André Gide and the Great War: The Emergence of a European Spirit

For Gide, the Great War was a time of transformation. His first priority was helping refugees from the occupied territories, then finding a proper distance from the present in order to begin thinking about the future.

Amidst the general turmoil, the writer glimpsed the beginnings of a cultural Europe where diversity worked toward unity. During the 1920s and 30s, assuming the role of witness that posterity has remembered, he frequented intellectual elites, traveled extensively, and engaged in numerous exchanges, working to foster understanding between nations. While he did not become involved in the many public initiatives that emerged at the time, his influence transcended borders, and his work left its mark on the 20th century.

From his Journal, as much as from his critical articles, not to mention his fiction, arose an original reflection on the individual rather than on institutions. This book illuminates the various facets of this reflection and, at the same time, invites us to consider the role Gide attributed to the man of letters in society.