The old man leaned forward in his seat. He cupped his hand behind his ear, straining to make out the words of the prosecutor.
Could it be so? Could it be true that Frenchmen would accuse him, Henri Petain, the hero of Verdun and a marshal of France, of dealing with the enemy, of acting against the security of France? That was close to treason! It was he who had headed the government when France was in deadly peril. It was he who had arranged the armistice with Adolf Hitler (Number l). It was he who had saved France from chaos and civil war!
The 89-year-old soldier could not believe his ears. He was almost deaf, but the language was unmistakable.
Henri Petain is included here for several important reasons. He sought the armistice with Nazi Germany, agreed to the division of France into occupied and unoccupied zones, turned the French Republic into a fascist state, and decreed a whole new set of “Nuremberg laws” for French Jews. Despite these decisions, the United States maintained diplomatic relations with the Vichy government, a gamble for U.S. foreign policy that paid off.
A French Hero
Petain was born in 1856 near Arras, France. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Petain quickly advanced from colonel to full general, acquiring greater command of larger forces. He became commander in chief of all Allied forces on the Western front. Following a stunning victory at Verdun, he was named marshal. By the time World War I ended, Petain had become one of France’s greatest heroes.
Between the wars, Petain served in a number of important military positions, including minister of war. As with many officers of World War I, Petain thought about any future war in terms of the last one. He was a staunch supporter of the Maginot Line as France’s best defense, a strategy that would prove disastrous.
France Divided
Several months before war broke out in 1939, Petain was sent to Madrid as ambassador. After Hitler attacked in May 1940, Petain was recalled home to join the government as minister without portfolio. French government officials hoped that the return of the old war hero would rally the French people to resist. Petain thought that he was being brought back to bring about an end to the war.
Following a series of crushing German victories, the French cabinet split on whether to carry on the war. Premier Reynaud (Number 99) resigned, and Petain took over the government. He called for an armistice. It provided for a divided France. The northern part, including Paris, would be occupied by Nazi Germany. The southern part of France would be unoccupied, with the French capital shifted to Vichy. Petain would be in charge of the Vichy government.The establishment of the Vichy regime marked the end of the French Republic. (The word Republic was, in fact, officially dropped.) The old French motto of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was replaced by “Work, Family, Fatherland.” The familiar freedoms of speech and the press went by the wayside. Petain ruled by decree.
Four months after the French surrender, the Vichy government, without any request from Berlin, issued its own set of laws depriving Jews of employment as teachers, in the military, or in government posts. This would later be followed by requiring all Jews to wear the yellow star. A Commissariat for Jewish Questions was set up. Tens of thousands of Jews were rounded up and shipped to death camps in eastern Europe.
Through all of this, Petain maintained that he was doing what was necessary to protect France. He believed that Hitler would win the war and that cooperation with the Führer was necessary.
The United States maintained diplomatic relations with the Vichy government. The military and political contacts were essential for the successful landings—that is, virtually uncontested by French forces—in French North Africa and Normandy.
Exile
In November 1942, upon the invasion of North Africa, Nazi forces occupied all of France. After the Allies landed in France, Petain was spirited away to Germany against his will. At the end of the war, Petain was arrested and tried for dealing with the enemy and crimes against the internal security of the state.
At his trial, Petain argued that he had spent his life in the service of France. How could anyone question his motives or believe these charges?
The verdict was guilty, and the sentence was death. But the new leader of France, Charles De Gaulle (Number 5l), commuted the sentence to life imprisonment because of what Petain had done in the past for France. Henri Petain was confined on the island of Yeu in the Bay of Biscay. He died there in 195l at the age of 95.
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