Jean-Paul Sartre’s and Louis Ferdinand Celine’s Perception of the second world war

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the perception of the Second World War by such French intellectuals as Jean-Paul Sartre and Louis-Ferdinand Celine. The research relevance is determined by the French intellectuals’ exceptional role, which they played during the Second World War. They influenced over the emergence and development of the right and left ideological poles. The Second World War significantly affected the fate of France. The War changed French territorial borders, divided the country into North and South, into a Nazi-occupied zone and the territory controlled by the Vichy government, and also forced the French people to make a moral choice. They had to reflect over their own ideological and political po-sition. Despite the fact that, the problem of the French intellectuals’ perception of the Second World War is relevant, almost no research had been done in Russian historical science. First of all, then studies devoted to intellectuals belong to foreign historiography, mainly French. The study focuses on the period between 1939 and 1959. The time frame is determined by the beginning of the Second World War and the last interview of Louis-Ferdinand Celine. The methodology of the study is based on a comparative analysis at the microsocial level, a linguistic analysis, and an interdisciplinary approach. Comparative analysis is used in the study of cultural history and the history of intellectuals. Linguistic analysis, as well as an interdisciplinary approach cover various scientific disciplines like history, sociology and political science. Comparative analysis involves the use of the same categorical grid and the same explanatory models to compare and analyze variables. The fundamental principles of objectivity and historicism provide an integrated approach for the study of historical events. The research findings may be of interest from the point of view of social history and the history of intellectuals. The study is an attempt to determine the causes and consequences of the intellectuals’ behavior during the Second World War, their responsibility and role in the conditions of the domination of state political structures of the Modern age.