 January 1917 – 8 April 2015) was a member of the Free French Forces in World War II and the France Libre organization based in London. Later he served as a civil servant and became known as an historian.[1] During World War II he directed the Free French propaganda radio broadcasts to Europe.[2] After the war he helped create France's state-owned publishing house, La Documentation Française.[2]
Early life
Crémieux was born to a middle class Jewish family in the Colombes suburb of Paris. His political awareness was raised in high school by his uncle Benjamin Crémieux (1888-1944), a literay critic, and through him Crémieux met and was influenced by the anti-authoritarian surrealism of André Malraux and the liberal internationalism of Stefan Zweig. He graduated from the Lycée Condorcet in 1933. But it was first during a school vacation in 1931 that he visited Germany and in subsequent trips saw first-hand the work of the Nazi Party. In 1935 he joined, and became the youngest member of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes (CVIA) which spearheaded the unification of left-wing politics in France.[3]
Honours
2016: Knight Grand Cross in the Legion of Honour.[4]
Notes and references
- ↑ "Mort de Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac, grande voix de la France libre". Le Monde (in French).
- 1 2 Thomas, Eve (14 April 2015). "Jean-Louis Cremieux-Brilhac: Resistance activist and historian who directed Free France radio broadcasts from wartime London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015.
- ↑ de Saint Victor, Jacques (9 April 2015). "L'historien et résistant Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac est mort". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 15 April 2015.
- ↑ http://www.legiondhonneur.fr/sites/default/files/promotion/lh_20150101.pdf