An ordinary man’s extraordinary life

When Beethoven passed away in 1827, at least 20,000 residents walked beyond his hearse in Vienna, Austria. John F. Kennedy’s sorrowful 1963 funeral in Washington, D.C., which included a horse carrying the boots of the assassinated president, was etched in many memories, as was Winston Churchill’s 1965 memorial service, including a boat ride of his casket over the Thames river.

As impressive processions were often organised for great men and women who marked their times, one hoped that France was ready to give Stephane Hessel, who died on February 26, a state funeral. In time, one also hoped that his remains would be placed at the Panthéon, the mausoleum for distinguished French citizens.

To be sure, Hessel was an ordinary man, though he lived an extraordinary life. The kind of man who inspired many, empowered the powerless, and marked humanity as few have and it was immensely important to acknowledge his genuine contributions, which added true value.

Hessel, was well known within French diplomatic circles or Second World War resistance movement groups, though few had heard of him before October 2010. Distressed by domestic and international developments, he published Indignez-Vous! (Translated as Time for Outrage!), a 4,000-word pamphlet with an original print run of 8,000 that sold more than 4 million copies in 34 languages, in which he called on young people to engage in peaceful rebellions against “the dictatorial forces of international capitalism, and to reassert the ideal that the privileged class must help the less fortunate rise”.

It was remarkable that such a summons would emerge from a nonagenarian, someone willing to defy those who abused power, treated people as mere consumers, dismissed immigrants as meaningless creatures, tolerated news media manipulation, nibbled at social safety nets and, in the case of Israel, treated Palestinians as “cockroaches”.

It was impressive that this man, born to a Jewish father and a Christian mother in Berlin, Germany, could feel such empathy. More so when one realised that he walked the walk, not just talked the talk. After his parents moved to Paris in 1924, when Hessel was barely seven years old, Hessel received a secular secondary education. He graduated from the prestigious Ecole Normale, where he earned a degree in philosophy, and became a French citizen in 1937. Still, in some ways, his journey ensured that Hessel would indeed think in extraordinary ways.

Rejecting Nazi occupation, he joined General Charles de Gaulle and enrolled in the French resistance, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944, sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, and only survived after he exchanged identities with a French soldier who had died of typhoid fever.

After the war, Hessel embarked on a diplomatic career and helped Eleanor Roosevelt (US) and Charles Malek (Lebanon) draft the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Appointed ambassador to Vietnam and Algeria, he witnessed man’s inhumanity to man as few could, and later served on several international development commissions.

With Indignez-Vous!, however, Hessel sharpened his eagle-eyed focus. “When something outrages you, as Nazism did me, that is when you become a militant, strong and engaged,” he wrote. “You join the movement of history, and the great current of history continues to flow only thanks to each and every one of us,” he clarified, which did not sit well with critics, especially those who disagreed with his views on Israel and the Palestinians. Regrettably, he was accused of anti-Semitism, though he was not an anti-Semite.

As reported by Agnes Poirier in the Guardian, Hessel was asked in 2006 what was the most important advice that was ever given to him, and responded: “My mother once said to me, ‘You must promise to be happy, it is the greatest favour you can do to others.’ It has guided me throughout my life.”

Given his advanced age, he was also asked: “What are you losing?,” to which he retorted: “I’m lucky. I haven’t lost the most important things in life: I remember all the faces I have met and all the poems I have learnt. I know 100 poems in different languages by heart and I recite them to myself. I keep learning new ones. Last week, I learnt Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus.”

Hessel fought injustice all his great life as he fought for freedom. Most of all, however, he defined what it meant to live a happy life — fighting for liberty. He represented the best of humanity, someone worthy of emulation, who lived a life weaved around morality, courage and fortitude. A life that inspired an entire generation of young men and women in Europe and elsewhere to rise up against injustice, refuse to be treated as mere objects to advance causes not their own, and to leave behind, if possible, tangible progress.

In short, he was someone who left a legacy, like Beethoven, Kennedy or Churchill, someone who fulfilled ideals even when confronted with real horrors. He considered himself fortunate to be happy and to recite poetry at every possible opportunity and, above all else, to serve those less privileged.

Our world could surely use individuals like Hessel to remind us why we exist and which goals we aspire to fulfil.

Dr Joseph A. Kéchichian is the author of Legal and Political Reforms in Saudi Arabia.