Jacques Bouly de Lesdain (4 October 1880-1975) was a French aristocrat, lawyer and diplomat. He was the author of several travel books about Asia and political books about Germany. He was the political editor of L'Illustration and he organised anti-
Freemasonry conferences during
World War II.
Early life
Jacques Bouly de Lesdain was born on 4 October 1880.[1] He graduated from
Sciences Po and received a bachelor's degree in Laws.[1] He was a
count.[2]
Career
Bouly de Lesdain was a lawyer and diplomat.[1] He was the author of books about
Mongolia and
Tibet, based on his travelling experiences.[2] For example, he had led an expedition in the
Gobi Desert in 1902.[3] He also published several books about Germany, including La Seconde paix, a 1931 treatise in which he called for closer Franco-German relations under the pseudonym of "Esdalin".[4]
Bouly de Lesdain joined L'Illustration as a contributor based in
Basel, Switzerland, in 1939.[1] During
World War II, he supported Germany and met
Otto Abetz several times.[6] He complained that his antisemitic articles were turned down for publication by L'Illustration.[6] However, he subsequently became its political editor.[7]
Bouly de Lesdain co-organised an anti-
Freemasonry conference with
Jean Rivière in October 1940 at the
Petit Palais.[8] It was attended by more than a million visitors,[7] and later shown in
Rouen,
Bordeaux,
Lille and
Nancy until the summer of 1942, when it was shown in Berlin, Germany.[8] Meanwhile, Bouly de Lesdain organised another conference, Exposition de la France européenne, held at the
Grand Palais from 31 May to 31 October 1941.[9] By then, he openly criticised Marshal
Philippe Pétain for failing to take a hard line on racial policy,[10] and he was engaged in "active
collaborationism".[6]
In August 1944, he fled to the
Sigmaringen Castle with members of the Vichy government, and he was the director of their radio communications.[1]
Personal life and death
Bouly de Lesdain married Martha Mailey, an American explorer he met in the Gobi Desert in 1902. they divorced in 1926.[3]
^
abCharleux, Isabelle (2002). "Padmasambhava's Travel to the North The Pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Caves and the Old Schools of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia". Central Asiatic Journal. 46 (2): 168–232.
JSTOR41928298.
^Vavasseur-Desperriers, Jean (2008).
"L'Action française dans le Nord". In Leymarie, Michel; Prévotat, Jacques (eds.). L' Action française: culture, société, politique. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses universitaires du Septentrion. p. 307.
ISBN9782757400432.
OCLC227152806.
^
abcGeneste, Elsa (2013). "René Maran et la Résistance : enquête sur une prétendue collaboration". Présence Africaine. 1 (187–188): 139–152.
doi:
10.3917/presa.187.0139.