André Malraux: the Anticolonial and Antifascist Years

This dissertation provides an explanation of how André Malraux, a man of great influence on twentieth century European culture, developed his political ideology, first as an anticolonial social reformer in the 1920s, then as an antifascist militant in the 1930s. Almost all of the previous studies of Malraux have focused on his literary life, and most of them are rife with errors. This dissertation focuses on the facts of his life, rather than on a fanciful recreation from his fiction. The major sources consulted are government documents, such as police reports and dispatches, the newspapers that Malraux founded with Paul Monin, other Indochinese and Parisian newspapers, and Malraux's speeches and interviews. Other sources include the memoirs of Clara Malraux, as well as other memoirs and reminiscences from people who knew Andre Malraux during the 1920s and the 1930s. The dissertation begins with a survey of Malraux's early years, followed by a detailed account of his experiences in Indochina. Then there is a survey of the period from 1926 to 1933, when Malraux won renown as a novelist and as a man with special insight into Asian affairs. The dissertation then focuses on Malraux's career as a militant antifascist during the 1930s, including an analysis of Malraux's organization of an air squadron for the Spanish Republic, and his trip to North America to raise funds. The dissertation concludes with an analysis of Malraux's evolution from an apolitical, virtually unknown writer into a committed anticolonial social reformer and an antifascist militant. The man and his political ideology were intricately interwoven. His brief career as a political journalist in Saigon was crucial in his transformation from an apolitical Parisian dandy into a political activist. Because he regarded fascism as a dire threat to European civilization, Malraux gave his full support to the Soviet Union and the Spanish Republic during the 1930s