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dc.contributor.advisorTucker, Spencer C.
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, Walter S.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-11T15:10:46Z
dc.date.available2019-10-11T15:10:46Z
dc.date.created1990en_US
dc.date.issued1990en_US
dc.identifieraleph-770959en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/33239
dc.description.abstractThis study focuses on the career of Colonel Francais de La Rocque as leader of both a French rightist league, the Croix de Feu, and the political party which followed upon the league's dissolution, the Parti Social Francais. It attempts to evaluate both La Rocque and his program and to classify his system as to its ideological type within the political spectrum of twentieth century Europe. The study first examines Colonel La Rocque's early life and military career, pointing out influences that will become the basis of the ideology that underlay his thinking as a leader of a league and a political party. The study then focuses on La Rocque's early association with the Croix de Feu, his rise to leadership of that league, and the issues and events in which he involved the Croix de Feu during his tenure as its leader from 1931 to 1936. La Rocque early determined to use the Croix de Feu as an incubator of an ideological system that he believed would rejuvenate the individual French citizen and the country as a whole, restoring France to a position of greatness. The ideology of La Rocque is examined in detail, first for the Croix de Feu period and then for that of the Parti Social Francais. The study shows how the Christian spiritual element basic to La Rocque's programs markedly differentiates them from the programs of fascist groups with which they show a surface similarity. This is especially evident in his ideas relating to social work designed to improve the lot of the less fortunate. The study examines in detail the events of February 6, 1934 and La Rocque's role in them. For French leftists the Croix de Feu came to symbolize the extreme Right. For the Left it has long been an article of "faith" that a coup was attempted and thwarted on that date. This study shows that no such coup was attempted. It next devotes major emphasis to the period of the Croix de Feu's greatest development ending in June 1936. This includes the major political issues of the period, the Croix de Feu's role in electoral politics, and the major events in which it was involved. The study also focuses on foreign policy issues. La Rocque's positions reflect his patriotism, his strong desire for peace, and his social Catholic ideology that made him consistently, and adamantly opposed to the systems of both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. La Rocque's role in the Vichy period compromised his position and dissipated his party. This study concludes that La Rocque's main ideas are in accord with the social doctrines, directives, and actions of the Catholic church.
dc.format.extentii, 274 leavesen_US
dc.format.mediumFormat: Printen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofTexas Christian University dissertationen_US
dc.relation.ispartofAS38.R6369en_US
dc.subject.lcshLa Rocque, François de, 1886-1946en_US
dc.subject.lcshCroix de feu (Organization : France)en_US
dc.subject.lcshParti social françaisen_US
dc.subject.lcshFrance--Politics and government--1914-1940en_US
dc.titleColonel François de la Roque: his Croix de Feu and Parti Social Françaisen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
etd.degree.departmentDepartment of History
etd.degree.levelDoctoral
local.collegeAddRan College of Liberal Arts
local.departmentHistory
local.academicunitDepartment of History
dc.type.genreDissertation
local.subjectareaHistory
dc.identifier.callnumberMain Stacks: AS38 .R6369 (Regular Loan)
dc.identifier.callnumberSpecial Collections: AS38 .R6369 (Non-Circulating)
etd.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
etd.degree.grantorTexas Christian University


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