Fascism, Liberalism And Europeanism In The Political Thought Of Bertrand de Jouvenel And Alfred Fabre-Luce

289 Pages·2017·2.062 MB·English

by  Daniel Knegt

5 NIOD STUDIES ON WAR, HOLOCAUST, AND GENOCIDE
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Fascism, Liberalism and Europeanism in the Political Thought of
Bertrand de Jouvenel and Alfred Fabre-Luce
NIOD Studies on War, Holocaust,
and Genocide
NIOD Studies on War, Holocaust, and Genocide is an English-language series
with peer-reviewed scholarly work on the impact of war, the Holocaust, and
genocide on twentieth-century and contemporary societies, covering a broad
range of historical approaches in a global context, and from diverse disciplinary
perspectives.
Series Editors
Karel Berkhoff, NIOD
Thijs Bouwknegt, NIOD
Peter Keppy, NIOD
Ingrid de Zwarte, NIOD and University of Amsterdam
International Advisory Board
Frank Bajohr, Center for Holocaust Studies, Munich
Joan Beaumont, Australian National University
Bruno De Wever, Ghent University
William H. Frederick, Ohio University
Susan R. Grayzel, The University of Mississippi
Wendy Lower, Claremont McKenna College
Fascism, Liberalism and Europeanism
in the Political Thought of Bertrand
de Jouvenel and Alfred Fabre-Luce
Daniel Knegt
Amsterdam University Press
This book has been published with a financial subsidy from the
European University Institute.
Cover illustration: Pont de la Concorde and Palais Bourbon, seat of the French parliament, in
July 1941
Source: Scherl / Bundesarchiv
Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden
Typesetting: Crius Group, Hulshout
Amsterdam University Press English-language titles are distributed in the US and Canada by
the University of Chicago Press.
isbn 978 94 6298 333 5
e-isbn 978 90 4853 330 5 (pdf)
doi 10.5117/9789462983335
nur 686 / 689
Creative Commons License CC BY NC ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0)
The author / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2017
Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of
this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).
Dieser Krieg ist in Wirklichkeit eine Revolution. Die alte soziale Ordnung,
das alte politische Regime sind am Zusammenstürzen. Hitler stellt eine
Art elementarer oder dämonischer Kraft dar, die eine vermutlich not-
wendig gewordene Zerstörungsarbeit verrichtet… Ob Hitler die politische
Einheit Europas zustande bringen wird, läßt sich nicht voraussagen;
wahrscheinlich ist er vor allem ein Zerstörer, der Hindernisse aus dem
Wege schafft.
Hendrik de Man, De Panne, 20 May 1940
All we need is one world, one vision
One flesh, one bone
One true religion
One race, one hope
One real decision
Wowowowowo woh yeah oh yeah oh yeah
Queen, ‘One Vision’ (1985)
Weil du Probleme hast, die keinen interessieren
Weil du Schiss vor schmusen has, bist du ein Faschist
Du musst deinen Selbsthass nicht auf andere projizieren
Damit keiner merkt, was für ein lieber Kerl du bist.
Die Ärzte, ‘Schrei nach Liebe’ (1993)

Table of Contents
Preface 9
List of Abbreviations 11
Introduction: Fascism in France and Beyond 13
Intellectual Fascism? 13
Between Immunity and Pan-Fascism 17
New Perspectives 27
Europeanism, Fascism and Neoliberalism 34
1 ‘En Faisant l’Europe’: Internationalism and the Fascist Drift 45
‘La Nouvelle Génération Européenne’: Generational Politics in
1920s France 45
Reconciliation with Germany at All Costs? 53
Metaphysical Europeanism 61
2 Planning, Fascism and the State: 1930-1939 69
From Liberalism to ‘l’Économie Dirigée’ 69
A National and Social Revolution 74
Party Intellectuals at the Service of Fascism 84
3 Facing a Fascist Europe: 1939-1943 95
Defeat and Readjustment 95
Tracing the Origins of Defeat 105
‘On the Threshold of a New World’ 118
New Rulers, Old Acquaintances 126
Collaboration and Attentisme 137
4 A European Revolution?: Liberation and the Post-War
Extreme Right 159
Liberation and Persecution 159
Exile and Exclusion 174
‘Beyond Nazism’: Monarchism and the Heritage of Fascism 183
Reinventing the Extreme Right 193
Europeanism, Federalism and the Reconfiguration of the Extreme
Right 209
5 Europeanism, Neoliberalism and the Cold War 221
On Private Life and Facial Hair 221
On Power: Pessimism, Aristocracy and the Distrust of Democracy 226
A Mountain in Switzerland: Neoliberalism and the Mont Pèlerin
Society 235
‘This General Feeling of Open Conspiracy’ 248
Conclusion: From the Sohlberg to Mont Pèlerin 259
Bibliography 267
Index 281
List of Figures
Figure 1 Alfred Fabre-Luce and Bertrand de Jouvenel, around 1930 52
Figure 2 Damage caused by the 6 February riots: wrecked
policemen’s bikes hung to a bus stop at the Place de la
Madeleine, Paris 76
Figure 3 Jacques Doriot speaking at the founding ceremony of
the PPF, 28 June 1936 85
Figure 4 Jacques Doriot delivering a speech at a PPF rally in
Marseille, 27 July 1936 89
Figure 5 Bertrand de Jouvenel in 1938 91
Figure 6 V ictory parade of the Wehrmacht in Paris, 14 June 1940.
Infantry troops on the Avenue Foch, in front of Alfred
Fabre-Luce’s house 104
Figure 7 Philippe Pétain, Otto Abetz and François Darlan in
Vichy, 18 November 1941 129
Figure 8 Reception at the German Institute in Paris, June 1941.
Alfred Fabre-Luce is speaking with Winifred Wagner;
in the background are Jean-Louis Vaudoyer and Otto
Abetz; and on the right is Herbert von Karajan listen-
ing to Karl Theo Zeitschel. 149
Figure 9 Jewish prisoners in the Drancy transition camp during
the occupation 168
Figure 10 Alfred Fabre-Luce during his trial at the Chambre
Civique, 31 May 1949 181
Figure 11 Bertrand de Jouvenel with beard, in 1973 224
Figure 12 The view on Vevey and Saint-Saphorin from Mont
Pèlerin, 2015 242
Preface
More than 70 years after the end of its era, fascism continues to haunt our
political and cultural imagination. It is the classic Hollywood villain, the
standard ingredient of dystopian science fiction and a multi-use political
swear word. Its more attractive elements have permeated modern pop cul-
ture, and its symbolism survives in brands, emblems and music. Recently, it
has also made its comeback in headlines of the international press. Although
not primarily motivated by present-day concerns, this study was inspired
by the lasting relevance of fascism. It sets out to explore this relevance,
especially in relation to two other prominent modern political phenomena:
Europeanism and neoliberalism.
This book is a reworked, updated and partially extended version of the
doctoral thesis I defended at the European University Institute in November
2015. As it is the result of years of research in different countries, I owe
gratitude to more people than I can possibly mention on these pages. First,
I want to thank my supervisor Dirk Moses and my second reader Laura
Lee Downs, who have both been crucial for the success of my thesis. I also
express my gratitude to Professors Peter Romijn and Kevin Passmore, and to
Heinz-Gerhardt Haupt, Kiran Klaus Patel, Anthony La Vopa and everybody
working at the EUI history department, in whose midst it has been a true
pleasure to pursue my research. During my MA years at the University of
Amsterdam (UvA), Professor Frits Boterman gave me the guidance, inspira-
tion, enthusiasm and historical Bildung that made it possible for me to
imagine becoming a historical researcher in the first place.
My Florence years would never have been so pleasurable without the
company of my Florentine friends, with whom I have shared so many
unforgettable moments. Besides being a ‘community of scholars’, the EUI is
also a great place because it is an endlessly inspiring and energising melting
pot at all kinds of less scholarly levels. With Jonas, Gabriele and Karena, I
have thrown myself down snowy mountain slopes, discovered unknown
islands and cycled through the impressive landscapes of the Mugello and
the Chianti. With Robrecht, I shared so many drinks, hikes, crappy football
games, serious thoughts and laughs that I can’t wait for the next Benelux
meeting with him, Griet and of course little Kasper and Suzanne. I have
also experienced countless memorable moments with Matti, Vera, Alan,
Sani, Kaarlo, Pol, Bart, Roel, Tommaso, Andrea, Brian, Carolina and so
many others, and I hope that official and unofficial occasions will keep
bringing us together.