World War II: Vichy France--Final Months (January-June 1944)


Figure 1.--Here we see the aging Marshall Pétain in Vichy during his final months in power at an official ceremony. The photograph was issued by the Vichy press office desperateky trying to show that Vichy was still the Government of France and hoping to show that he was still beloved by the French people. The man behind him holding a homberg looks to be Pierre Laval, the most hated of all the Vichy men. The photograph was dated April 16, 1944.

French attitudes toward Pétain and Vichy had fundamentally changed by the final year of the German occupation. Germany massively exloited the French economy during the occupation and this only incresed as the War increasingly went against the NAZIs. France was a major support for the German war economy. Massive quantities of food and manufactured goods was shippe to the Reich. The result was that severe shortages of consumer goods and especially food developed in France. Press censorship prevented publiched accounts of the degree to which Germany ws exploiting France, but the shortages made it very clear what was happening. And this affected attitudes toward Vichy. The whole ratlionale of Vichy was that collaboration would protect the French people from NAZI excesses. The shortages, especilly the food shortages, destroyed that argument. This change negan when the Germans began conscripting French workers. Vichy also made no progress in getting the contry's POWs held in Germany released. Another serious problem for Vichy was Germany militartyreverses. Vichy and colloaborationseemed the only alternaribve hen it looked like the Germans wer going to win the War. By 1944 it was not only clear that the Germans had lost te War, but that the Allied cross-Channel invasion and liberation was imminent. This only increased the brutality of the Milice wich was seen as a Vichy force. The Resistance only grew in strength. And Pétain who had been a Frebch hero was now increasingly sen as a traitor. The vast majority of the French people no longer looke at Pétin as their proctector, but rather Gen. de Gaulle with his stirring broadcasts from England. The Vichy men and the Milice were some of the few French people not looking orward to the Alloed invasion. Here we are not entirely sure how Pétain felt. Hetook the collaboration path because he felt there was no choice. But we can't help but think that he like the vast majority of his countrymen were thanful that the Germans wee being defeated.








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Created: 9:54 AM 1/31/2018
Last updated: 9:54 AM 1/31/2018