Robert Poulet (4 September 1893 – 6 October 1989) was a Belgian writer, literary critic and journalist. Politically he was a Maurras-inspired integral nationalist who became associated with 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 ...

newspaper during the occupation of Belgium by

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 ...

Literature

Educated at the Faculté des Mines in his hometown, Poulet served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and before taking odd jobs in Belgium and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He began writing for a number of literary reviews in the 1920s and published his first novel, the surrealist ''Handji'', in 1931. He became a part of the 'Groupe du Lundi' that built up around

Franz Hellens Franz Hellens, born Frédéric van Ermengem (8 September 1881, in Brussels – 20 January 1972, in Brussels) was a prolific Belgian novelist, poet and critic. Although of Flemish descent, he wrote entirely in French, and lived in Paris from 1947 t ...

which attacked the regional novels prevalent in France at the time and instead endorsed magic realism. As a literary critic he became noted for his rejection of female authors, dismissing them as ''midinettes en diable''.

Politics

Poulet was involved in politics during the early 1930s when he was a member of the

corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

study group ''Réaction''.David Littlejohn, '' The Patriotic Traitors'', London: Heinemann, 1972, p. 152 Although not altogether enamoured of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

he became the 'political director' of ''Le Nouveau Journal'', a collaborationist paper launched by Paul Colin in October 1940. A strong supporter of Belgian independence, he was heavily influenced by

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

and the '' Action Française'' and by 1941 was in agreement with Raymond de Becker that a corporatist, authoritarian party of state should be created. His idea was soon abandoned however when the Nazis decide to instead back Léon Degrelle and Rexism, a philosophy to which Poulet was opposed. Despite all of this Poulet never opposed the Nazis and frequently wrote in support of them during his time at ''Le Nouveau Journal''. He also praised them in their war against 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 national ...

due to his own strict

anti-communism 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 ...

. He was sentenced to death in October 1945 for collaboration but, after serving six years imprisonment, ostensibly on 'death row', he was released and allowed to return to France.

Later years

Following his move to France he published a number of autobiographical novels in which he sought to justify his war-time collaboration as merely trying to safeguard the monarchy and Belgian independence. He would also act as a reader at Éditions Denoël and Plon, as well as writing for the

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 ...

journal '' Rivarol'', the Catholic paper ''Présent'' and ''Ecrits de Paris'', amongst other publications.King, ''Rereading Camara Laye'', p. 138 He was a close friend and supporter of

Robert Faurisson Robert Faurisson (; born Robert Faurisson Aitken; 25 January 1929 – 21 October 2018) was a British-born French academic who became best known for Holocaust denial. Faurisson generated much controversy with a number of articles published in th ...

and joined him in advocating

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

.Mark McKinney, ''History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels'', p. 38 Despite Poulet's controversial opinions, famed ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

'' cartoonist Hergé, who worked for Poulet during the war, maintained a lifelong friendship with Poulet until Hergé's death in 1983. Poulet's autobiography, ''Ce n'est pas un vie'', appeared in 1976. He died in 1989.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poulet, Robert 1893 births 1989 deaths Belgian military personnel of World War I Belgian fascists Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany Belgian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Belgium Belgian emigrants to France Belgian writers in French Belgian Holocaust deniers Magic realism writers Writers from Liège Prix Sainte-Beuve winners