Pierre Broué (8 May 1926 – 27 July 2005) was a French historian and
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
revolutionary militant whose work covers the history of the
Bolshevik Party
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.
Career
In 1936, Broué supported a French general strike as well as the Spanish Republic.
By 1940, with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in a non-aggression pact, he helped organize a Communist Party cell at the
Lycée Henri IV
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
in Paris. The
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
expelled the organizers and said that Broué suffered from Trotskyism. The accusation piqued his interest, and he began reading about Trotsky from the private library of the teacher Élie Reynier.
With the party, he fought in the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
against the German occupiers during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
When
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
disbanded the
Comintern
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
in 1943, Broué became strongly critical of
Stalinism
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...
and resigned from the party as a result. By 1944, he became a Trotskyist and joined the
Fourth International
The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of wor ...
, and he remained a Trotskyist for the rest of his life.
In 1952, he followed
Pierre Lambert
:
Pierre Lambert (real name Pierre Boussel; June 9, 1920 – January 16, 2008) was a French Trotskyist leader, who for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste (CCI) which founded the Parti d ...
during a split in the movement and continued as a "Lambertist" for many years.
He was active in the
Internationalist Communist Party Internationalist Communist Party may refer to:
* Internationalist Communist Party (France)
The Internationalist Communist Party (french: Parti Communiste Internationaliste, PCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. It was the name taken ...
and then the
Internationalist Communist Organisation The Internationalist Communist Organisation (french: Organisation Communiste Internationaliste, OCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. Its successor was the Internationalist Communist Current of the Workers Party.
History Origins
The gr ...
before he was expelled in 1989.
He became a secondary school teacher until 1965, when he became lecturer in history at the
University of Grenoble
The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...
and then professor.
In 1977, he set up the Trotsky Institute to publish in French all of Trotsky's writings (27 volumes have been published). He also founded and edited the '' Cahiers Léon Trotsky'', devoted to the history of Trotskyism.
Between 2003 and his death, he was a close collaborator and supporter of the
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is an international Trotskyist political tendency founded by Ted Grant and his supporters following their break with the Committee for a Workers' International in 1992. The organization's website, Marxi ...
.
Personal life
Broué married three times. His third wife, Andrée, died in 1989 from cancer.
The former student Jean-Pierre Juy was a long-time friend. Alan Woods was a friend and admirer late in his life.
Broué died in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, France, in his sleep in the early hours of July 27, 2005, at the age of 79 from
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
. Five children survived him: two sons and three daughters.
His son
Michel Broué
Michel Broué (born 28 October 1946) is a French mathematician. He holds a chair at Paris Diderot University. Broué has made contributions to algebraic geometry and representation theory.
In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical ...
is a notable mathematician.
Works
The basic inspiration for Broué's books was his desire to explain Stalinism.
His book ''Trotsky'' (1988) counters the work of
Isaac Deutscher
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
. He worked for 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.Alan Woods has called it "a very healthy antidote to the superficial and pretentious philistinism of Isaac Deutscher".
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.
* ''Revolución y la guerra de España'' (with Émile Témime), translated by Francisco González Aramburo (1962)
* ''Parti bolchévique; histoire du P. C. de l'.U.R.S.S.'' (1963)
* ''Procès de Moscou'' (1964)
* ''Trotsky y la Guerra Civil española'' (1966)
* ''Révolution en Allemagne, 1917-1923'' (1971)
* ''Parti bolchevique, histoire du P.C. de l'U.R.S.S.'' (1972)
* ''Revolution and the civil war in Spain'' by Pierre Broué and Emile Témime; translated by Tony White (1972)
* ''Révolution espagnole (1931-1939)'' (1973)
* ''Révolution espagnole (1931-1939)'' (1977)
* ''Assassinat de Trotsky : 1940'' (1980)
* ''Trotsky'' (1988)
* ''Quand le peuple révoque le président : le Brésil de l'affaire Collor'': Pierre Broué ; préface de Luis Favre ; annexe de Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva (1993)
* ''Histoire de l'Internationale communiste: 1919-1943'' (1997)
* ''Léon Sedov, fils de Trotsky, victime de Staline'' (1993)
* ''Rakovsky, ou, La révolution dans tous les pays'' (1996)
* ''Histoire de l'Internationale communiste : 1919-1943'' (1997)
* ''Communistes contre Staline: massacre d'une génération'' (2003)
* ''German Revolution, 1917-1923'', translated by John Archer, edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce; introduction by Eric D. Weitz (2005)
* ''Revolution and the Civil War in Spain'' with Émile Témime, translated by Tony White (2008)
Books contributed, edited, translated
The U.S. Library of Congress lists the following books.
* ''Question chinoise dans l'Internationale communiste (1926-1927)'': Rassemblés et présentés par Pierre Broué, textes de Staline, Trotsky, Martynov, Zinoviev (1965)
* ''Pologne-Hongrie 1956 ou le Printemps en octobre'': textes choisis et traduits sous la direction de Jean-Jacques Marie et Balazs Nagy; présentés par Pierre Broué (1966)
* ''Mouvement communiste en France (1919-1939)'' par Léon Trotsky: textes choisis et présentés par Pierre Broué (1967)
* ''Syndicalisme dans l'enseignement, histoire de la Fédération de l'enseignement, des origines à l'unification de 1935'' par François Bernard, Louis Bouët,
Maurice Dommanget
Maurice Dommanget (1888–1976) was a French historian of labor and socialist movements.
Daniel Guérin described Dommanget as "renowned for his tireless erudition".
References
1888 births
1976 deaths
20th-century French historian ...
, Gilbert Serret; présentation et notes de Pierre Broué (1968)
* ''A. B. C. du communisme'' par Nikolaĭ Ivanovich Boukharine, E. Préobrajenski; préface de Pierre Broué (1968)
* ''Écrits à Prague sous la censure (août 1968-juin 1969)'' Textes choisis et présentés par Pierre Broué. Traduction de Helena Baudesson Weinfurtová, Annie Bardet tKarel Košťál (1973)
* ''Congrès de l'Internationale communiste'': Textes intégraux publiés sous la direction de Pierre Broué. Présentation et introd. de P. Broué. Traduction de l'allemand de Jean-Marie Brohm. Traduction du russe de Jacques Mas. (1974)
* ''Question chinoise dans l'Internationale communiste : 1926-1927'': textes de Boukharine, Chen Du-xiu, Joffé, Mandalian ... tc. thèses de l'Internationale communiste, rapport secret de délégués de l'I.C. ; rassemblés et présentés par Pierre Broué (1976)
* ''Œuvres / Léon Trotsky'': publiées sous la direction de Pierre Broué (1978)
* ''Du premier au deuxième congrès de l'Internationale communiste, mars 1919-juillet 1920'': textes publiés sous la direction de Pierre Broué ; présentation, introd. et notes de P. Broué ; traduction de Jacqueline Bois, Jean-Marie Brohm, Andréas (1979)
* ''Trotsky / iconographie ... de David King''; texte de Pierre Broué (1979)
* ''Metodología histórica de la guerra y revolución españolas'' Pierre Broué, Ronald Fraser y Pierre Vilar; traducción, Emilio Olcina Aya, Pilar López y Yolanda Marco (1980)
* ''Correspondance, 1929-1939 / Alfred et Marguerite Rosmer, Lev Davidovitch Trotsky'': lettres choisies, présentées et annotées par Pierre Broué, avec la collaboration de Gérard Roche (1982)
* ''Contributions à l'histoire du trotskysme en Allemagne'' Pierre Broué, Maurice Stobnicer (1983)
* ''Ponencias presentadas al Coloquio Internacional sobre la IIa República Española'': Pierre Broué et al.; prólogo de Enrique Tierno Galván (1983)
* ''Guerre d'Espagne au cinéma'' par Marcel Oms; préface de Pierre Broué (1986)
* ''Na contracorrente da história : documentos da Liga Comunista Internacionalista (1930-1933)'': Fulvio Abramo, Dainis Karepovs, orgs. .e. organizadores; prefácio, Pierre Broué (1987)
* ''Trotzkismus in Deutschland bis 1933: für die Arbeitereinheitsfront zur Abwehr des Faschismus'' von Annegret Schüle mit ''Die deutsche Linke und die russische Opposition 1926-1928'' von Pierre Broué (1989)
* ''Meurtres au maquis'' par Pierre Broué, Raymond Vacheron; en collaboration avec Alain Dugrand (1997)
* ''Mémoires sur la dernière guerre de l'Amérique septentrionale entre la France et l'Angleterre'' par Pierre Pouchot: texte établi par Catherine Broué et Pierre Broué (2003)
* ''Arts de l'équitation dans l'Europe de la Renaissance'': VIe Colloque de l'École nationale d'équitation, au Château d'Oiron, 4 et 5 octobre 2002; sous la direction de Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey et de Monique Chatenet (2009)
* ''Na contracorrente da História: documentos do trotskismo brasileiro (1930-1940)'': Organizadores, Fulvio Abramo, Dainis Karepovs; prefácio, Pierre Broué (2015)
Articles in Revolutionary History
Marxists' Internet Archives lists the following articles by Broué that appeared in ''Revolutionary History'':
* "Remarks on the History of the Bolshevik Party" (1964)
* Spartacism, Bolshevism and Ultra-Leftism in Face of the Problems of the Proletarian Revolution in Germany (1918–1923)" (1972)
* "Walter Held" (1979)
* "Rudolf Klement" (1979)
* "The Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire" (1982)
* "Bolivia, 9 April 1952: A Forgotten ‘February Revolution’?" (1983)
* "Chen Duxiu and the Fourth International, 1937–1942" (1983)
* "The Socialist Youth in Spain (1934–1936) – When Carrillo was a Leftist" (1983)
* "The German Left and the Russian Opposition (1926–28)" (1985)
* "How Trotsky and the Trotskyists confronted the Second World War" (1985)
* "The Italian Communist Party, the War and the Revolution" (1987)
* "The Bolshevik-Leninist Faction" (1988)
* "Kurt Landau" (1988)
* "The ‘May Days’ of 1937 in Barcelona" (1988)
* "Van Heijenoort – A Trotskyist in New York in the Second World War" (1990)
* "In Germany for the International" (1993)
* "Trotskyism in Poland" (1996)
* "Five Years On" (1997)
See also
*
Michel Broué
Michel Broué (born 28 October 1946) is a French mathematician. He holds a chair at Paris Diderot University. Broué has made contributions to algebraic geometry and representation theory.
In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical ...
Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels ...
.
The Lubitz TrotskyanaNet provides a separate page on Pierre Broué with detailed information including a biographical sketch and a bibliography
by Michael Eaude, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
Ian Birchall
Ian Birchall (born 1939) is a British Marxist historian and translator, a former member of the Socialist Workers Party and author of numerous articles and books, particularly relating to the French Left. Formerly Senior Lecturer in French at Mi ...