We explain what Vichy's France was and how was her story. In addition, what was collaborationism and who were its protagonists.
What was Vichy's France?
The Vichy France is known to the regime chaired by Mariscal Philippe Pétain in the center and south of France after the French defeat against German troops in June 1940, in the context of World War II (1939-1945). His official name was that of French State (Etat Français) and established its capital in the small city of Vichy.
Unlike France occupied by the Nazis, Vichy's France He maintained his own government although it worked as a client state in Germany. It was one of the clearest examples of collaboration with the Nazis. The political leader Pierre Laval, who served as Vichy France's prime minister twice, was one of the most vigorous defenders of collaborationism.
Vichy's regime became more strongly on Germany in 1942, when Marshal Pétain lost power and the Nazis ruled largely through Laval. When Paris was released by the allies in 1944, Vichy's regime was without effect And a provisional government led by Charles de Gaulle was established, who during the German occupation had maintained a French government in exile, called France Libre. Laval was tried and executed in October 1945. Pétain lived until 1951 in life imprisonment.
Frequent questions
What was Vichy's France?
Vichy's France was a collaborative regime that settled in the free zone of France after the French defeat against the German troops in June 1940. It was located south of a demarcation line that separated it from the area directly occupied by the Nazis.
Why was France from Vichy?
Formally French state (Etat Français), was known as Vichy France because it established its capital in the small spa city of Vichy, next to the Allier River, in the center of France.
Who was the head of state of Vichy France?
Vichy's head of France was Marshal Philippe Pétain. The main head of the Government was Pierre Laval, who served in two periods: in 1940 and between 1942 and 1944.
How long did Vichy France last?
Vichy's France began after the armistice of June 22, 1940 and when Marshal Philippe Pétain was appointed head of state on July 11, 1940. It ended after the release of Paris in August 1944, when the provisional government led by General Charles de Gaulle declared his annulment.
See also: Chronology of World War II
The historical context
World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland and caused the declaration of war in France and the United Kingdom two days later. At that time, the France regime was the third republic.
In May 1940, The German armed forces began the invasion of France and on June 14 they entered Paris. The president of the Council of Ministers of France resigned on June 16 and occupied his place the Marshal Philippe Pétain, who signed the armistice with Germany on June 22, 1940.
Thus, France was divided into an area occupied by the German armed forces and a free zone governed by a collaborative regime based in the city of Vichy and chaired by Pétain.
In addition, General Charles de Gaulle installed a French government in the exile he called France Libre. On July 11, 1940, Pétain assumed the title of Chief of the French State.
Emergence and fall of Vichy's France
The armistice signed on June 22, 1940 established that a territory located south of a line that went from Geneva in Switzerland to Hendaya, on the border between France and Spain, would remain under full French sovereignty. In practice, Vichy France was an authoritarian regime that, throughout its short history (between July 1940 and August 1944), it acquired an increasingly collaborative character with Nazi Germany.
The great political figure of the Vichy regime by Pierre Lavalwho exercised as prime minister in 1940 but was dismissed by Pétain in December for his tendency to seek greater collaboration with the Nazi authorities.
Laval once again occupied the Government Headquarters in 1942 and He undertook a clear collaboration policy with Adolf Hitler. The Militias of the Vichy regime, with the support of the German Gestapo, harshly persecuted the maquis (guerrilla groups) and other forces of the French resistance that fought against the Nazi occupation and against the collaborative policy.
After the release of Paris in August 1944, the new provisional government, led by General Charles de Gaulle, abolished Vichy's regime and all its laws. Two years later the fourth French Republic was born.
After the fall of Nazi Germany, Laval was arrested and executed In October 1945. Pétain, who had been sent by the Nazis to Germany, voluntarily returned to France in April 1945 and was sentenced to death, but the sentence was switched by the general of Gaulle. He died in prison in 1951.
See also: Military Heads of World War II
Protagonists of Vichy's France
Pierre Laval (1883-1945)
After starting his career as a member of the Socialist Party in 1903, Pierre Laval played an important role in French politics In the interwar period. He held various ministries in the twenties and, from 1931 to 1936, played an active role in French foreign policy as president of the Council of Ministers (1931-1932, 1935-1936) and as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1932, 1934-1936).
The center of his policy was to seek the alliance with the Itito Mussolini Italy as a means to guarantee European stability to German expansionism. The Italian Ethiopia invasion in 1935 failed this strategy. Regarding the Soviet Union (USSR), after signing a mutual assistance pact, he refused to add a military convention that was claimed by the Soviets to define the way in which such assistance should coordinate.
After leaving the government due to the triumph of the Popular Front, the French defeat against Hitler's armed forces in 1940 led him to be The great defender of collaboration with Nazi Germany. He helped the dismantling of democracy in France and was Vichy Government Prime Minister in 1940 and between 1942 and 1944.
Supported the sending of French workers to the industries of Germany and proclaimed his desire that Germany be overcome in the war. When Germany was about to be defeated, Laval fled to Francisco Franco's Spain. He returned to France after the end of the war and He was judged and executed in October 1945.
Philippe Pétain (1856-1951)
Marshal Philippe Pétain He was considered a French national hero for his performance in World War. He stood out in the offensives of 1915, in the Battle of Verdún of 1916 and in the final offensive of 1918.
However, his political role during World War II strongly discredited his image. When German troops entered Paris in June 1940, Pétain was in charge of the government and signed the armistice with Nazi Germany. On July 11 he assumed the Headquarters of the French State and He settled in Vichy, from where he ruled authoritarily The France area that had not been occupied by the Nazis.
Pétain France led as a client state in Germany But he faced the vice president of the Council of Ministers, Pierre Laval, who proposed a closer collaboration with Hitler. In December 1940 he dismissed Laval but was pressed by the Germans to appoint him Chief of the Government in 1942.
From then on, Pétain lost power and the Vichy regime worked as a puppet state of Nazi Germany. After the German defeat in the war, Pétain was tried for his role during the war and was sentenced to the death penalty, but this was switched by the life imprisonment.
What was the collaboration of World War II?
The Nazi regime imposed various types of domain in Europe During World War II. Established protectorates (such as Poland or Bohemia and Moravia) and occupied countries (such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, northern France and much of the Balkans). There were also the so -called “vassal states” or “client states”, such as the France of Vichy, Norway or Croatia, where there was a partial occupation of the German army.
In all these territories collaborative movements arose that helped Nazi Germany. Among the collaborationists were people who collaborated by interest, without fully sharing the Nazi ideology, which has been called “tactical collaboration.”
There were also people who collaborated because they shared nationalist ideas and actively wanted the German triumph in the war. It is estimated that only 1 or 2 % of the European population practiced this type of active collaboration or “ideological collaboration.”
In the case of “tactical collaboration”, Vichy's France stood outalthough there were also extreme right groups there that collaborated by ideological affinity with fascism and national socialism.
In the case of “ideological collaboration”, regimes such as Vidkun Quisling in Norway, Miklós Horthy in Hungary or against Pavelic in Croatia were highlighted.
There were countries, such as Belgium, Denmark or Netherlands, in which collaboration with Nazism was minimal.
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References
- Blond, G. (2023). Philippe Pétain. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Pierre Laval. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://britannica.com/
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Vichy France. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://britannica.com/
- Evans, RJ (2017). The third Reich at War. Peninsula.
- Stone, N. (2013). Brief history of World War II. Ariel.
