Governing Affective Citizenship: Denaturalization, Belonging, and Repression by Marie Beauchamps

Author:Marie Beauchamps [Beauchamps, Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781538158678
Google: liKizgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 42671007
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield International
Published: 2018-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

69Chapter 6

Denaturalization in the Context of World War II

Expanding Denaturalization before the War

There remains little known about denaturalization practices during, before, and the immediate aftermath of World War II in France or elsewhere.1 Within the French context, the case that first drew my attention was Charles de Gaulle’s déchéance, decreed on December 8, 1940 by the Vichy government and taking effect August 2, 1940. Considering his sustained devotion to France during the war, I would have thought that studying his case might say much about denaturalization. However, whereas I had expected to find a substantial amount of primary documentation (governmental notes motivating his denaturalization, news items on the topic, an appeal from de Gaulle or his allies, or even support letters from the people, for instance), I was soon to be disillusioned: the archival file concerning his case proved to contain nothing but one bare document indicating the date of the denaturalization decree. Any attempt to closely analyze the case would thus involve speculations about silences and gaps.

Still, de Gaulle’s denaturalization is striking, if only because it remains largely unknown to most French people. I remember asking myself: What would it do to the French conception of national identity if French children were taught in school that de Gaulle had been denaturalized while leading the Free France resistance movement from London? And in retrospect, what does it do to us when realizing that a former President was stripped of his nationality while, at the same time, gaining such a position in the Resistance that, after the war, his presidency came as no surprise (Gough and Horne 1994, 2–3)?

These questions highlight the significance of remaining aware of knowledge politics; because knowledge is produced through the lives of concepts on one side and their politics on the other. In terms of nationality politics, the lack of discussion about denaturalization surely impacts on nationality’s 70performativity. It conceals the concept’s omnipresent xenophobic and differentiating principle, thereby reinforcing a certain image of nationality that needs to be revised. It is with such knowledge politics in mind that I propose to address denaturalization practices in the context of World War II. Before diving into a more systematic analysis, the chapter opens with the close reading of a governmental note contextualizing denaturalization practices. It then proceeds by focusing on the extent to which denaturalization was legitimized on the grounds of a rhetoric foregrounding security as a central argument. The discussion revolves around a selection of parliamentary documents and ministerial notes, including the 1939 bill amending the provisions pertaining to the forfeiture of French nationality, presented to Parliament on December 22, 1939.

Denaturalization as “Political Weapon” and “Jeu d’Écritures”

While conducting fieldwork in the French National Archives, I discovered box after box of documents related to denaturalization practices during the war, ranging from ministerial notes, parliamentary documents, debates and reports, bills, decrees and ministerial responses. A governmental note caught my attention because its introductory paragraphs reviewed the scope of the forfeiture of nationality thus far (France 1951b). The note was dated February 19, 1951, written in the name of the French Ministry of Public Health and Population.

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