RENÉ CASSIN, “Les hommes partis de rien” : new edition published by Plon
A publication that opens the cycle of commemorations marking the 50th anniversary (1887–1976)
On 7 May 2025, Plon published a new edition of Les hommes partis de rien (Men who rose from nothing). The Awakening of a Defeated France (1940–1941). , a text that has become rare, written by René Cassin and originally published in 1974.
This reissue restores access to a first-hand testimony of a decisive period: the months during which a defeated France saw the struggle reorganized and, from London, the legitimacy of Free France take shape.
An author at the heart of history: jurist, fighter, Companion of the Liberation
A professor at the Faculty of Law in Paris, severely wounded in 1914, former president of the Federal Union of War Veterans, and a member of the French delegation to the League of Nations, René Cassin was one of the first civilians to respond to General de Gaulle’s Appeal. He joined London as early as June 1940 and became one of the leading “legal architects of Free France,” before being among the first Companions of the Liberation.
An essential account: “The Awakening of a Defeated France” (1940–1941)
In these pages, René Cassin recounts from the inside eighteen months that weigh heavily in history: the decision to join London, the political and institutional work alongside de Gaulle, diplomatic tensions, the first steps of Fighting France, and the gradual construction of legitimacy in the face of the Vichy regime.
This book is not merely a historical document: it sheds light on the way a jurist transforms urgency into organization, and ordeal into a demand for republican continuity.
A new edition with a preface by Emmanuel Decaux
This reissue is published with a new preface written by Emmanuel Decaux.
A publication that opens the 2026 commemorations under the auspices of France Mémoire
The René Cassin Foundation – International Institute of Human Rights positions this publication as an opening milestone of the cycle of commemorations organized in 2026, held under the auspices of France Mémoire, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of René Cassin (1887–1976) and to highlight the continued relevance of the work of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
