- Joseph Rovan
Joseph Adolph Rovan (born Joseph Adolphe Rosenthal in
Munich ,Germany onJuly 25 ,1918 , diedAugust 27 ,2004 ), was a Frenchphilosopher andpolitician , and is considered a spiritual father ofEurope . Initially born into theJew ish faith, his family converted toProtestantism .Rovan was active in the
French Resistance duringWorld War II and was awarded theCroix de Guerre and theMedaille de la Resistance for his services. In 1944, he was arrested by theGestapo and survived 10 months in theDachau concentration camp . It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism. In 1945, after his return to France, he wrote in the magazine [http://www.esprit.presse.fr "Esprit"] the article "L'Allemagne de nos mérites," where he suggested that the creation of a democraticGermany on the ruins of theThird Reich was the responsibility of theAllies .Rovan has also been awarded the
Legion d'Honneur , theOrdre National du Mérite , theGerman Order of Merit with Star , and theBavarian Order of Merit . He died in a swimming accident in France.External links
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/10/db1003.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/08/10/ixportal.html Telegraph News report of Joseph Rovan's death]
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