6 ms·

I was surprised too. The anti-semite part seems to be dubious at best - the only link I found is someone's very liberal interpretation of some words

shakna 6y ago
It doesn't take much to find it. Here's a quote from the man himself: > Ici, nous n'avons toujours pas de logement. Nous sommes actuellement campés dans un petit pavillon d'une pension de famille sur la Corniche. Ce n'est pas gai pour Simone, mais il n'y aura d'appartement convenable que quand on aura fichu à la porte tous les ignobles youtres qui nous encombrent. [0] A rough translation of the last sentence might be: > It's not cheerful for Simone, but there won't be a suitable apartment until we have kicked out all the vile youtres [slur for Jew] that plague us. But, to be more charitable to the man, it was a time where anti-semitism was wide spread, and doesn't seem to be more than the norm of the time. But it isn't really ambiguous. [0] https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plongee-antisemite-du-commandant-jacques-yves-cousteau_3551090_1819218.html https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plonge...
- rsynnott 6y ago
  This is actually arguably _worse_ than it seems, when you put it in context. He wrote this is May 1941, in Vichy France. In 1942, Vichy France started 'kicking out' its Jewish population to occupied France, and thence to the concentration camps. Maybe Cousteau got his apartment after all...
bambax 6y ago
In many letters written during WWII Cousteau wishes to get rid of "youtres" which is a derogatory word for Jews much worse than the N word in English. The defense of Commandant Cousteau's anti-Semite private writings usually goes along the lines of "okay, but everybody did the same at the time". But this is not true. Most people did not actively call for the physical extermination of Jews in occupied France. They did nothing to prevent it -- but rejoicing and calling for more is on another level. His brother was a frequent contributor to "Je suis partout" during WWII and was sentenced to death for his writings at the end of the war (later commuted to life in prison). And yes, Cousteau is not his brother. Yet -- not a good family.
- YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
  So far you and others here have only shown one example of a letter where he is calling for jewish (and muslim) people to be kicked out. I have seen nothing about extermination etc. Even more so- what the hell is this "not a good family" business all about? Seriously? The whole family? Because of one member? This is just mud-slinging.
  - rsynnott 6y ago
    Cousteau probably didn't realise _exactly_ what was likely to happen to Jewish people who were 'kicked out' to make room for important filmmakers; this was the year before the Wannsee Conference. But one would have had to be extremely naive to think that anything good was happening to the Jewish populations the Nazis were then deporting across their empire.
  - bambax 6y ago
    By "family" I meant Cousteau's family during the war, not all his descendants of course. Sorry if that was unclear. But he was a Nazi sympathizer and was protected by the Germans during the war. Then he falsely claimed to have been a member of the Resistance. This is all documented in his biography.
    - YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
      Once more, I have to ask you, if you do not mean to implicate Cousteau's entire family, all the way up to his great-great grandchildren, for Cousteau's antisemitism, then why are you bringing his antisemitism up in a discussion about his grandson? Why is what you are doing here any different than reminding everyone of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis everytime someone talks about modern Germany, or Angela Merkel?
      - bambax 6y ago
        Because, last I checked, Angela Merkel doesn't invoke Hitler to show how great Germany is. I'm sorry to have to point this out.
usrusr 6y ago
Also surprised. I was taking the dark sides of the Steven Zissou character in Anderson's The Life Aquatic as an added twist, not as art imitating life.

shakna 6y ago

It doesn't take much to find it. Here's a quote from the man himself: > Ici, nous n'avons toujours pas de logement. Nous sommes actuellement campés dans un petit pavillon d'une pension de famille sur la Corniche. Ce n'est pas gai pour Simone, mais il n'y aura d'appartement convenable que quand on aura fichu à la porte tous les ignobles youtres qui nous encombrent. [0] A rough translation of the last sentence might be: > It's not cheerful for Simone, but there won't be a suitable apartment until we have kicked out all the vile youtres [slur for Jew] that plague us. But, to be more charitable to the man, it was a time where anti-semitism was wide spread, and doesn't seem to be more than the norm of the time. But it isn't really ambiguous. [0] https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plongee-antisemite-du-commandant-jacques-yves-cousteau_3551090_1819218.html https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plonge...

rsynnott 6y ago
This is actually arguably _worse_ than it seems, when you put it in context. He wrote this is May 1941, in Vichy France. In 1942, Vichy France started 'kicking out' its Jewish population to occupied France, and thence to the concentration camps. Maybe Cousteau got his apartment after all...

bambax 6y ago

In many letters written during WWII Cousteau wishes to get rid of "youtres" which is a derogatory word for Jews much worse than the N word in English. The defense of Commandant Cousteau's anti-Semite private writings usually goes along the lines of "okay, but everybody did the same at the time". But this is not true. Most people did not actively call for the physical extermination of Jews in occupied France. They did nothing to prevent it -- but rejoicing and calling for more is on another level. His brother was a frequent contributor to "Je suis partout" during WWII and was sentenced to death for his writings at the end of the war (later commuted to life in prison). And yes, Cousteau is not his brother. Yet -- not a good family.

YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
So far you and others here have only shown one example of a letter where he is calling for jewish (and muslim) people to be kicked out. I have seen nothing about extermination etc. Even more so- what the hell is this "not a good family" business all about? Seriously? The whole family? Because of one member? This is just mud-slinging.
- rsynnott 6y ago
  Cousteau probably didn't realise _exactly_ what was likely to happen to Jewish people who were 'kicked out' to make room for important filmmakers; this was the year before the Wannsee Conference. But one would have had to be extremely naive to think that anything good was happening to the Jewish populations the Nazis were then deporting across their empire.
- bambax 6y ago
  By "family" I meant Cousteau's family during the war, not all his descendants of course. Sorry if that was unclear. But he was a Nazi sympathizer and was protected by the Germans during the war. Then he falsely claimed to have been a member of the Resistance. This is all documented in his biography.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
    Once more, I have to ask you, if you do not mean to implicate Cousteau's entire family, all the way up to his great-great grandchildren, for Cousteau's antisemitism, then why are you bringing his antisemitism up in a discussion about his grandson? Why is what you are doing here any different than reminding everyone of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis everytime someone talks about modern Germany, or Angela Merkel?
    - bambax 6y ago
      Because, last I checked, Angela Merkel doesn't invoke Hitler to show how great Germany is. I'm sorry to have to point this out.

usrusr 6y ago

Also surprised. I was taking the dark sides of the Steven Zissou character in Anderson's The Life Aquatic as an added twist, not as art imitating life.