Léon Louis Octave Campion (1905–1992) was a Belgian- French anti-war activist and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Biography

Léon Louis Octave Campion was born on 24 May 1905 in Paris, to a Belgian father and a French mother. Despite being born and raised in France, Campion was made a Belgian citizen and not naturalised as French until later in life. At the age of 20, he was obliged to complete his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

for the

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southe ...

and moved 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 ...

. In 1928, he met the Belgian publisher Marcel Dieu and the Spanish militant

Francisco Ascaso Francisco Ascaso Abadía (1 April 1901 – 20 July 1936) was an Aragonese carpenter and prominent anarcho-syndicalist figure in Spain. Ascaso lived a life of crime and violence being involved in the deaths of multiple high-profile governmen ...

, who influenced Campion's turn towards

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

. In 1930, he became a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and was inducted into the

Grand Orient of Belgium The Grand Orient of Belgium (, ; or G.O.B.) is a Belgian cupola of masonic lodges which is only accessible for men, and works in the basic three symbolic degrees of freemasonry. History The Grand Orient of Belgium was founded in 1833, three y ...

. As an ardent

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

, in 1931, Campion joined the

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 40 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 un ...

(WRI) and became secretary of its Belgian section. He participated in masonic meetings in Belgium, France and Britain, in support of

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, for which

Action Française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...

demanded his expulsion from France. In February 1933, when Belgian defense minister

Albert Devèze Albert Joseph Charles Devèze (; 6 June 1881 – 28 November 1959) was a Belgian liberal politician and minister. Biography Devèze was a doctor in law and a lawyer. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a municipality council member in Schae ...

announced a new law to introduce

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

, Campion and Day handed in their military books in protest. They were called before a

military tribunal Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

, and in June 1933, they were sentenced to imprisonment for desertion. Protests by the anti-war left and a hunger strike by the two prisoners pressured the authorities to reduce their sentence. In August 1933, they were discharged from the

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

. Over the course of the 1930s, Campion contributed to the publication of several anarchist magazines and newspapers. In 1937, he made his debut on stage, as a singer at ''Le Grillon'' cabaret. Following the Nazi invasion of Belgium, Campion and other anarchists and pacifists were deported to

Camp Vernet Le Vernet Internment Camp, or Camp Vernet, was a concentration camp in Le Vernet, Ariège, near Pamiers, in the French Pyrenees. It was built in 1918 as a barracks, but after World War I it was used as an internment camp for prisoners of war. ...

. Belgian communist leader Albert Marteaux later managed to secure their release. Campion worked in Belgium and France during the war, participating in the French and

Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (, ) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many ...

s. After the war, Campion established the satirical magazine ''Pan'', and went on to work as an actor on stage and screen. Campion died in Paris, on 6 March 1992.

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Biography

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