Vichy France

Vichy France, or the Vichy regime (in French, now called: Régime de Vichy or Vichy; at the time, called itself: État Français, or French State) was the de facto French government of 1940-1944 during the Nazi Germany occupation of World War II. The Vichy position that it was the de jure French government was challenged by the Free French Forces of Charles de Gaulle, and French governments ever since have held that the Vichy regime was an illegal government run by traitors.

Collaboration, up to the invasion of the free zone

Pétain's regime was highly authoritarian. In order to enforce the régime's will, some paramilitary organizations with a fascist leaning were created. Let us note the "Legion Française des Combattants" (L.F.C.), including at first only former combatants, but quickly adding "Amis de la Légion" and cadets of the Légion, who had never seen battle, but were supporters of his dictatorial regime. The name was then quickly changed to "Legion Française des Combattants et des volontaires de la Révolution Nationale". Then, Joseph Darnand created a "Service d'Ordre Légionnaire" (S.O.L.), which consisted mostly of French supporters of the Nazis, about which Pétain fully approved.

Related Topics:
Paramilitary - Fascist - Legion Française des Combattants - Amis de la Légion - Legion Française des Combattants et des volontaires de la Révolution Nationale - Joseph Darnand - Service d'Ordre Légionnaire

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In 1943, the S.O.L. became independent and was transformed into the "Milice française" (French Militia), and Joseph Darnand was appointed head of that Vichy Milice, the wartime police. He held an SS rank and took an oath of loyalty to Hitler. Under Darnand and his sub-commanders, such as Paul Touvier and Jacques de Bernonville, the Milice was responsible for helping the German forces and police in the repression of the French Resistance and Maquis. In addition, the Milice was also responsible for hunting Jews, including working with area Gestapo head Klaus Barbie to seize members of the resistance and also Jews, for shipment to detention centres, such as the Drancy deportation camp, enroute to Auschwitz, and other German concentration camps, including Dachau and Buchenwald.

Related Topics:
Milice française - Joseph Darnand - Milice - SS - Hitler - Paul Touvier - Jacques de Bernonville - French Resistance - Maquis - Jews - Gestapo - Klaus Barbie - Drancy deportation camp - Auschwitz - Concentration camps - Dachau - Buchenwald

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To some extent, for France, the Second World War and the Vichy Regime were, in addition to a foreign war, also an internal civil war, which opposed on the one hand the Communist and Republican elements of society, and on the other hand, the reactionary elements supporting a fascist or similar regime in the mould of that of Francisco Franco's. This civil war can be seen as the continuation of a fracture that divided French society since the 19th century or even the French Revolution, illustrated by events such as the Dreyfus Affair and the riots in the 1930s (see Action Française).

Related Topics:
Reactionary - Fascist - Francisco Franco - French Revolution - Dreyfus Affair - Action Française

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As soon as it had been established, Pétain's government took measures against his real or supposed opponents, like "Francs Maçons" (the Freemasons). It also created racist laws of Hitlerian inspiration against Jews even more quickly than Hitler did after his ascent to power in Germany. These racist laws were more severe than the 1938 Italian Fascist ones, and they were made even stricter in July 1941.

Related Topics:
Francs Maçons - Freemasons

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Furthermore, foreign Jews staying in France would be handed over to Germany. The Vichy government helped in the deportation of 70,000 Jews. For example, French police officers rounded-up 8,160 Jews and imprisoned them in the Winter Velodrome, in unhygienic conditions, on 16 July 1942, from which they were led to concentration camps. French constabulary officers ran the transit camp at Drancy. While it is certain that the Vichy government and a large number of its high administration collaborated in such policies, the exact level of such cooperation is still debated. Compared with the Jewish communities established in other countries invaded by Nazi Germany, French Jews suffered proportionately lighter losses. Former Vichy officials later claimed that they did as much as they could to minimize the impact of the Nazi policies, while critics contend that the Vichy regime went beyond the Nazi expectations, which originally concerned only foreign Jews staying in France, not French Jews.

Related Topics:
Jew - Police - Winter Velodrome - 16 July - 1942 - Concentration camp - Drancy

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A number of French individuals found fascist philosophies attractive and were advocating them even before the founding of the Vichy regime. Their far-right organizations, such as the Cagoule had greatly contributed to the destabilization of the French Third Republic in the 1930s, particularly when the left-wing Popular Front had been in power. Some of them had worked as a kind of fifth column in order to ease the German invasion. After Nazi control was established, some of these sympathisers actively assisted the Vichy regime, and in some cases, directly assisted the Nazis, in taking Jewish private property, destroying synagogues and other Jewish monuments, and in shipping Jews to Nazi death camps. A prime example is the founder of L'Oréal, Eugène Schueller, and his associates, André Bettencourt and Jacques Corrèze.

Related Topics:
Fascist - Cagoule - French Third Republic - 1930s - Popular Front - Fifth column - L'Oréal - Eugène Schueller - André Bettencourt - Jacques Corrèze

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The Vichy regime also implemented compulsory work in Germany for young French men (service du travail obligatoire or STO), a move which pushed some of these young men to join the Resistance instead.

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Despite the cooperation of the Vichy government, the German forces invoked Anton and took control of southern France in November 1942, with the real power devolving into the hands of Laval.

Related Topics:
Anton - 1942 - Power

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