The Knight Monks of Uriage, French Fascism, and "The Vichy that Might Have Been"

Some of the most imaginative & original guidelines for a French national revolution under Marshall Petain were formulated at the Vichy government's national leadership school, the Ecole nationale superieure des cadres d'Uriage. It established a network of affiliated schools, publicatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Queen's quarterly 1994-04, Vol.101 (1), p.117-133
Main Author: Hellman, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
France
Government
Intellectual History
Intellectuals
Leadership
Schools
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Some of the most imaginative & original guidelines for a French national revolution under Marshall Petain were formulated at the Vichy government's national leadership school, the Ecole nationale superieure des cadres d'Uriage. It established a network of affiliated schools, publications, & something of a think tank for a France "that might have been." Described here is the founding of the Study Centre by Hubert Beuve-Mery (later founder of Le Monde) & the vigor & originality of its ideas. The rising tide of opposition to Uriage, culminating in its closing at the beginning of 1943, is described, as well as the notorious militia school that replaced it. Drawing on a variety of sources, including interviews, newly available archival material, Vichy publications, correspondence, & diary entries, the merits & shortcomings of recent monographs of the Uriage school are illuminated, along with the knight-monks' struggle with the enemies of Uriage's "personalism" at Vichy until the school was shut down & the struggle -- against domestic rivals &, eventually, against the Germans -- continued in a different form. Uriage's tense relationship with Charles de Gaulle is described, as is the remarkable rise of the men of Uriage to power in France after the war. 5 Figures. AA
ISSN:0033-6041