法國一位歷史學家提出，拿破崙屠殺超過10萬名加勒比地區奴隸的行為，為希特勒針對猶太人的「最終解決」大屠殺行動提供了模板。
據《每日電訊報》11月26日報導，法國歷史學家克洛·裡貝24日出版了新書《拿破崙的罪行》。他在書中指責，在希特勒屠殺猶太人之前的100多年，拿破崙就曾使用毒氣對付那些造反的黑人。裡貝指出，這是拿破崙在19世紀初鎮壓海地起義過程中所使用的極端手法。名為聖多明戈的海地殖民地當時是拿破崙帝國的海外珍寶。為了維護統治，拿破崙下令殺掉當地所有年齡超過12歲的黑人。
裡貝25日說：「簡單地說，拿破崙當時下令儘可能多地殺掉海地和瓜德羅普地區的黑人，用從非洲新運來的更馴服的奴隸替代他們。」現年51歲的裡貝擁有法國和瓜德羅普的血統。他表示，自己發現了一些官員當時留下的報告，他們拒絕參與屠殺行動，特別是反對使用二氧化硫毒殺被關在船底艙的奴隸的行為。
《拿破崙的罪行》在正式出版之前就在法國引起了不小爭論。《法蘭西晚報》25日刊登了題為《拿破崙製造了「最終解決」?》的文章，並發表社論指出裡貝的論據站不住腳。
但裡貝表示：「我想讓法國人清楚了解那時的真實情況，這與拿破崙曾經的功績是兩碼事。希特勒當政時期儘管推動了德國高速公路和汽車工業的發展，但我們能因此寬恕他犯下的戰爭罪行嗎?」
(國際在線獨家資訊 蔣黎黎)
A French historian has caused uproar by claiming Napoleon provided the model for Hitler's Final Solution with the slaughter of more than 100,000 Caribbean slaves.
In The Crime of Napoleon, Claude Ribbe accuses the emperor of genocide, gassing rebellious blacks more than a century before the Nazis' extermination of the Jews.
His accusations refer to the extreme methods used to put down a ferocious uprising in Haiti at the start of the 19th century. Then known as San Domingo, the colony was considered a jewel of the French empire and to save it troops launched a campaign to kill all blacks aged over 12.
"In simple terms, Napoleon ordered the killing of as many blacks as possible in Haiti and Guadeloupe to be replaced by new, docile slaves from Africa," Ribbe said yesterday.
He said he had found accounts from officers who refused to take part in the massacres, especially the use of sulphur dioxide to kill slaves held in ships' holds.
His book is already provoking controversy prior to its publication on Thursday. The newspaper France Soir juxtaposed images of Napoleon and Hitler yesterday before asking: "Did Napoleon invent the Final Solution?"
But in an editorial, it condemned the "inanity" of Ribbe's argument. Ribbe, 51, who is of French-Guadeloupe extraction, said he was unrepentant.
"I want the French to know exactly what happened in that period," he said. "As for the good things Napoleon did, that is irrelevant. Hitler developed the autobahns and inspired the Volkswagen; are we supposed to excuse him for his war crimes?"
Ribbe, who was recently appointed a human rights commissioner by the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, added: "I was taught to think of Napoleon as a superstar. To mention his crimes against humanity has been a taboo."