Réveiller l’archive d’une guerre coloniale: Photographies et écrits de Gaston Chérau, correspondant de guerre lors du conflit italo-turc pour la Libye (1911–1912). By Pierre Schill. Grâne: Créaphis Éditions, 2018. Pp. 478, with illustrations, notes, and bibliography. ISBN: 9782354281410.
Á fendre le cœur le plus dur. By Jérome Ferrari and Oliver Rohe. Arles: Actes Sud, 2017. Pp. 109, with illustrations and notes. ISBN: 9782330086527.
The core of the first book are the reports, correspondence, and photographs of the French author Gaston Chérau (1872–1937), who was a war correspondent sent by the pro-Italian Parisian daily Le Matin to Tripoli (26 November 1911–10 January 1912) to cover the Turkish-Italian War. But this is more than publishing Chérau’s writing and photographs. The historian Pierre Schill discusses his own first encounter with some of these photographs, which led him to discover their creator and Chérau’s extensive collections held in public and private archives. Schill also provides details about Chérau, the background of his dispatch to Tripoli, the main stages of the war, and the reaction to the war in Europe. Unique to this enterprise is the inspiration the collection had on artists (visual art and dance) and authors whose work is discussed and presented. The second book includes the reflections of two authors, who are also mentioned in the first book, based on the collection, relating both to history and current affairs.
Chérau was the second correspondent sent by Le Matin to Tripoli after the main Italian invasion came to a standstill. By late November 1911 the Italians were holding just selected areas on the Mediterranean coast and encountered fierce combined Turkish-Arab resistance, which they did not expect and which caused them at times severe casualties. The harsh Italian response to the resistance, resulting in numerous civilians killed, brought about widespread criticism in the European press by journalists who reported from the Turkish-Arab side. Le Matin’s aim was to increase public support of Italy in this conflict by having a famous author writing from the war zone. Although Chérau was reporting mainly from Tripoli, he did visit some places in the neighborhood while he was embedded with the Italian army. Despite his requests, he did not receive the authorities’ permission to go also to Cyrenaica, where the war was much more fierce, and this led to his decision to leave after a short while. Due to the timing of his stay in Tripoli and the limited access he had to move around, his 19 published reports (28 November 1911–2 January 1912), in which he glorifies the Italians and criticizes the resistance, do not shed much light on the military and political developments in the region. What is very impressive, though, are his 229 photographs (211 of them from Libya, the rest from his journey), several of which were published in Le Matin and some other papers. Standing out are numerous photographs of slain Italian soldiers, Arab combatants, and especially public hangings in a main market in Tripoli of Arabs accused of resisting and murdering Italians. Among the postcards Chérau sent to his wife and son are also those published by the Italian authorities as part of the war propaganda, carrying photographs of the hangings of Arabs and of Italian casualties, accompanied by notations in Italian, French, and English. Some photographs shed light on civilian life in Tripoli, depicting buildings, markets, and local citizens: adults and children. Chérau’s correspondence with his wife and baby son convey his feelings towards his surroundings and mission as well as his hopes for literary recognition back in France. Chérau’s stay in Tripolitania did not result in much literary production. The book includes the sole exception, a short literary work by Chérau, using his stay in Tripoli as background: “Sur le trésor des caravanes,” which was published in 1926 in a collection edited by Georges Bourdon.
The second part of the book presents thoughts and artistic works inspired by Chérau’s reporting from Libya. Among the topics discussed are colonial wars and the role of embedded journalists in promoting political and military views. Chérau’s work inspired the choreographer Emmanuel Eggermont, who created the performance “Strange Fruit.” Another result was the exhibition “Á fendre le cœur le plus dur, Témoigner la guerre / Regards sur une archive,” which was presented in 2015 in Sélestat (Alsace) and in 2016 in Paris.
The book is organized in a way which makes it easy for readers to get to specific parts: this is achieved by using different page colors for different sections. Thus, for example, Chérau’s photographs are printed on white paper, his reports on yellow, and his correspondence on light blue. The annotations to the photographs are helpful, pointing at times to the relevant reports or letters. Their small gray fonts, though, make them difficult to decipher.
The title of the second book and the exhibition, Á fendre le cœur le plus dur, is a citation from Chérau’s letter to his wife expressing his feelings resulting from the horrid views he encountered. The reflections of Ferrari and Rohe (the entries are not individually signed) deal in a critical way with numerous subjects, including war journalism, Chérau’s personality, violence resulting from colonial wars and dictatorships, and attitudes towards Europeans and indigenous people.
The written and visual reporting of Chérau has created impressive publication events, both scholarly and artistic. In addition to the original data, one learns about the investigative search for the materials and their authorship. The data are diligently presented and interpreted and one sees how archival resources can serve as a basis for further political and social thoughts as well as an inspiration for artistic creations.
Rachel Simon
Princeton University Library