Philippe Henriot (7 January 1889 – 28 June 1944) was a French poet, journalist, politician, and minister in the French government at

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

, where he directed propaganda broadcasts. He also joined the Milice part-time.

Career

Philippe Henriot, a devout Roman Catholic, and poet who had written several books of poetry during the early 1920s, became politically active during the

Republican Federation The Republican Federation (french: Fédération républicaine, FR) was the largest conservative party during the French Third Republic, gathering together the progressive Orléanists rallied to the Republic. Founded in November 1903, the par ...

, and was elected to the Third Republic's Chamber of Deputies for the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,6 ...

department in 1932 and 1936. He became "a committed member of the Catholic nationalist right".Chadwick, K. (2003) 'A Broad Church: French Catholics and National-Socialist Germany' In Atkin, N. & Tallett, F. (ed). ''The Right in France: From Revolution to Le Pen''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 224. By the mid-1930s his anti-republican prejudices made him a natural opponent of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

and his speeches showed him to be an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

anti-Semite 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 ...

, Anti-Freemasonry, and against the

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

. In 1936 General de Castelnau, the aristocratic leader of the

National Catholic Federation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, described Henriot as "an ardent defender of religion, the family and society." At the beginning of World War II, he was strongly anti-German. However, in 1941 Henriot began to support

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

after it invaded the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, as he hoped for the defeat of Communism, believing that Bolshevism was the enemy of Christianity.Chadwick, p. 225.

Propagandist

In 1940, after the surrender of France to Germany, Henriot became active as a journalist working for the French government headed by Philippe Pétain which had removed to

. In December 1943 he was appointed Secretary of State for Information.Hellman, p. 192. During his career he created programs and broadcast through

Radio Paris Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II. Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering Fren ...

, becoming the government's spokesman. He developed a war of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

against the Free French Forces and the BBC; whose spokesmen were Pierre Dac and Maurice Schumann. Seeking to shape the perceptions of the French government and German occupation, and to destroy popular support for the

Résistance 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 ...

, Henriot was given the nickname of the "French

Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

". He broadcast twice daily on Radio-Vichy, "repeatedly and eloquently attacking all those he considered lukewarm in their attitude to collaboration and calling on all good Catholics to support the German cause in the fight against communism." He continued the propaganda programmes after the Germans were forced, due to the new Allied presence in North Africa, to extend their military occupation in 1942 over Southern France, formerly the Free Zone controlled by the French government at Vichy. He warned the French people about any association with the Allies or "terrorists" (resistance groups) and countered the arguments of the Free French Forces broadcasting from the BBC. He wrote and delivered 270 broadcasts on Radio Vichy in a "mesmerising rhetoric and delivery" ... as a "huge media star", according to one source. "There is no doubt Henriot's broadcasts were influential, attracting a large and diverse audience." It was said that "Henriot is listened to by everyone, enemies or supporters. Families shift their meal times so as not to miss him. There is no-one left in the street at the time he speaks." On 6 January 1944, Henriot was appointed as the French Minister of Information and Propaganda. In 1943, Henriot joined the

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

Milice "with a deep-seated conviction that Christian civilisation was engaged in a life and death struggle against Bolshevism."

Assassination

Henriot was a natural target for the

and on 28 June 1944, in the Ministry building where he lived, he was assassinated by a group of COMAC members of the

Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The netwo ...

, an organisation designated by the French government at Vichy as "terrorists". Disguised as members of the Milice, they had persuaded him to open his door. In retaliation, the Milice assassinated

Georges Mandel Georges Mandel (5 June 1885 – 7 July 1944) was a French journalist, politician, and French Resistance leader. Early life Born Louis George Rothschild in Chatou, Yvelines, he was the son of a tailor and his wife. His family was Jewish, originally ...

, a strong opponent of

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

. Henriot was afforded a state funeral in Paris, presided over by

Cardinal Suhard Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, th ...

in Notre Dame Cathedral. His coffin was placed, surrounded by French flags and flowers, in front of the Hôtel de Ville, where thousands filed past to mourn him – less than two months before the

Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Ger ...

References

External links

Website Philippe Henriot

BBC History Magazine's Podcast (July 2010)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henriot, Philippe 1889 births 1944 deaths Writers from Reims Politicians from Reims Republican Federation politicians Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic People of Vichy France French fascists French propagandists French anti-communists French male non-fiction writers French collaborators with Nazi Germany Assassinated French politicians People murdered in Paris Christian fascists 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers 1944 murders in France 1940s murders in Paris