Jeunesses patriotes

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A French political organization that was founded on December 18, 1924 by the right-wing extremist MP and entrepreneur Pierre Taittinger , called itself Jeunesses patriotes (roughly: patriotic youth ) .

The immediate reason for the formation of the Jeunesses patriotes was the electoral victory of the Cartel des gauches in May 1924. Organizationally and ideologically, the association was in a certain way affiliated with the Ligue des Patriotes Paul Déroulèdes formed in 1882 (as whose youth organization it was initially conceived) and is now valid - together with the smaller group Le Faisceau , founded in 1925 and appearing more as a party - as an important historical hinge between the older Catholic - monarchist right-wing radicalism of Action française and fascist groups such as the Croix-de-Feu , which formed in the second half of the 1920s emerged in large numbers. The initial political disposition of the organization differed from the “monarcho-fascism” of Action française primarily through a tacit, sometimes openly declared acceptance of the republican form of government.

In their militarized, hierarchical habitus, uniformed demeanor and actions aimed at street terror against the socialist and communist left, the Jeunesses patriotes were very similar to the Italian Fasci di combattimento , from which they also adopted the “ Roman salute ”. With their outward appearance - blue raincoat and beret ( béret ) - they established a pattern that was repeatedly adapted by right-wing extremist groups in France over the next two decades (including the Milice française ). The organization is said to have had almost 300,000 members in 1929, 90,000 in 1934 and 60,000 in 1935. The activist base consisted largely of lycéens and students, while the leading figures almost entirely came from the established upper-class or aristocratic milieu and from the military (two former majors, a colonel, a general and an admiral) and often had been in for some time monarchist and / or Catholic organizations like the Camelots du roi . Unlike the exclusively Catholic Action française , the Jeunesses patriotes also accepted Protestants as members.

Founder Pierre Taittinger giving a speech in 1936

The organization was visibly active from 1924 to 1926 - when it took over the "hall protection" at events by Paul Reynaud and Alexandre Millerand - and from 1932 to 1934. They played a central role in the riots of February 6, 1934 . In June 1936 the Jeunesses patriotes were banned by the Popular Front government, but continued to exist under changing names until 1944. Of the 24 leading functionaries in 1938, 15 held top positions in the apparatus of the Vichy regime from 1940 onwards .

literature

  • Plumyène, Jean, Lasierra, Raymond, Les fascismes français 1923–1963 , Paris 1963.
  • Rémond, René, Les droites en France , Paris 1982.
  • Winock, Michel (et al.), Histoire de l'extrême droite en France , Paris 1994.

Web links

Commons : Jeunesses patriotes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Köller, Heinz, France between Fascism and Democracy (1932–1934), Berlin 1978, p. 116.
  2. ↑ See Rémond, René, Les droites en France, Paris 1982, p. 193. Andreas Wirsching, who for years has endeavored to revive the theory of totalitarianism and its connection with Ernst Nolte's concept of fascism, claims without factual evidence and under the tacit The prerequisite for methodical failure to deal with the organizational, content-related and habitual genesis of the organization is that the propagandistic and paramilitary “political style” of the Jeunesses patriotes had “its immediate role model in the communist movement”. See Wirsching, Andreas, From World War to Civil War? Political extremism in Germany and France 1918–1933 / 1939. Berlin and Paris in comparison, Munich 1999, p. 284.
  3. ↑ See Köller, France, p. 116 and Rémond, Les droites, p. 194.
  4. ↑ See Rémond, René, France in the 20th Century. First part. 1918-1958, Stuttgart 1994, p. 122.
  5. ↑ See Soucy, Robert J., France, in: Mühlberger, Detlef (Ed.), The Social Basis of European Fascist Movements, London 1987, p. 196ff.
  6. ↑ See Grüner, Stefan, Paul Reynaud (1878–1966). Biographical studies on liberalism in France, Munich 2001, p. 113.
  7. ↑ See Jackson, Julian, La France sous l'occupation 1940–1944, Paris 2004, p. 188.