Pierre Broué (8 May 1926 – 26 July 2005) was a French historian and

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

revolutionary militant whose work covers the history of the

Bolshevik Party The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

, the Spanish Revolution and biographies of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

Background

Broué was born in Privas,

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.

Career

In 1936, Broué supported a French general strike as well as the Spanish Republic. By 1940, with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in a non-aggression pact, he helped organize a Communist Party cell at the Lycée Henri IV in Paris. The

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

expelled the organizers and said that Broué suffered from Trotskyism. The accusation piqued his interest, and he began reading about Trotsky from the private library of the teacher Élie Reynier. With the party, he fought in the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

against the German occupiers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. When

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

disbanded the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

in 1943, Broué became strongly critical of

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

and resigned from the party as a result. By 1944, he became a Trotskyist and joined the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...

, and he remained a Trotskyist for the rest of his life. In 1952, he followed

Pierre Lambert : Pierre Lambert (; real name Pierre Boussel ; June 9, 1920 – January 16, 2008) was a French Trotskyist leader, who for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste (CCI) which founded the Worke ...

during a split in the movement and continued as a "Lambertist" for many years. He was active in the Internationalist Communist Party and then the

Internationalist Communist Organisation The Internationalist Communist Organisation (, OCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. Its successor was the Internationalist Communist Current of the Workers Party (France), Workers Party. History Origins The group's origins lay in the ...

before he was expelled in 1989. He became a secondary school teacher until 1965, when he became lecturer in history at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

and then professor. In 1977, he set up the

Trotsky Institute Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

to publish in French all of Trotsky's writings (27 volumes have been published). He also founded and edited the '' Cahiers Léon Trotsky'', devoted to the history of Trotskyism. Between 2003 and his death, he was a close collaborator and supporter of the

International Marxist Tendency The Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) is a Trotskyist political international. It was founded as the Committee for a Marxist International (CMI) by British-based South African political theorist Ted Grant and his supporters after th ...

Personal life

Broué married three times. His third wife, Andrée, died in 1989 from cancer. The former student Jean-Pierre Juy was a long-time friend. Alan Woods was a friend and admirer late in his life. Broué died in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France, in his sleep in the early hours of July 26, 2005, at the age of 79 from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. Five children survived him: two sons and three daughters. His son Michel Broué is a notable mathematician.

Works

The basic inspiration for Broué's books was his desire to explain Stalinism. His book ''Trotsky'' (1988) counters the work of

Isaac Deutscher Isaac Deutscher (; 3 April 1907 – 19 August 1967) was a Polish Marxist writer, journalist and political activist who moved to the United Kingdom before the outbreak of World War II. He is best known as a biographer of Leon Trotsky and Joseph S ...

. He worked for three years at Harvard, to which Trotsky had sold his papers in 1940. Broué and assistants were the first researchers to use them since the archive opened in 1980. Alan Woods has called it "a very healthy antidote to the superficial and pretentious philistinism of Isaac Deutscher". The recent republication of Trotsky's autobiography, ''My Life'', has a foreword written by Broué.

Books written

The U.S. Library of Congress lists the following books. * ''Revolución y la guerra de España'' (with Émile Témime), translated by Francisco González Aramburo (1962) * ''Parti bolchévique; histoire du P. C. de l'.U.R.S.S.'' (1963) * ''Procès de Moscou'' (1964) * ''Trotsky y la Guerra Civil española'' (1966) * ''Révolution en Allemagne, 1917-1923'' (1971) * ''Parti bolchevique, histoire du P.C. de l'U.R.S.S.'' (1972) * ''Revolution and the civil war in Spain'' by Pierre Broué and Emile Témime; translated by Tony White (1972) * ''Révolution espagnole (1931-1939)'' (1973) * ''Révolution espagnole (1931-1939)'' (1977) * ''Assassinat de Trotsky : 1940'' (1980) * ''Trotsky'' (1988) * ''Quand le peuple révoque le président : le Brésil de l'affaire Collor'': Pierre Broué ; préface de Luis Favre ; annexe de Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva (1993) * ''Histoire de l'Internationale communiste: 1919-1943'' (1997) * ''Léon Sedov, fils de Trotsky, victime de Staline'' (1993) * ''Rakovsky, ou, La révolution dans tous les pays'' (1996) * ''Histoire de l'Internationale communiste : 1919-1943'' (1997) * ''Communistes contre Staline: massacre d'une génération'' (2003) * ''German Revolution, 1917-1923'', translated by John Archer, edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce; introduction by Eric D. Weitz (2005) * ''Revolution and the Civil War in Spain'' with Émile Témime, translated by Tony White (2008)

Books contributed, edited, translated

The U.S. Library of Congress lists the following books. * ''Question chinoise dans l'Internationale communiste (1926-1927)'': Rassemblés et présentés par Pierre Broué, textes de Staline, Trotsky, Martynov, Zinoviev (1965) * ''Pologne-Hongrie 1956 ou le Printemps en octobre'': textes choisis et traduits sous la direction de Jean-Jacques Marie et Balazs Nagy; présentés par Pierre Broué (1966) * ''Mouvement communiste en France (1919-1939)'' par Léon Trotsky: textes choisis et présentés par Pierre Broué (1967) * ''Syndicalisme dans l'enseignement, histoire de la Fédération de l'enseignement, des origines à l'unification de 1935'' par François Bernard, Louis Bouët, Maurice Dommanget, Gilbert Serret; présentation et notes de Pierre Broué (1968) * ''A. B. C. du communisme'' par Nikolaĭ Ivanovich Boukharine, E. Préobrajenski; préface de Pierre Broué (1968) * ''Écrits à Prague sous la censure (août 1968-juin 1969)'' Textes choisis et présentés par Pierre Broué. Traduction de Helena Baudesson Weinfurtová, Annie Bardet tKarel Košťál (1973) * ''Congrès de l'Internationale communiste'': Textes intégraux publiés sous la direction de Pierre Broué. Présentation et introd. de P. Broué. Traduction de l'allemand de Jean-Marie Brohm. Traduction du russe de Jacques Mas. (1974) * ''Question chinoise dans l'Internationale communiste : 1926-1927'': textes de Boukharine, Chen Du-xiu, Joffé, Mandalian ... tc. thèses de l'Internationale communiste, rapport secret de délégués de l'I.C. ; rassemblés et présentés par Pierre Broué (1976) * ''Œuvres / Léon Trotsky'': publiées sous la direction de Pierre Broué (1978) * ''Du premier au deuxième congrès de l'Internationale communiste, mars 1919-juillet 1920'': textes publiés sous la direction de Pierre Broué ; présentation, introd. et notes de P. Broué ; traduction de Jacqueline Bois, Jean-Marie Brohm, Andréas (1979) * ''Trotsky / iconographie ... de David King''; texte de Pierre Broué (1979) * ''Metodología histórica de la guerra y revolución españolas'' Pierre Broué, Ronald Fraser y Pierre Vilar; traducción, Emilio Olcina Aya, Pilar López y Yolanda Marco (1980) * ''Correspondance, 1929-1939 / Alfred et Marguerite Rosmer, Lev Davidovitch Trotsky'': lettres choisies, présentées et annotées par Pierre Broué, avec la collaboration de Gérard Roche (1982) * ''Contributions à l'histoire du trotskysme en Allemagne'' Pierre Broué, Maurice Stobnicer (1983) * ''Ponencias presentadas al Coloquio Internacional sobre la IIa República Española'': Pierre Broué et al.; prólogo de Enrique Tierno Galván (1983) * ''Guerre d'Espagne au cinéma'' par Marcel Oms; préface de Pierre Broué (1986) * ''Na contracorrente da história : documentos da Liga Comunista Internacionalista (1930-1933)'': Fulvio Abramo, Dainis Karepovs, orgs. .e. organizadores; prefácio, Pierre Broué (1987) * ''Trotzkismus in Deutschland bis 1933: für die Arbeitereinheitsfront zur Abwehr des Faschismus'' von Annegret Schüle mit ''Die deutsche Linke und die russische Opposition 1926-1928'' von Pierre Broué (1989) * ''Meurtres au maquis'' par Pierre Broué, Raymond Vacheron; en collaboration avec Alain Dugrand (1997) * ''Mémoires sur la dernière guerre de l'Amérique septentrionale entre la France et l'Angleterre'' par Pierre Pouchot: texte établi par Catherine Broué et Pierre Broué (2003) * ''Arts de l'équitation dans l'Europe de la Renaissance'': VIe Colloque de l'École nationale d'équitation, au Château d'Oiron, 4 et 5 octobre 2002; sous la direction de Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey et de Monique Chatenet (2009) * ''Na contracorrente da História: documentos do trotskismo brasileiro (1930-1940)'': Organizadores, Fulvio Abramo, Dainis Karepovs; prefácio, Pierre Broué (2015)

Articles in Revolutionary History

Marxists' Internet Archives lists the following articles by Broué that appeared in ''Revolutionary History'': * "Remarks on the History of the Bolshevik Party" (1964) * Spartacism, Bolshevism and Ultra-Leftism in Face of the Problems of the Proletarian Revolution in Germany (1918–1923)" (1972) * "Walter Held" (1979) * "Rudolf Klement" (1979) * "The Parti Socialiste Révolutionnaire" (1982) * "Bolivia, 9 April 1952: A Forgotten ‘February Revolution’?" (1983) * "Chen Duxiu and the Fourth International, 1937–1942" (1983) * "The Socialist Youth in Spain (1934–1936) – When Carrillo was a Leftist" (1983) * "The German Left and the Russian Opposition (1926–28)" (1985) * "How Trotsky and the Trotskyists confronted the Second World War" (1985) * "The Italian Communist Party, the War and the Revolution" (1987) * "The Bolshevik-Leninist Faction" (1988) * "Kurt Landau" (1988) * "The ‘May Days’ of 1937 in Barcelona" (1988) * "Van Heijenoort – A Trotskyist in New York in the Second World War" (1990) * "In Germany for the International" (1993) * "Trotskyism in Poland" (1996) * "Five Years On" (1997)

References

External links

Archive of Pierre Broué's writings
at the

Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive, also known as MIA or Marxists.org, is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...

.
The Lubitz TrotskyanaNet
provides a separate page on Pierre Broué with detailed information including a biographical sketch and a bibliography

by Michael Eaude, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''.
Obituary
by Ian Birchall, ''International Socialism'', 108.
Obituary
by Alan Woods, ''In Defence of Marxism,'' 29 July 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Broue, Pierre 1926 births 2005 deaths People from Privas French Communist Party politicians Internationalist Communist Party (France) politicians Internationalist Communist Organisation politicians 20th-century French historians Historians of communism French Marxist historians Revolutionary Communist International French male writers Communist members of the French Resistance