L-F Destouches [Louis-Ferdinand Céline, 1894-1961] was a French writer and physician. He was wounded near Ypres during World War I and was later awarded the médaille militaire . Among his best-known works are Voyage au bout de la nuit ( Journey to the End of the Night, 1932) and Mort à crédit ( Death on the Installment Plan, 1936). Céline's work became controversial when, during the rise of Nazi Germany, he published three controversial anti-Semitic books, two of which were condemned by the courts. His activities during World War II drew criticism as well. After the fall of France to the Nazis, Céline worked as a doctor for the Vichy government. Following the war, he was imprisoned in Denmark for over a year due to accusations made against him by the French Resistance. Although Céline was later convicted in absentia, he was cleared in 1951 and allowed to return to France.
Cola Debrot [1902- ] received a law degree the Netherlands in 1927 and completed his study of medicine in 1942. He served as the representative of the Antillean government and was the first native-born governor of the Netherlands Antilles from 1962 to 1970. Author of the first Caribbean novel in Dutch, Debrot published Mijn zuster de negerin (1935) and Bewolkt bestaan (1948). In addition, he wrote poetry, essays, and short stories and edited several journals.
From the guide to the L-F Destouches [Louis-Ferdinand Céline] Letters to Colas [DeBrot] (MS 365), [1938?], (University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept.)
