1 / 12
two old black and white photos of a man and a womanan old book opened to reveal a page of text on itseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfaceseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacesome old papers are sitting on top of each other on a tableseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfaceseveral old letters and papers are stacked on top of each otheran old document with a handwritten letter on it sitting on top of a piece of paperseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfaceseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacethree old papers with handwriting on them sitting on top of each otheran old document with some writing on it sitting on top of a table
Featured lot selected by the auctions House.
Premium ROUILLAC

172 - The arrest and internment of René Benjamin, and his trials, …
See original version (French)

Estimate €2,000 - €4,000
Sale commission
Description
The arrest and internment of René Benjamin, and his trials, 1944–1947 A collection of manuscripts, correspondence and photographs FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE Internment, 1944–1945 Decree of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 19 September 1944: René Benjamin placed under house arrest in Savonnières, ‘having, through his writings, demonstrated anti-national activity’ Decree of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 4 November 1944: René Benjamin was provisionally interned by administrative order at the Lassale internment centre, “continues to engage in verbal activity likely to disturb public order” Letter/questionnaire from the Purge Commission of the Association of Combatant Writers, 6 November 1944 Decree of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 23 December 1944: placed under house arrest in Amboise Summonses from the investigating judge, April–July 1945 Decree of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 9 March 1945, placing him under administrative detention at the Saint Grégoire clinic Order of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 27 September 1945, placed under house arrest in Paris at his flat at 111 Boulevard Saint Michel (Ve) Order of the Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, 21 January 1946, lifting and revocation of house arrest, end of the administrative measure, authorisation to leave Paris and return to his home in Touraine Requisition order issued by the Prefecture of the Seine, 9 September 1946, for the Parisian flat for the benefit of the Romanian writer and poet Tristan Tzara Handwritten diary, 126 pp. on loose-leaf sheets in-8, written by René Benjamin, 18 November 1944 to 15 February 1945; an account of René Benjamin’s daily life, from the first day of his internment at the Lasalle camp in Tours, followed by his transfer to house arrest at the hospital in Amboise Handwritten diary, *Day by Day*, over 100 pp. in-4, written by René Benjamin, from 11 February to 16 June 1945; a detailed account of his experiences throughout his internment in Amboise, then in Saint-Symphorien; his suffering and resignation in the daily life of a father who had lost his son; his reflections on life, etc. 55 letters written by René Benjamin, dated 2 October 1944 – 24 September 1946, addressed to Mr Jean Dars, a lawyer, and his wife, including Tours internment camp, Lasalle quarter, 23 November 1944 Typewritten copy, 2 October 1944, of the letter written to François Mauriac, which reveals the depth of the rifts within the French literary world at the time of the Liberation and lays the foundations for his defence; René Benjamin accuses Claude Morgan, the son of Georges Leconte, and not of François Mauriac Amboise Hospital, 7 January 1945 Amboise, 21 February 1945; a deeply moving letter – René Benjamin has just learnt of the death of his son Jean-Loup at the front Saint Symphorien, Saint Grégoire Clinic, 15 March 1945 Typewritten copy, Le Plessis, Savonnières, 24 September 1946 Letter from the author (L.A.S.), 18 December 1944, from Jean-Loup Benjamin, second lieutenant in the 4th Regiment of Moroccan Riflemen, addressed to the Commissioner of the Republic in Angers Copy of the letter written by Jean-Loup Benjamin, 21 December 1944 Typewritten copy of the letter written by Jean-Loup Benjamin at the front, 20 January 1945; a deeply moving letter from a son to his father 32 Letter from the author, 1944–1953, Mr Jean Dars, lawyer for René Benjamin The judicial investigation, house arrest in Paris and the requisitioning of property (1945–1948) My Trial, handwritten draft of René Benjamin’s defence plea, with deletions, corrections and additions, 26 pp., in-4 Handwritten draft of René Benjamin’s defence plea, 31 May 1945, with deletions, corrections and additions, 19 pp., in-4 File containing press cuttings, handwritten notes on loose in-8 sheets by René Benjamin, correspondence, 1946–1947, concerning the requisitioning of his Paris flat and the freezing of his bank account, invoices for his internment at Amboise Hospital and the Saint-Grégoire Clinic, draft letters written by René Benjamin, copies of medical prescriptions 2 photographs: René Benjamin at the Saint-Grégoire Clinic in Saint-Symphorien, posing in the garden, and at the window of what he called ‘the hermitage’ (his place of detention) in the summer of 1945 Etc... FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale René Benjamin, the 20th-century Balzac scholar
Auction location
Auction time 10/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like