Jacques Mesnil

[4] That same year saw great turmoil over the appointment of Élisée Reclus, an anarchist and former communard, to a geography chair at the university.

Meanwhile, Mesnil had already left for Italy where he continued his medical studies in Bologna and came into contact with Errico Malatesta.

[4] While there, he met his future wife Clara Koettlitz (a colleague of Reclus)[1] and befriended Aby Warburg.

[4][1] In 1914, shocked by the invasion of Belgium and what he saw as the defection of many pacifists and anarchists to the Union Sacrée, he became a contributor to L'Humanité and later expressed his admiration for the Russian Revolution.

[8] After the war, he became increasingly involved in communist activities, joining the French Section of the Workers' International.