Julien Cain

Beginnings

Wire of a Parisian printer Jew of Lorraine origin, raises of the philosopher Alain (Emile Chartier) with the Lycée Condorcet, Julien Cain follows studies of history to the Sorbonne. Incorporated history in 1911, it teaches during one year with the college of Toulon then follows the courses of the École of Louvre with an aim of becoming historian of Article Mobilisé in 1914 in the Infantry, it is seriously wounded in 1916 and receives the Légion of honor hands of the president of the Republic Poincaré. Declared inapt for the active service after two operations, it is affected in 1917 with the service of foreign documentation common to the ministries for the War and the Foreign affairs: it takes the head in 1919 of it after its demobilization and works there until in 1927.

Thanks to this experiment and with a solid social network, it becomes in 1927 Directeur cabinet of Fernand Bouisson, president (SFIO) of the House of Commons. It gives satisfaction to it and in particular contributes to reconcile Edouard Herriot and Leon Blum.

The first passage to the “Main road”

It is on the recommendation of the latter that Julien Cain is named in 1930 general administrator of the National library with for mission of reorganizing an institution which ankylosis.

It develops at once a plan of restoration of the National library, which it carries out essentially front 1935. It is initially of great architectural transformations: construction of an appendix in Versailles, installation of the undergrounds of the street of Richelieu in which are installed a room of work of the reserve and a room of the catalogs, installation of the cabinet of the Prints and cabinet of the Manuscripts in new buildings, restoration of the Mansart galleries and Mazarine. It is, then, of great exposures: not limited to the visual arts, but opened with the literature, the music as with all arts, these exposures, of a new kind, give a new life to the “B.N. ”, open it with a widened public.

The street of the Small-Fields, where it has its residence of function, becomes a living room where artists, writers, politicians and diplomats côtoient themselves, without exclusive nor sectarianism. At the beautiful days, it is in the property of Louveciennes, that his Lucienne wife inherited her family, that it receives. “One was a little in Louveciennes as in Marly of Louis XIV” wrote a visitor. Julien Cain became thus an intermediary between the writers, the artists, and the public authorities.

In 1936 -1937, Julien Cain is closely associated with ambitious and generous cultural policy with the Popular front. It is charged by Jean Zay, Minister for State education, to promote an action in favor of the book and the libraries. Thus it creates the National committee of the book illustrated, the National committee of French engraving, the Service of purchase of the books for the public libraries, the Office of information on the libraries. It develops the Bibliobus and the libraries for children. It also takes part in the organization of the World Fair of 1937, for which it makes National library a “Museum of the Literature”. It is on this occasion that Paul Valéry wrote of him: “That would we have made without the constant action, energy persuasive, equal and irresistible, of Mr. Julien Cain, administrator of our National library, of which it transformed all operation and that it returned, by a progress constant of its provisions and its installations, finally worthy of the incomparable richnesses that it contains, and equalizes it of most perfect abroad? It is, undoubtedly, the man of France to which the organization of the letters must more. ”.

Its activity overflows the national framework, since he is also Member of the Commission of intellectual Co-operation of the Société of the Nations. It frequently goes to Geneva for this reason. Its rise, in November 1938, with the dignity of Large-Officer of the Legion of honor, marks the recognition of the State towards accomplished work.

War and deportation

In March 1940, Julien Cain is named general secretary of Information by the new president of the Council Paul Reynaud. Refusing the defeat, it embarks on June 21st on board the Massilia with members of Parliament like Georges Mandel, Jean Zay, Pierre Mendès France determined to continue the fight in North Africa.

Left free after the forced return of the steamer in roads of Marseilles, he learns almost at once his revocation from his functions of general administrator of the National library by the Vichy government, which names in its place the collaborator writer Bernard Faÿ. After being remained some time with Clermont-Ferrand, in nonoccupied zone, it regains Paris on August 16th, and settles in a small housing with 83, rue de Monceau.

February 12th 1941, following the publication of a “pewter” in the collaborator newspaper the Morning , Julien Cain is stopped in his residence by the police force German and imprisoned with the Prison of Health. It will know later that it was stopped for “intrigues anti-German” and that the authorities of occupation constituted a file relating to it where it is described as Mittelsmann DER de Gaulle Bewegung . June 9th, it is transferred to the Fort from Romainville, pursuant to a German order of May 31st. February 20th 1942, it obtains its hospitalization with the Valley-of-Grace, but, at the beginning of July, is of return to Romainville.

January 24th 1944, the Germans off-set it, from Compiegne, with the camp of Buchenwald. It is affected with block 56, number 42170. A chain of solidarity, especially made up by the French Communists of the camp, at the head whose Marcel Paul, will tear off it with dead by avoiding fatal transport to him. It is affected with tasks of translator, at the political files of the camp In the middle of the worst horrors, it preserves its faith in the future and insufflates it with his/her comrades to which it reads Valéry, Maupassant, Goethe, Schiller…, never not losing the hope to be “the next year, with the Main road”. But it is in vain that it tries to save the poet Robert Desnos in transit with Buchenwald.

Released by the Americans on April 11th 1945, Julien Cain finds at once his post of general administrator of the “B.N. ”. As of on November 16th, it is in London, where it takes part in the creation of the UNESCO, of which it will be elected vice-president of the executive council the following year. March 12th 1946, it is named director of the Libraries of France and the Public reading, function created at the beginning of 1945 and initially entrusted on a purely temporary basis to Marcel Bouteron. Julien Cain will cumulate this load with that of general administrator of the National library.

Return to the BN

With the weak appropriations which it has in this post-war period, it takes again the stopped building sites of the “B.N. ”. Since 1946, it can inaugurate the cabinet of the Prints. It completes the department of the Charts and Plans, begins again, in 1950, the work of heightening of the central store of the Printed papers form, which successively the Russet-red-Spitz architects and Chatelin achieve. In 1952, it obtains the appropriations which allow the construction of a second building Versailles, intended to receive the periodicals and the printed papers form, and which is completed as of 1953. Lastly, it is harnessed with the construction of a building intended for the department of the Music, which will be inaugurated in 1964. Since 1947, it takes again the exposures “type Julien Cain”, concerning with all the fields of art: painting, engraving, binding, photography, music, theater, literature. Not a year not being passed, until its retirement, without the “B.N. ” a great creator does not celebrate.

As director of the Libraries, Julien Cain is at the origin of the opening of more than one hundred building sites of public libraries and university, for which it obtains appropriations not without difficulties. Large promoter of the organization of the libraries of France, he was also vice-president of the International federation of associations of librarians and institutions. Since 1953, it joins again with the German directors of the libraries by inviting them to Paris. To reinforce the unit of the libraries, it takes the initiative of launching, in 1956, the Bulletin of the libraries of France (BBF), which always appears. Informed bibliophile, it takes part in Munich in 1959 with the first international congress of the bibliophiles and organizes the second in Paris in 1961. He prepares the statutes of the International association of the bibliophiles, of which he is elected president in 1963.

Its activity is spread in multiple organizations: it is named in 1957 member of the Council of the Ordre of Arts and the Letters; in 1958, he becomes president of the French Commission of UNESCO and chairs the international advisory Commission of bibliography, documentation and terminology of this organization. He was also president of the National bank of the Letters, member of the Council of the National museums, the Superior council of the Historic buildings, the Superior council of the Art schools, the Commission of the diplomatic Files, the Superior council of the Broadcasting (1959).

He on also the occasion to return to the History, his vocation first, like chair commission of history of the Déportation of the Comité of history of the Second world war and like chair Commission of economic and social History of the French revolution (1959), like like chair Comité of historical and scientific work, attached in 1945 to the Management of the Libraries.

To the functions and the loads the honors are added. In 1952, Julien Cain is elected member of the Académie of the Art schools (section of the free members). He is made doctor Honoris causa by many foreign universities, of which those of Stockholm and Oxford.

An active retirement

It is only in 1964, at the age of soixante-treize years, which it can leave its functions of administrator of the National library and director of the Libraries, as it had wished it for several years. The Gazette of the Art schools devoted in July 1966 an special issue to its work and “Mixtures of art and literature” were offered to him, as homage, in 1968, under the title active Humanisme , summarizing well its ideal and its work.

This retirement was not really one. The year of its departure of the “B.N. ”, it is named preserving as a chief of the Musée Jacquemart-Andre, president of the Charged commission of the general Inventaire of the Monuments and the artistic Richnesses of France and member of the board of directors of ORTF. With the museum Jacquemart-Andre, it continues to organize exposures in the style of those of the “B.N. ”, without neglecting any form of culture: the last of these exposures was devoted to the large dressmaker Paul Poiret.

Hospitalized in April 1968 following pulmonary complications, it is restored and remained active until the end, although it had to give up its loads with UNESCO. It died out on October 9th, 1974, in its residence of 83, rue de Monceau.

Senior official under three republics, Julien Cain played a part of 3eminence grise near the political power, thanks to his qualities but also by his networks. He was the uncle of Lucie Faure, writer and wife of Edgar Faure, president of the Council under the Fourth Republic. Man of the left, it brought a continuous support with the action of the general De Gaulle like chair Fifth Republic.

Julien Cain was titular many decorations: Large cross of the Legion of honor, Large cross of the National order of the Merit, Military Cross 1914-1918, he was moreover Commandeur of the academic Palmes, Commandeur of Arts and the Letters. Its name was given in 2005 to the one of the alleys of the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand (Tolbiac site of BnF).

Sources

J. Suffel, “Julien Cain” in Bulletin of the Bibliophile , n°3, 1974
B. Gavoty, “Note on the life and work of Julien Cain”, in Publications of the Institute of France , n°6, 1976
T. Kleindienst, “Julien Cain”, in History of the French edition , under the direction of Henri-Jean Martin, Paris, 1986, vol. IV, p. 550-551
“Homage to Julien Cain”, the Gazette of the Art schools , July 1968.
active Humanism, Mixtures of art and literature offered to Julien Cain , Paris 1968.

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