Édouard Adolphe Drumont (3 May 1844 – 5 February 1917) was a French journalist, author and politician, most often remembered for his

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

ideology and animus. He initiated the

Antisemitic League of France The Anti-Jewish League of France () was founded in 1889 by journalist Edouard Drumont, with the support of other right-wing French antisemites such as Jacques de Biez, Albert Millot, and Marquis de Morès. First known under the name of (Nationa ...

in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the political newspaper '' La Libre Parole'' (founded in 1892). After spending years of research, he synthesised three major types of antisemitism. The first type was traditional Catholic attitudes toward the alien " Christ killers" augmented by vehement antipathy toward the French Revolution. The second type was hostility toward capitalism. The third type was so-called

scientific racism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that the Human, human species is divided into biologically distinct taxa called "race (human categorization), races", and that empirical evi ...

, based on the argument that races have fixed characteristics, and asserting that Jews have negative characteristics. His work played a key role in catalyzing the Dreyfus Affair. Drumont's biographer, Grégoire Kauffmann, places Drumont within the counter-revolutionary tradition of Louis Veuillot, Antoine Blanc de Saint-Bonnet, and anti-modern Catholicism. Socialist leader Jean Jaurès stated that "all the ideas and arguments of Drumont were taken from certain clerical opponents of the French Revolution.

Early life

Drumont was born in Paris in 1844 to a family of

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

-painters from

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. His father died when he was seventeen, and had to care for himself and earn his own livelihood from then onwards.Deutsch, Gotthard, and A.M. Friedenberg.
DRUMONT, EDOUARD ADOLPHE
JewishEncyclopedia.com (accessed 9 November 2007). He attended high school at Lycée Charlemagne.

Public career

He first worked in government service and at one point became a police spy for

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. Later he became a contributor to the press and was the author of a number of works, of which '' Mon vieux Paris'' (1879) was awarded by the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. He also worked for Louis Veuillot's ''L'Univers''. Drumont's 1886 book, '' La France juive'' (''Jewish France''), attacked the role of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s in France and argued for their exclusion from society. In 1892, Drumont initiated the newspaper the '' La Libre Parole'' which became known for intense

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Gaston Méry was soon made editor in chief due to his skill in exploiting scandalous affairs and his daring invective. He was imprisoned at Sainte-Pélagie Prison from 3 November 1892 to 3 February 1893, serving a three-month sentence handed down by the Seine Court of Assizes for defaming the deputy Burdeau. During this time in prison, he was put in the same area as Pierre Martinet, founder of

individualist anarchism Individualist anarchism or anarcho-individualism is a collection of anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hi ...

, and Lucien Pemjean, later a collaborationist with the Nazis and antisemite. Upon his release, Drumont invited the

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

, including Martinet, to a dinner at his home to celebrate his liberation, but they sang ''

the Internationale "The Internationale" is an international anthem that has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements. It has been a standard of the socialist movement since ...

'' and other anarchist songs, which displeased him — the two groups nearly came to blows. In 1898, Martinet posted a public notice criticizing Drumont’s conduct during their time in prison; he declared, for instance:The newspaper took "France for the French" as its motto. The newspaper was skeptical of Léo Taxil's anti-Catholic '' Diana Vaughan'' hoax before Taxil admitted it in 1897. It was the first paper to publish news of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

's arrest, in an article titled “High Treason: The Jewish Traitor Alfred Dreyfus Arrested” in 1894. Initially, Drumont was a supporter of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

and his policy of '' ralliement'' in his

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

of 1892, '' Au milieu des sollicitudes'' which called for French Catholics to embrace the Republic. He soon denounced this course and bitterly insulted the Pope, the Church, and any Catholic who supported it. In one editorial Drumont hoped for a "modern iron-fisted Nogaret for the modern Boniface VIII". In ''La Libre Parole'' Drumont's old friend Count Adrien Albert Marie de Mun and

Papal Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Cardinal Domenico Ferrata were denounced liked common criminals. For the French legislative election of May 1898, the antisemitic activist Max Régis endorsed Drumont before this election from

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. On 8 May 1898, Édouard Drumont was elected triumphantly with 11,557 votes against 2,328 and 1,741 for his opponents. Of six Algerian national deputies, four were elected on the platform of Regis's Anti-Jewish League. Drumont represented

in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

from 1898 to 1902. He was sued for accusing a parliamentary deputy of having accepted a bribe from the wealthy Jewish banker Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild to pass a piece of legislation the banker wanted. Drumont had many devotees. He exploited the Panama Company scandal Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Harvest Books, 1973; , pp. 95-99. and reached the maximum of his notoriety during the Dreyfus Affair, in which he was the most strident of

' accusers. For his anti-Panama articles, Drumont was condemned to three months' imprisonment. In 1893, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the representation of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

; the next year he retired to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The Dreyfus affair helped him to regain popularity, and in 1898, he returned to France and was elected deputy for the first division of Algiers, but was defeated as a candidate for re-election in April–May 1902.

Works

* ''Mon vieux Paris'' (1878) * ''Les Fêtes nationales à Paris'' (1878) * ''Le Dernier des Trémolin'' (1879) * ''Papiers inédits du Duc de Saint-Simon'' (1880) * ''La Mort de Louis XIV'' (1880) * ''La France juive'' ( Jewish France, 1886) * ''La France Juive devant l'opinion'' (1886) * ''La Fin d'un monde : Étude psychologique et sociale'' (1889) * ''La Dernière Bataille'' (1890) * ''Le Testament d'un antisémite'' (1891) * ''Le Secret de Fourmies'' (1892) * ''De l'or, de la boue, du sang : Du Panama à l'anarchie'' (1896) * ''Mon vieux Paris. Deuxième série'' (1897) * ''La Tyrannie maçonnique'' (1899) * ''Les Juifs contre la France'' (1899) * ''Les Tréteaux du succès. Figures de bronze ou statues de neige'' (1900) * ''Les Tréteaux du succès. Les héros et les pitres'' (1900) * ''Le Peuple juif'' (1900) * ''Vieux portraits, vieux cadres'' (1903) * ''Sur le chemin de la vie'' (1914)

References

Sources

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drumont, Edouard 1844 births 1917 deaths Writers from Paris Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for French Algeria Proto-fascists French far-right politicians French political writers French journalists French male non-fiction writers French conspiracy theorists Roman Catholic conspiracy theorists Far-right politics in France French duellists Late modern Christian antisemitism Antisemitism in France Antidreyfusards Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery