Christian de la Mazière

Christian de la Mazière (August 22, 1922 in Tunis – February 15, 2006) was a journalist and member of the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen SS. He is known for discussing his role in the documentary The Sorrow and the Pity and also wrote a book titled The Captive Dreamer. At the start of the war, he served in the French Army and was later retained in the military of Vichy France until 1942. After being discharged, he worked for the fascist newspaper Le Pays Libre, joining the Charlemagne Division just before the Liberation of Paris in 1944. He was taken prisoner in Pomerania by Polish forces in the Red Army.

Despite pretending to have served as a forced labourer, he was revealed as a member of the Waffen SS and sentenced to prison in 1946. He received a pardon in 1948. After the war, he became a talent manager and later worked for the magazine version of Le Figaro and served as an advisor to Togolese military ruler Gnassingbé Eyadéma.

He is believed to be the basis for the character of the same name in Rachel Kushner's novel Telex from Cuba.

...
Wikipedia