Napoleon's Crimes: A Blueprint for Hitler (French: Le Crime de Napoléon) is a book published in 2005 by French writer Claude Ribbe, who is of Caribbean origin. In the book, Ribbe advances the thesis that Napoleon Bonaparte during the Haitian Revolutionfirst used gas chambers as a method of mass execution, 140 years before Hitler and the Nazis. His accusations in the book has caused a minor political and academic storm when it was published, and its premise remains under contention to this day.
In the early 19th century, Napoleon had reinstated slavery in the French colonies of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and Guadeloupe were hit by a series of massive slaverebellions. Napoleon, as the person responsible for the reinstatement of slavery after the First French Republic had abolished it, was in charge of putting the slave revolts down, and he did so with brutal efficiency. Ribbe claims that some of Napoleon's men refused to do as they were ordered, and then later wrote journals describing the massacre. From these passages, he claims that Napoleon's troops burnt sulphur (readily collected from nearby volcanoes) to make sulphur dioxide gas, which is extremely poisonous. This would have been effective at helping to quell the rebelling Caribbean slaves.
Ribbe's most controversial accusation is that the holds of ships were used as makeshift gas chambers; and that up to 100,000 black slaves were murdered in them. These revelations are still in considerable academic dispute, but when the book was published, the French establishment was quick to condemn his allegations. The French newspaper France Soir, a populist tabloid, for instance, published a stinging editorial, calling the claims of the book insane. The French historian Pierre Branda wrote a critical analysis of Ribbe's book, stating that it is mainly based on suppositions and that the sources are few and often quoted and referred to with heavy omissions.
The book was written in a context of social tension for the bicentenary of Austerlitz and in the same timeframe as the Affaire Olivier Grenouilleau, where the author is strongly implicated. Jérôme Gautheret, in Le Monde, considers that « Le Crime de Napoléon n’est pas un livre d’histoire » "is not a history book" and describes it as « charge polémique dirigée contre les « historiographes officiels » "a polemical charge directed against the "official historiographers"" and a "pamphlet" that does not really contribute to a “critical re-reading of the colonial fact”.[1]
Nicolas Lebourg denounces “this type of anachronism, [...] describing the slave trade as a Holocaust in wedges”.[2]
See also
Polish Legions, one of the French army units sent to Haiti
References
^Jérôme Gautheret, « Quand Napoléon annonce Hitler », Le MondeISSN 0395-2037 daté du 1er décembre 2005 [1]
^[2], Nicolas Lebourg, lesinrocks.com, 18 janvier 2013
Ribbe, Claude (2007). Napoleon's Crimes: A Blueprint for Hitler. Oneworld Publications. ISBN978-1-85168-533-2.
A newspaper report, Napoleon's genocide 'on a par with Hitler', appeared in the Daily Telegraph in late 2005 about the controversy. Retrieved July 2006
napoleon, crimes, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2018, learn, when, remove, this, template, messag. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Napoleon s Crimes A Blueprint for Hitler French Le Crime de Napoleon is a book published in 2005 by French writer Claude Ribbe who is of Caribbean origin In the book Ribbe advances the thesis that Napoleon Bonaparte during the Haitian Revolution first used gas chambers as a method of mass execution 140 years before Hitler and the Nazis His accusations in the book has caused a minor political and academic storm when it was published and its premise remains under contention to this day In the early 19th century Napoleon had reinstated slavery in the French colonies of Saint Domingue now Haiti and Guadeloupe were hit by a series of massive slave rebellions Napoleon as the person responsible for the reinstatement of slavery after the First French Republic had abolished it was in charge of putting the slave revolts down and he did so with brutal efficiency Ribbe claims that some of Napoleon s men refused to do as they were ordered and then later wrote journals describing the massacre From these passages he claims that Napoleon s troops burnt sulphur readily collected from nearby volcanoes to make sulphur dioxide gas which is extremely poisonous This would have been effective at helping to quell the rebelling Caribbean slaves Ribbe s most controversial accusation is that the holds of ships were used as makeshift gas chambers and that up to 100 000 black slaves were murdered in them These revelations are still in considerable academic dispute but when the book was published the French establishment was quick to condemn his allegations The French newspaper France Soir a populist tabloid for instance published a stinging editorial calling the claims of the book insane The French historian Pierre Branda wrote a critical analysis of Ribbe s book stating that it is mainly based on suppositions and that the sources are few and often quoted and referred to with heavy omissions The book was written in a context of social tension for the bicentenary of Austerlitz and in the same timeframe as the Affaire Olivier Grenouilleau where the author is strongly implicated Jerome Gautheret in Le Monde considers that Le Crime de Napoleon n est pas un livre d histoire is not a history book and describes it as charge polemique dirigee contre les historiographes officiels a polemical charge directed against the official historiographers and a pamphlet that does not really contribute to a critical re reading of the colonial fact 1 Nicolas Lebourg denounces this type of anachronism describing the slave trade as a Holocaust in wedges 2 See also EditPolish Legions one of the French army units sent to HaitiReferences Edit Jerome Gautheret Quand Napoleon annonce Hitler Le Monde ISSN 0395 2037 date du 1er decembre 2005 1 2 Nicolas Lebourg lesinrocks com 18 janvier 2013 Ribbe Claude 2007 Napoleon s Crimes A Blueprint for Hitler Oneworld Publications ISBN 978 1 85168 533 2 A newspaper report Napoleon s genocide on a par with Hitler appeared in the Daily Telegraph in late 2005 about the controversy Retrieved July 2006 Une these montee de toutes pieces Le Crime de Napoleon de Claude Ribbe French http www napoleon org fr salle lecture articles files critiqueribbe branda decembre2005 aspExternal links EditNapoleon Bonaparte article on Haitian history wiki This article about a book on political philosophy or theory is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Napoleon 27s Crimes amp oldid 1157882265, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
