French historian Marc Ferro, specialist in Russia and cinema, is dead

The round face, wearing tortoiseshell glasses, a slightly jerky tone, Marc Ferro presented "Parallel History" a TV show in which he put history within the reach of the general public.

© AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGE

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

A great specialist in the history of the USSR and Russia but also in the wars of the twentieth century, colonization and cinema, Marc Ferro died on the night of April 21 to 22 of complications from Covid-19.

He was 96 years old. 

Publicity

Read more

Before plunging into history, Marc Ferro got to know the Resistance by engaging in the Vercors maquis.

He was recruited thanks to his perfect knowledge of German.

After the Liberation, he returned to his studies and began teaching in Oran, where he became aware of the colonial fact. 

Returning to Paris, he directed his research towards the Soviet world and in 1967 published a first synthesis which will be a milestone under the title

The Revolution of 1917

. Although having failed the aggregation seven times, this student of the great historian Fernand Braudel pursues a brilliant academic career in which his sense of analysis and his taste for daring parallels are successful. 

Thus at the end of the 1980s, Marc Ferro innovated by putting the cinematographic archives of the great moments of contemporary history within the reach of the general public.

This is how

Parallel History was

born

, which he presented on La Sept (1989-92) then on Arte until 2002. A captivating program which made him the incarnation of history on the small screen, with his round face and his tortoiseshell glasses. 

Prolific author, Marc Ferro had published last year his 65th book,

Entry into life,

on the fate of great personalities.

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • France

  • History

  • Literature