André Castelot

André Castelot (born January 23, 1911 in Antwerp , Belgium , † July 18, 2004 in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France ; born under the name André Storms ) was a French historian .

Life

After successfully studying in Paris, he took the name of his mother, Gabrielle Castelot. She was a well-read and educated French woman who introduced her son to history at an early age by visiting the Palace of Versailles with him .

During the occupation of France (1940-1944) by the Germans , he collaborated by working for the political and literary magazine La Gerbe des Vichy regime , which was published by the staunch collaborator Alphonse de Châteaubriant . After the war, Châteaubriant was convicted for his role during the occupation, but André Castelot was not.

In 1947 Castelot founded and directed the Présence de l'Histoire ( Librarie académique Perrin ) book series . He described himself as a "man of letters and journalist since 1935" and wrote for numerous daily newspapers and magazines such as Le Figaro , le Midi libre , Historia and Histoire Magazine . Especially in the basement of his country house in Port-Mort, a village on the Eure near Gaillon , he found the peace and quiet to write.

He wrote over 65 biographies and historical studies on great historical figures, especially those of the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries. He was often supported by his friend Alain Decaux , with whom he founded the weekly radio program La Tribune de l'Histoire (German (free): "Forum of History"), which was broadcast on France Inter until its end in 1951 1997 achieved unmatched audience rates. The two historians also presented the program La caméra explore le temps (German: "The camera explores time") on French television from 1957 to 1966 .

Castelot also wrote plays, which u. a. were performed in Chambord and Compiègne . In 1984 he performed a play under the name François 1er le Magnifique (English: Franz I the Magnificent ) in the Palais Royal . For the plays Jésus était son nom (German: "Jesus was his name") and Je m'appelais Marie-Antoinette (German: "My name was Marie Antoinette ") he also worked with the director and actor Robert Hossein .

During an extensive search he discovered at a depot in Vienna a suitcase containing about 9,000 letters to the Empress Marie-Louise , wife of Napoleon I , contained.

Castelot was also a member of the support committee for the movement l'Unité capétienne (Eng .: " Capetian Unity").

Awards

Castelot was an officer in the Legion of Honor , commander of the ordre du Mérite and the Belgian Order of Leopold . His other awards include the “Grand Prix d'Histoire” of the Académie française for his life's work.

Web links

• Literature by and about André Castelot in the catalog of the German National Library