The idea that Pétain served as a shield protecting France from the much worse fate suffered by Poland, Yugosla-via, and other German-occupied countries was mostly a postwar myth created
Trang 1845
German domination Adolf Hitler built in Europe The idea that Pétain served as
a shield protecting France from the much worse fate suffered by Poland,
Yugosla-via, and other German-occupied countries was mostly a postwar myth created by
his supporters and apologists It was never the German Führer’s intention that
France should fi nd a dignifi ed role in his proposed New Order To assume that he
did and that craven collaboration would save the best of France from German
dep-redation was Pétain’s cardinal error In fact, even without total victory elsewhere
the Germans denuded France of its military assets, ignored its imperial interests,
retained its POWs for years, wrecked and subordinated its economy, deported
nearly 650,000 of its young people to work in the Greater Reich as forced
labor-ers, and killed as many French Jews as it could For all that, even as France was
liberated by the Western Allies during the Normandy campaign, Pétain continued to
collaborate with the Nazis, the true national enemy and foreign occupier
Pétain’s popularity briefl y rose in the spring of 1944 as the French experienced
heavy Western bombing and thousands of deaths in advance of Operation
OVER-LORD Fears of all kinds increased as the Résistance and Milice Française both grew
more violent, and Germans became more vicious and murderous as Germany’s
cause failed and her armed forces grew weaker Pétain visited Paris in April,
mak-ing his fi rst trip north of the Vichy demarcation line He was compelled to leave
France for Germany as the Western Allies and Free French advanced following the
breakout from Normandy in July He was taken to Sigmaringen in Germany,
prob-ably against his will When Germany was invaded in its turn, Pétain voluntarily
returned to France via Switzerland, surrendering on April 26 He was tried on
charges of treason, convicted, and sentenced to death on August 15, 1945 His age
and past service to the nation, especially at Verdun, were taken into account by
General Charles de Gaulle There was also the matter of deep national discomfi ture
over how many French had behaved during the Vichy years and confusion as to
what constituted collaboration or resistance That conduced to commutation by de
Gaulle of Pétain’s death sentence Condemned to life imprisonment instead, he
was imprisoned on the Île d’Yeu off the French coast He died there in 1951
See also Blum, Leon; Laval, Pierre; Maginot Line
Suggested Reading: Marc Ferro, Pétain (1987)
PETARD
See Hobart’s funnies
PETSAMO-KIRKENES OPERATION (1944)
See Finland
PHAYAP ARMY The Thai expeditionary army that intervened in Burma in
early 1942
PHILIPPINES At the start of 1941 the Philippine Army had 10 weak divisions
in reserve, but only a few active duty or trained or armed units The Navy and Air