Julien van Noord
Julien van Noord | |
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| Born | 26 December 1867 |
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| Era | |
| Known for | French-language polemical essays |
| Children | |
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| Family | Noord family |
Julien van Noord (born 26 December 1867) was a Dutch-born French-language essayist and member of the Noord family. He wrote about intellectual independence and the authority people attached to political symbols. During the Second World War, he held a reserve appointment with the administrative staff of the Panzer-Lehr-Division. He was the father of Angelo van Noord and Martin van Noord.
Early life
Julien was born in Rotterdam on 26 December 1867. He was the youngest child of Matteo Norte and Camilla Norte. His parents had converted to Judaism in 1859, and he was raised as a Jew from birth. The family moved to Paris in 1871.
As a young man, Julien rejected the religious practice of his household. In 1887, he began describing himself as an atheist. He nevertheless read French translations of Homer and Hesiod and developed a lasting interest in the gods of ancient Greece. He treated them as literary representations of human ambition and weakness rather than as objects of worship.
Julien began publishing essays in French during the 1890s. He preferred abstract arguments and rarely conceded a point once he had stated it in print. When readers challenged him, he often replied that they had misunderstood the question. His correspondence earned him a reputation for arrogance that followed him throughout his career.
Friendships
Julien's closest friend was Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap, whom he met through a French reading group. Their friendship continued through regular visits after Paap returned to the Dutch-German border region. Julien took Paap's criticism seriously, even when their arguments continued for months by letter.
Hendrik Hoos became another close friend through the same circle. Julien met Humphrey van Hetten while visiting family contacts in the Netherlands. With Lourens Schroeter, he repeatedly argued about military discipline and the authority conveyed by a uniform. The friendships remained personal and were never organized into a formal group.
Writing
Julien remained a civilian during the First World War. He was forty-six when the war began and was not called into military service. He continued writing in Paris throughout the conflict.
His best-known book was Le sale désir du cuir (The Dirty Desire for Leather), published in 1931. Julien used leather uniforms to examine the difference between authority and its appearance. He argued that clothing could allow an insecure man to imitate discipline while encouraging others to mistake display for ability. The book also addressed the sexual vanity attached to uniforms, although Julien distinguished that subject from leatherworking as a craft.
Second World War
In January 1944, Julien accepted a reserve officer appointment with the administrative staff of the Panzer-Lehr-Division in France. At seventy-six, he worked behind the lines. He reviewed French documents for the divisional staff and prepared translations. He also lectured officers responsible for rear administration.
Julien remained with the administrative staff when the division entered combat in Normandy. He withdrew into Germany in August 1944 and performed no further duty after reaching the border. His reserve appointment ended that month.
Later life and family
French authorities examined Julien's wartime service before allowing him to return. The surviving staff record placed him in translation and administrative work rather than field operations. He settled in Rethel in October 1947 and resumed writing, although he published less frequently than he had before the war.
Julien expected both of his sons to share his discipline as readers. Martin repeatedly left work unfinished, which Julien regarded as laziness rather than a difference in temperament. Angelo's military career disappointed him for another reason. Julien believed that his son had surrendered independent judgment in exchange for rank. These judgments left him distant from both men.
Works
- Le sale désir du cuir (The Dirty Desire for Leather, 1931)