La Guerre Sociale

La Guerre Sociale was a French ultra-left political journal that appeared from 1977 to 1985. It emerged from a network of revolutionary and left-communist milieus associated with the Organisation des Jeunes Travailleurs Révolutionnaires, Le Mouvement Communiste, and the Paris bookshop La Vieille Taupe. The journal’s leading spirit was Dominique Blanc, who had previously participated in the Organisation des Jeunes Travailleurs Révolutionnaires during the early 1970s. The intellectual background of La Guerre Sociale combined elements of the Situationist International with left communism and a critique of conventional party politics, trade-union activism, and what its contributors regarded as the alienating character of organized militancy. The journal’s circle had roots in publications and texts produced by former OJTR members and related groups. These included the 1972 text “Militantisme, stade suprême de l’aliénation” and the pamphlets collected under the title “Un Monde Sans Argent,” issued in 1975 and 1976 by the Les Amis de 4 Millions de Jeunes Travailleurs group. In 1976, Dominique Blanc was involved in the journal King Kong International, which brought together people connected with these currents. The following year, substantially the same milieu produced the first issue of La Guerre Sociale. The publication initially presented itself as a contribution to ultra-left theoretical and political debate. It examined exploitation, revolutionary practice, the state, communism, and the ideological uses of historical events. A significant example was “De l’exploitation dans les camps à l’exploitation des camps,” published in issue number 3 in 1979. The article discussed concentration camps and the ways their history could be used politically. It drew extensively on writings by Paul Rassinier, whose political trajectory had moved from socialist and anti-Stalinist positions toward Holocaust denial and antisemitic arguments. Although La Guerre Sociale emphasized Rassinier’s anti-Stalinist criticisms, the reference material indicates that it did not adequately address his antisemitism. The journal subsequently became associated with the dissemination of Holocaust denial, or negationism, within parts of the French ultra-left. It published the wall poster “Qui est le juif ?” in defense of Robert Faurisson, a literature professor who claimed that Nazi gas chambers had not existed and described himself as persecuted for expressing those views. The poster’s framing compared alleged hostility toward Faurisson with the persecution of Jews, a presentation that helped connect ultra-left political rhetoric with denialist propaganda. Pierre Guillaume, a former member of Socialisme ou Barbarie and Pouvoir Ouvrier and the founder of the original La Vieille Taupe bookshop, became an important intermediary in this development. After reviving the La Vieille Taupe name as a publishing imprint devoted to negationist material, Guillaume became a major French publisher of Holocaust-denial literature, while La Guerre Sociale helped introduce such arguments into an ultra-left milieu. La Guerre Sociale ceased appearing in 1985. Its historical significance therefore lies both in its role as a short-lived theoretical journal of the French ultra-left and in the controversy surrounding its support for, and contribution to the circulation of, Holocaust-denialist arguments. It should not be confused with a contemporary commercial brand: it was a political publication and ideological milieu rather than a continuing company or consumer product line.

La Guerre Sociale developed from a French revolutionary milieu that had formed around the Organisation des Jeunes Travailleurs Révolutionnaires, Le Mouvement Communiste, and the Parisian bookshop La Vieille Taupe. The OJTR had been influenced first by the Situationist International and later by left communism. During the early 1970s, its participants criticized conventional forms of political organization and treated organized militancy itself as a form of alienation. In 1972, the group published “Militantisme, stade suprême de l’aliénation.” It also produced material under the name Quatre Millions de Jeune Travailleurs, borrowing the title from an earlier youth publication associated with the Parti Socialiste Unifié. The OJTR organized a national conference in 1974 and disappeared soon afterward, but parts of its intellectual and personal network continued working together. From 1975 to 1976, the Les Amis de 4 Millions de Jeunes Travailleurs group published three pamphlets under the collective title “Un Monde Sans Argent.” These activities overlapped with circles connected to Le Mouvement Communiste and the La Vieille Taupe milieu. Although the original La Vieille Taupe bookshop had closed in 1972, it remained an important reference point for several strands of French ultra-left politics. Dominique Blanc became the leading figure in the next stage of this development. In 1976, he participated in King Kong International, a journal involving former OJTR members, people associated with Le Mouvement Communiste, and others from the La Vieille Taupe network. In 1977, essentially the same grouping produced the first issue of La Guerre Sociale. The journal functioned as a vehicle for theoretical and political discussion rather than as a commercial publication. Its subject matter included exploitation, revolutionary activity, the state, communism, and criticism of established political and labor institutions. The publication’s later history was dominated by its engagement with the question of Nazi concentration camps and the politics of historical memory. Issue 3, published in 1979, contained “De l’exploitation dans les camps à l’exploitation des camps.” The article used the work of Paul Rassinier, a former resistance activist and concentration-camp internee whose later writings disputed accepted accounts of the Holocaust and moved toward denialist and antisemitic positions. La Guerre Sociale drew on Rassinier’s anti-Stalinist themes but, according to the reference account, failed to acknowledge adequately his antisemitism and the implications of his later political trajectory. This line of argument developed into an explicit association with Robert Faurisson, whose claims that Nazi gas chambers had not existed made him a prominent French Holocaust denier. La Guerre Sociale published the wall poster “Qui est le juif ?” in Faurisson’s defense. The poster’s rhetoric equated the alleged victimization of Faurisson with the persecution of Jews, a comparison that contributed to the formation of what has been described as ultra-left negationism. The journal thereby became controversial not merely for its abstract historical skepticism but for helping disseminate denialist propaganda through a revolutionary political network. Pierre Guillaume was an important figure in this transition. A former member of Socialisme ou Barbarie and Pouvoir Ouvrier, Guillaume had founded La Vieille Taupe in 1965. After the bookshop closed, he became closely associated with Faurisson and revived the La Vieille Taupe name as a publishing venture devoted to negationist material. Guillaume became a principal publisher of Holocaust denial in France, while La Guerre Sociale served as one of the vehicles through which related arguments entered sections of the ultra-left. La Guerre Sociale continued until 1985 and then ceased publication. Its legacy is consequently mixed: it represents one strand of post-1968 French ultra-left theoretical publishing, but its historical reputation is principally shaped by its defense of Faurisson, its use of Rassinier, and its contribution to Holocaust-denialist discourse.

• 1985

  Publication ends

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  La Guerre Sociale ceased appearing after an eight-year publication period.

• 1979

  Issue 3 addresses concentration camps and their ideological use

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  The article “De l’exploitation dans les camps à l’exploitation des camps” drew on Paul Rassinier and became central to later criticism of the journal.

• 1977

  First issue of La Guerre Sociale

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  The journal began publication in France through the network surrounding Dominique Blanc and related ultra-left groups.

• 1976

  King Kong International is published

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  Dominique Blanc and people from related ultra-left circles participated in a journal that immediately preceded La Guerre Sociale.

• 1975

  Un Monde Sans Argent pamphlets begin appearing

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  The Les Amis de 4 Millions de Jeunes Travailleurs group published the first of three pamphlets associated with the post-OJTR network.

• 1972

  OJTR publishes Militantisme, stade suprême de l’aliénation

  [1]La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org

  A precursor text from the Organisation des Jeunes Travailleurs Révolutionnaires articulated the anti-militant and anti-alienation ideas that influenced the milieu from which La Guerre Sociale later emerged.

Ultra-left political and theoretical publication, rooted in French left-communist and Situationist-influenced circles.

• Political journal · 1977

  La Guerre Sociale

  The journal was the central publication of a French ultra-left milieu influenced by Situationist and left-communist ideas. Its contents addressed exploitation, revolutionary organization, the state, communism, and historical interpretation. It appeared from 1977 to 1985 and became particularly controversial because of its defense of Robert Faurisson and its role in circulating Holocaust-denialist arguments.

• Political wall poster

  Qui est le juif ?

  This poster was published by La Guerre Sociale in defense of Robert Faurisson. Its title and argument compared the alleged persecution of Faurisson with the persecution of Jews, making it a prominent example of the journal’s controversial involvement in ultra-left Holocaust denial.

• Support for Holocaust denial and Robert Faurisson

  La Guerre Sociale became associated with French ultra-left negationism after using Paul Rassinier’s writings and publishing Qui est le juif ? in defense of Robert Faurisson, who denied the existence of Nazi gas chambers.

  Source

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• 1979

  Publication of the camps articleOther

  Background

  The journal addressed concentration camps and the political use of their history through an article that relied extensively on Paul Rassinier.

  Action taken

  Issue 3 published “De l’exploitation dans les camps à l’exploitation des camps.”

  Aftermath

  The article became part of the controversy surrounding the journal’s later association with Holocaust denial.

  Source

• 1977

  Launch of the journalProduct launch

  Background

  A network formed from former OJTR participants and related ultra-left circles sought a new vehicle for theoretical and political writing.

  Action taken

  The group began publishing La Guerre Sociale.

  Aftermath

  The journal continued until 1985 and became a significant, though controversial, expression of French ultra-left publishing.

  Source

1. 1La Guerre Socialeen.wikipedia.org