Léon Gaultier (; 1 February 1915 – 18 July 1997) was a French collaborator and a founding member of the National Front.

Biography

Léon was born on 1 February 1915 in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

. He studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and became a professor of history. During World War II, he worked along with Paul Marion, General Secretary for Information in the government of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

. Gaultier was a columnist for Radio-Vichy and one of the founders of the

Milice The (French Militia), generally called (; ), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy régime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War ...

. Gaultier fought for Germany in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

with the rank of

Untersturmführer (, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of '' Sturmführer'', which had existed since the founding of the SA in 192 ...

. He commanded a French unit on the Eastern Front in the fall of 1944 and was seriously wounded in Galicia. He was sentenced to forced labor in 1946 and released on 2 June 1948, he eventually worked for the advertising agency

Havas Havas NV () is a French multinational corporation, multinational advertising agency, advertising and public relations company, with its registered office and head office in Puteaux, France. Havas operates in more than 100 countries. The group ...

. During the presidential campaign of far-right candidate

Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour (; 12 October 1907 – 29 September 1989) was a French lawyer and Far-right politics, far-right politician. Elected to the National Assembly (France), National Assembly in 1936, he initially collaborated with the Vichy ...

in 1965, Gaultier was responsible for propaganda and worked alongside former Cagoulard turned resistance fighter Serge Jeanneret. He later co-founded with

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

the publishing house SERP ("Société d'études et de relations publiques"),. which specialized in editing historical recordings like political speeches and military songs. In 1972, he was among the founders of the National Council of the National Front. Gaultier wrote in '' Rivarol'' and was gradually moved away from the circle of Jean-Marie Le Pen in early 1980s. Thereafter, he concentrated on writing his memoir.

Works

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaultier, Leon 1915 births 1997 deaths French Waffen-SS personnel Politicians from Bourges National Rally politicians SS-Untersturmführer Milice personnel People convicted of indignité nationale