Le Corbusier: a fascist and anti-Semitic genius – Jewish Committee Uruguay

El Mundo, Spain, By Irene Fernandez Velasco

 Being a genius, a great creator, not
 It means being a good person. History is littered with examples of artists
 in his private life they were monstrous or in its political dimension
 atrocious supported ideologies. The case of Charles-EdouardJeanneret-Grey, more
 known as Le Corbusier. Now that the 50th anniversary of his death, what
 France throughout the exhibits and tributes dedicated succeed
 that brilliant architect, such as the important exhibition center
 Pompidou in Paris devoted to him and opens its doors to the public.

But Le Corbusier, of Swiss origin but
 naturalized French, also had a dark side. A terrible facet
 until now it had been locked up in some intellectual circles
 Paris and now in France two newly published books are brought to
 light. Namely, it was fascist, anti-Semitic and deeply admired Hitler. To
 the point that the Fuhrer dreamed put order in Europe and represaliase
 hard to Jews and Masons. “A totalitarian character dreams of a
 cynicism reinforced concrete, “he defines Xavier de Jarcy in his book ‘Le
 Corbusier, a French fascist ‘.

The darkest aspect of the architect
 groundbreaking, father of contemporary architecture and the idea that
 architecture must be the social service of the average man, is rewritten
 So in this new biography as in ‘A Corbusier’ book signing
 François Chaslin. We learn as well that genius had among his friends more
 Pierre Winter ones, leader of the Revolutionary Fascist Party, and others
 characters from the most reactionary French derechona. In fact, Le Corbusier
 It hesitate to describe the massive demonstrations that shook antiparliamentary
 Paris on February 6, 1934 and they had been organized by groups
 extreme right as “the dawn of cleaning”.

In favor of the Vichy regime

But the biographies of Le Corbusier also
 reveal how, despite his sympathies for fascism in general and Hitler
 in particular, he was willing to conveniently park their ideology
 seeking funding for its grandiose development projects. He tried by
 such that the support Stalin, but was unsuccessful. And I also tried
 Mussolini, who also was persuaded despite the flowery praise
 who dedicated the architect. “The show now offers Italy
 and spiritual capabilities announce the imminent dawn of the spirit
 modern, “he wrote.

But above all, Le Corbusier defined in
 June 1940, when France to the Nazis and the father gave the
 rationalist architecture rushed to greet with joy the arrival of the
 Germans. “Money, Jews and Freemasons: all now suffer
 righteousness of the law. These shameful powers that dominated all be
 dismantled “To conclude this is another gem.” Hitler may
 crown his life with a great work. the reorganization of Europe “

His support for the Nazis and the regime
 collaborationist Vichy was not only in words. In late 1940 he traveled
 Vichy precisely the town where the headquarters he was
 Marshal Petain, the head of state of Nazi-occupied France. Little
 later, Le Corbusier was appointed director of planning of the Government
 collaborator. But their projects did not pass the paper, they were
 too breakers for traditional tastes and deeply
 Conservatives someone like Petain.

After the Second World War, Le Corbusier
 he strove to erase the traces of its ignominious support for Hitler and the regime
 Vichy. And he succeeded. Held by much of the intelligentsia and the
 French left, managed to sweep under the rug the past and many of
 their projects come true. But now, half a century after its
 death, two books put things in place.