• DOI:10.1086/660365
• Corpus ID: 144401533

Demanding Vacation au naturel: European Nudism and Postwar Municipal Development on the French Riviera*

@article{Harp2011DemandingVA,
  title={Demanding Vacation au naturel: European Nudism and Postwar Municipal Development on the French Riviera*},
  author={Stephen L. Harp},
  journal={The Journal of Modern History},
  year={2011},
  volume={83},
  pages={513 - 543}
}

• S. Harp
• Published 1 September 2011
• History
• The Journal of Modern History

In the October 15, 1952, edition of La France, journalist Henry-Marie Vidal reported that “the delights of Heliopolis . . . are now known throughout the world. In the summer that just ended, 30,000 nudists peopled the island [of Levant] that was once so quiet. They spoke all languages, and particularly German. . . . Economists confirm that the Ile du Levant, where precious currencies converge, can greatly aid the recovery of the franc.”1 As Vidal reminded readers, the Ile du Levant, the easternmost of the three “Iles d’Or” (Islands of Gold), lies off the coast of Hyeres-les-Palmiers, in the department of the Var at the western edge of the French Riviera. Heliopolis, from the Greek “city of sun,” is the naturiste village founded on the island by Drs. Andre and Gaston Durville in 1931.2 Although many of Vidal’s readers had no doubt already heard of nudism on the island, what made Vidal prescient was that he clearly understood the role of transnational nude tourism for economic development. Implicitly, Vidal recognized what I will argue are the two driving forces of postwar nudism in France. First, an emerging international nudist subculture created an unprecedented demand for nude vacations. Northern European tourists brought foreign currency as well as expectations for what they should