Pierre Broué

Pierre Broué
Born 1926
Privas, Ardèche, France
Died July 27, 2005
Grenoble, France
Cause of death Prostate cancer
Nationality French
Years active 1936–2005
Known for Historian of Leon Trotsky, militant Trotskyist revolutionary
Notable work La Révolution Et La Guerre D'Espagne (1961), Trotsky (1988), Cahiers Leon Trotsky
Movement Fourth International
Spouse(s) three spouses includng Andrée (third)
Children five including Michel Broué

Pierre Broué (May 8, 1926 – July 27, 2005) was a French historian and militant Trotskyist revolutionary. His work covers various topics including the history of the Bolshevik Party, the Spanish Revolution and biographical works on Leon Trotsky. "Broué was that rare combination, a scholar-militant."[1][2][3][4]

Background

Broué was born in Privas, Ardèche, around 1926.[4]

His father was a civil servant and mother a school-teacher: they had "strong republican views."[1]

Career

In 1936, Broué supported a French general strike as well as the Spanish Republic.[1]

By 1940, with Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia aligned, he helped organize a Communist party cell at the Lycée Henri IV in Paris. The French Communist Party expelled these organizers; they said Broué suffered from Trotskyism. The accusation piqued his interest, and he began reading about Trotsky from the private library of teacher Élie Reynier.[1][4][4]

With the Party, he fought in the French resistance against Nazi occupiers during Second World War.[2][4]

When Joseph Stalin disbanded the Comintern in 1943, Broué became strongly critical of Stalinism, resigning from the FCP as a result. By 1944, he became a Trotskyist, joined the Fourth International, and remained a Trotskyist for the rest of his life.[1][3][4]

In 1952, he followed Pierre Lambert during a split in the movement and continued as a "Lambertist" for many years.[4]

He was active in the Internationalist Communist Party and then the Internationalist Communist Organisation before leaving in 1989.[1][2][4]

He became a secondary school teacher, until 1965 when he became lecturer in history at the University of Grenoble and then professor.[1][3][4]

In 1977 he set up the Trotsky Institute, to publish in French all of Trotsky's writings (so far, 27 volumes). He also founded and edited the Cahiers Léon Trotsky, devoted to the history of Trotskyism.[1][4]

Before 2003 and his death he was a close collaborator and supporter of the International Marxist Tendency.[2]

Personal and death

Broué married three times. His third wife Andrée died in 1989 from cancer.[1]

Former student Jean-Pierre Juy was a long-time friend. Alan Woods was a late-life friend and admirer.[2][3]

Broué died in Grenoble, France, in his sleep in the early hours July 27, 2005, age 79. He had prostate cancer. Five children survived him: two sons and three daughters.[1]

His son Michel Broué is a notable mathematician.[1]

Works

At his death, the Guardian explained, "The basic inspiration for Broué's books was the desire to explain Stalinism: what went wrong with the Communist movement."[1]

His book Trotsky (1988) counters Isaac Deutscher work. He worked three years at Harvard, to which Trotsky had sold his papers in 1940: Broué and assistants were the first researchers to use them since the archive opened in 1980.[1] Alan Woods has called it "a very healthy antidote to the superficial and pretentious philistinism of Isaac Deutscher."[2][4]

The recent republication of Trotsky's autobiography, My Life, has a foreword written by Broué.

Books written

The U.S. Library of Congress lists the following books.

Books contributed, edited, translated

The U.S. Library of Congress lists the following books.

Articles in Revolutionary History

Marxists' Internet Archives lists the following articles by Broué that appeared in Revolutionary History:

Legacy

"Broué opened the way for a new, non-defensive history of the early years of international Communism."[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Eaude, Michael (30 August 2005). "Obituary: Pierre Broué, Revolutionary historian who probed Stalinism". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Woods, Alan (1 August 2005). "In Memory of Pierre Broué (1926-2005)". In Defence of Marxism. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Birchall, Ian (17 October 2005). "Pierre Broué: A rare combination". International Socialism. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Bensaïd, Daniel (August 2005). "Pierre Broué (1926-2005), historien militant". DanielBenSaid.org. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.