Ralph Soupault

• Born 1904-10-05 · Died 1962-08-12

A French cartoonist and illustrator who was engaged in the extreme right. He was an activist in the French People's Party and became an active collaborator with Nazi Germany during World War II. He published his first drawing at the age of 17 in July 1921, in the communist daily *L'Humanité*. Also in 1921, he participated in the Fair of Scabs, on the Place Constantin-Pecqueur (Montmartre) and delivered drawings to *The Men of the Day*. The following year he did the same for *Le Journal du peuple*, *Le Chat noir*, and *Le Carnet de la semaine*. He attended the courses of the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs et des Beaux-Arts de Paris. While there, he belonged to the university group "Amis du Populaire" and participated in street clashes against the activists of the French Action. During the next few years, he contributed to the *Fun Journal*, the *Excelsior Dimanche*, and *Laughter*. In 1923, he left France to perform his military service and finished as a sergeant in the 61st Moroccan Tirailleurs regiment in 1926. After military service, he became fiercely nationalist, writing in the right-wing press and in 1930 for *Comœdia*. He actively participated in the French Action beginning in 1936 and began publishing in *Gringoire*, *Je suis tout*, and *L'Insurgé*. During the German Occupation, Ralph Soupault was the most solicited cartoonist in the Paris press, becoming the star cartoonist of *Je suis tout* and appearing in many PPF periodicals. Shortly before the Liberation of Paris, in August of 1944, he fled the capital to arrive in Germany. He then went to Italy, where he was arrested and returned to Paris, tried and sentenced for "intelligence with the enemy", and served five years. Released in November 1950 for "health reasons", he again became a cartoonist. He published during the 1950s in the far-right weekly *Rivarol*, under the pseudonym Leno.