Jean Anselme Boissel (1 May 1891 – 19 October 1951) was a French architect, journalist, and

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

political activist who was convicted of collaboration with Nazi Germany. A disabled veteran of World War I, Boissel founded Le Front Franc— and the Paris-based periodical, '' Le Réveil du peuple'' ( 'Revival of the People''— which espoused anti-Masonic, anti-parliamentarian, and " antijudéo métèque" views. Originally sentenced to death after the war, Boissel died in prison.

Life

Jean Anselme Boissel was born in Bains. His father was a policeman. Boissel fought in World War I; he was severely injured and received the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. He was the architect of many buildings, mainly

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s in

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of 4,2 ...

, some of which are classified in the general inventory of French architectural heritage.

Politics

Boissel came to be heavily influenced by the ethno-racialist concepts of

Arthur de Gobineau Joseph Arthur de Gobineau (; 14 July 1816 – 13 October 1882) was a French aristocrat who is best known for helping to legitimise racism by the use of scientific racist theory and "racial demography", and for developing the theory of the Aryan ...

. He became active in political journalism and, in 1933, he published a book titled ''Les Croix le sang'' ( 'The Cross of Blood''. In 1934, he undertook the founding of a

far-right league The far-right leagues (french: ligues d'extrême droite) were several French far-right movements opposed to parliamentarism, which mainly dedicated themselves to military parades, street brawls, demonstrations and riots. The term ''ligue'' was ...

called Racisme International Fascism, later renamed Le Front Franc. Starting in March 1936, Boissel founded the Paris-based periodical ', which he edited as an organ of the Front. Boissel, Jean (right) and Streicher, Julius (left)

Boissel, Jean (right) and Streicher, Julius (left)

Boissel established contacts with the leaders of the German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

. In May 1935, he went to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

to participate in the congress of the Universal Anti-Jewish League ('' La Ligue Antijuive Universelle'') alongside

Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...

. Boissel was received by Adolf Hitler in 1936. He corresponded with Theodor Kessemeier, head of the

Deutscher Fichte-Bund The Deutscher Fichte-Bund ''(German Fichte Federation)'', often just called Fichte-Bund, was a German propaganda agency based in Hamburg. It was founded on 29 January 1914 as the "Reichsbund für Deutschtumsarbeit" ''(Reich Federation for German St ...

. Boissel was sentenced to four months in prison in 1938 for uttering

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...

s against

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

—then President of the Council—in ''Le Réveil du peuple''. The following year he defended Roger Cazy, regional delegate of the Front Franc, who was jailed for spreading Nazi propaganda in

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

. In October 1939, he was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the Germans and imprisoned by

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpentr ...

. After the

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

by German troops, he was released on 10 July 1940. In mid-1941, he became a member of the Central Committee of the

Legion of French Volunteers against Bolshevism The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (french: Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme, LVF) was a unit of the German Army during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from France. Officially desig ...

and lead its recruitment campaign. In contrast to

Marcel Déat Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 193 ...

Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...

, or

Eugène Deloncle Eugène Deloncle (20 June 1890 – 17 January 1944) was a French politician and Fascist leader, who founded of the “Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action" (CSAR), known as "The Hood" ( la Cagoule), and became a prominent Nazi collaborator ...

, Boissel took a secondary role in the collaboration. He chaired a

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...

splinter groupuscule, l'Union des forces françaises (the Union of French Forces), which organized a "

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

" to the grave of

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

polemicist

Édouard Drumont Édouard Adolphe Drumont (3 May 1844 – 5 February 1917) was a French antisemitic journalist, author and politician. He initiated the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the newspaper ''La Libre Parole''. ...

in February 1943. Under the occupation, Boissel resumed leadership of the Front, and revived ''Le Réveil du peuple'' in 1943 (its last issue was on 16 August 1944). After the

liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

by Allied troops in 1944, he was arrested for collaboration with the Nazis and sentenced to death on 28 June 1946. His property was confiscated and he was removed from the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. His sentence was commuted on December 2. He died in prison on 19 October 1951.

Architectural achievements

Poste du Touquet

Boissel designed the Hôtel des postes du Touquet-Paris-Plage, which functions as a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of 4, ...

(photos

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

and

). Boissel won a competition organized by the municipality (beating out the architects Louis Quetelart and ). Boissel wanted to preserve the memory that it was built on the site of the former Church of Saint-Jean, with the inclusion of a small

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

. It was built in 1927 by the Delcourt Brothers. Contributors to the project included the

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

Delassus, and the

glass painter Painted glass refers to two different techniques of decorating glass, both more precisely known by other terms. Firstly, and more correctly, it means enamelled glass, normally relatively small vessels which have been painted with preparations of ...

Jeannin Gaëtan. It was designated a

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

on 12 May 1997.

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s

*Banco *Blanc-Mesnil *Carte Blanche *Clarendon House *Forêt bleue *Loin des flots (renamed Oxer in 1946). Built around 1925.

Oxer Various obstacles are found in competitive sports involving horse jumping. These include show jumping, hunter, and the cross-country phase of the equestrian discipline of eventing. The size and type of obstacles vary depending on the course and ...

is a term for an obstacle on a

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

; this name was chosen by the owner of the villa, a lover of horse riding. *Mamette *La Marotte (renamed Le Manoir des Pins). Built in the early 20th century. *L'Oiseau bleu *Pare-Brise *Sable d'Or *Sainte-Thérèse

In popular culture

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ''Pri ...

's 1957 novel ''

Castle to Castle ''Castle to Castle'' is the English title of the 1957 novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, titled in French ''D'un château l'autre''. The book features Céline's experiences in exile with the Vichy French government at Sigmaringen, Germany, towards ...

'', the character Neuneuil is thought to be based on Boissel.

Works

*''Les Croix de sang'' ( 'The Cross of Blood'', special printing by Éditions Rénovation, 1933. 255-page book. New edition under the title: ''Les Croix de sang: Recueil d'opinions'' ( 'The Cross of Blood: Collection of Opinions'', Paris: Steff, 1934. 16-page booklet. *''Le juif, poison mortel: Conférence donnée... le 4 janvier 1935'' ( 'The Jew, Deadly Poison: Lecture... on 4 January 1935'', Impr. du Cantal, 1935. 40-page booklet. *''Die Blutkreuzler: Ein Buch v. Helden, Konjunkturrittern, Idealisten'' ( 'The Bloodcrosser: A Book of Heroes, Economic-Knights, Idealists'', O. F. Hübner, 1938. 120-page booklet. *''L'Appel à la France: lancé par Jean Boissel le 30 juin 1938'' ( 'Call to France: Launched from Jean Boissel on 30 June 1938'', Paris: Éditions du ''Réveil du peuple'', 1941. 8-page pamphlet. *''Charte du Front Franc'' ( 'Charter of the Front Franc'', précédée d'un Appel à la France, introduction de A. Féval, Paris: Éditions du ''Réveil du peuple'', 1941 *''La Crise, oeuvre juive: manière de la conjurer'' ( 'The Depression, Jewish Work: How to Avert It'', Éditions du ''Réveil du peuple'', 1941. 24-page pamphlet. *''Mon discours de Nüremberg (9 mai 1935): "la paix des anciens combattants'' ( 'My Nuremberg speech (9 May 1935): "The Peace Veterans"'', with

Alphonse de Châteaubriant Alphonse Van Bredenbeck de Châteaubriant (; 25 March 1877 – 2 May 1951) was a French writer who won the Prix Goncourt in 1911 for his novel ''Monsieur de Lourdines'' and Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française for ''La Brière'' in 1923. ...

, Éditions du ''Réveil du peuple'', 1941. 27-page pamphlet. *''Souvenirs de mes prisons'' ( 'Memories of My Prisons'', foreword by Roger Cazy, Paris: Éditions du ''Réveil du peuple'', 1941.

Life

Politics

Architectural achievements

Poste du Touquet

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s

In popular culture

Works

References

Further reading

Life

Politics

Architectural achievements

Poste du Touquet

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...s

In popular culture

Works

References

Further reading

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
s