Aujourd'hui

During the exodus of 1940, Paris newspapers had ceased publication, with several prominent dailies such as Le Temps, Le Figaro, and Paris-Match refusing to return to the German-occupied zone despite reassurances. In their absence, the Propagandastaffel helped to launch several newspapers immediately after entering Paris and following the armistice of 22 June 1940. As journalists started to return to Paris, several other newspapers were established, which appeared less obviously tied to the German authorities. These included ''Aujourd'hui''. == Formation ==

Otto Abetz, functioning as the de facto German ambassador to Vichy France, was tasked with controlling the press. In an effort to reinvigorate the Paris literary scene, he approached journalist Henri Jeanson to start a literary newspaper that would rival La Gerbe. Jeanson was well known as a pacifist who had opposed war with Germany, leading to his arrest in 1939 for the "defeatism" he had expressed in his article, "No, mon Daladier, we won't go to your war". At the same time, he had avoided taking a pro-German stance and had even written an editorial defending Herschel Grynszpan, the Jewish teenager who had killed Ernst vom Rath at the German embassy in Paris, in retaliation for the treatment of Jews. Jeanson's profile had risen after he had resigned from the satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné, objecting to the newspaper's Communist sympathies, and had worked on the screenplay for the popular 1937 film Pépé le Moko. Author David Pryce-Jones has called seeking out an editor with Jeanson's reputation as a "clever calculation on the part of Abetz". == First incarnation ==

The first issue of ''Aujourd'hui'' newspaper appeared on 10 September 1940, delayed by a month due to an argument with the censor. the newspaper was aimed at literary and theater circles. Henri Jeanson had initially been told that he could choose his own editorial staff, with assurances that they would be immune from censorship. Surrounding himself with his friends, the image of ''Aujourd'hui when it launched was "impertinent, populist or boulevardier". The team he assembled included the poet Robert Desnos; writer Marcel Aymé; essayist Léon-Paul Fargue; writer Henry Poulaille; playwright Jean Anouilh; Jean Galtier-Boissière, the former editor of the satirical weekly Crapouillot''; cartoonist Guérin; and Marcel Carné, who went on to become a successful filmmaker. Critical of Philippe Pétain and Pierre Laval meeting with Hitler at Montoire-sur-le-Loir, ''Aujourd'hui editor Jeanson entered into a public "war of words" with editor Marcel Déat at rival newspaper L'Œuvre, which was more closely aligned with the Germans. Within six weeks of launch, Jeanson was ordered to write an editorial expressing his commitment to collaboration, but he refused, and was subsequently arrested and forced out of the newspaper. The first incarnation of Aujourd'hui'' thus concluded on 10 November 1940. == Second incarnation ==

From 3 December 1940, ''Aujourd'hui'' was led by managing editor Georges Suarez, who was more amenable to the influence of the Propagandastaffel, with Robert Perrier as editor-in-chief. He repeatedly called for more executions of Jews and Communists, His editorials characterized the American Army as "brutal gangsters...living on the fat of the land and raping women"; the White House as controlled by Jews; the English as "Bible in hand, seek[ing] to destroy Europe"; and Allied airmen as "flying assassins". Literary scholar Charles Nunley explains that "Desnos did on occasion find opportunity to incorporate into these ostensibly apolitical texts a subtle but unmistakably contestatory stance regarding the official culture of France's state of occupation". == Aftermath ==

On 23 October 1944, managing director Georges Suarez was sentenced to death as a collaborationist in the first treason trial held by the Special Court of Justice of the Seine Department. He was accused of attacking the Allies, supporting the German execution of hostages, and condemning members of the resistance. During his trial, which lasted only 90 minutes, Georges Suarez was executed by firing squad on 9 November 1944. Paul Chack was convicted and executed one month later. == Other contributors ==

Félicien Challaye, Achille Dauphin-Meunier, André Juin. == Related pages ==

• Anglophobia • Antisemitism • Collaboration • Vichy regime • Je suis partout • Georges Suarez • Otto Abetz ==References==