@article{ART003308601},
author={Taesoo Kim},
title={The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”},
journal={Korean Review of French History},
issn={1229-702X},
year={2026},
number={54},
pages={5-36}
TY - JOUR
AU - Taesoo Kim
TI - The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”
JO - Korean Review of French History
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 54
PB - KOREAN SOCIETY FOR FRENCH HISTORY
SP - 5
EP - 36
SN - 1229-702X
AB - This article reconsiders French non-conformism in the early 1930s by examining its transnational orientation toward Germany and the internal conflicts that this orientation generated. Grounded in the shared diagnosis of a “total crisis” of modern liberal civilization, the study shows that the search for political and intellectual “breakthroughs” shifted attention abroad, placing Germany at the center of non-conformist inquiry and giving Ordre Nouveau an interpretive advantage. Focusing on the “Letter to Hitler”(November 1933), the article highlights the divergence between Ordre Nouveau—who portrayed Hitler as a potentially “rectifiable” agent of a “total revolution”—and Emmanuel Mounier and Esprit, who rejected this premise by emphasizing the regime’s irreversible compromise with the existing order. The ensuing controversy severed previously cooperative ties and undermined the shared self-definition captured in the slogan “neither left nor right”, which Mounier publicly abandoned. The article concludes that the disintegration of non-conformism cannot be explained solely by the February 1934 crisis, but must also be understood as the cumulative outcome of conflicts triggered by divergent interpretations of Hitler and Germany, revealing the structuring role of transnational intellectual interactions.
KW - non-conformism;Ordre Nouveau;Esprit;Conservative Revolution;National Socialism
DO -
UR -
ER -
Taesoo Kim. (2026). The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”. Korean Review of French History, 54, 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. 2026, "The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”", Korean Review of French History, no.54, pp.5-36.
Taesoo Kim "The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”" Korean Review of French History 54 pp.5-36 (2026) : 5.
Taesoo Kim. The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”. 2026; 54 : 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. "The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”" Korean Review of French History no.54(2026) : 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”. Korean Review of French History, 54, 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”. Korean Review of French History. 2026; 54 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”. 2026; 54 : 5-36.
Taesoo Kim. "The “Letter to Hitler” and the Fragmentation of French Non-Conformism: Appropriating the Conservative Revolution and the Collapse of “Neither Left nor Right”" Korean Review of French History no.54(2026) : 5-36.
