World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHenri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain was born in Cauchy-à-la-Tour in Pas-de-Calais département in 1856. A graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy and the École Supérieure de Guerre in Paris, he fought in WW1 as an infantry officer and earned the nickname of the "savior of Verdun" for his brilliant deployment of artillery for defensive purposes. The quote "ils ne passeront pas!", or "they shall not pass!", became the symbol of the determination of Pétain and his troops at Verdun. In 1917, before the war ended, he became Commander-in-Chief of the French army. As Commander-in-Chief he was credited with raising the morale of French troops. He received the rank of Field Marshal immediately after the war ended.

ww2dbaseDuring the interwar years, he contributed greatly to the construction of the Maginot Line (which would completely fail its purpose of stopping another invasion from the east when the German forces invaded France at the onset of WW2) and served in French Morocco in North Africa. He later entered politics, becoming the Minister of War in 1934, Secretary of State in 1935, and Ambassador to Spain in 1939. He became Premier of France in 1940.

ww2dbaseAfter the fall of France in the beginning of WW2, Premier Pétain, who held emergency powers at the time, cooperated with Nazi Germany. He signed an armistice with Germany on 22 Jun 1940 that ceded northern France to Germany. In return, Germany allowed Pétain to remain in power over southern France. Pétain established his new capital on 2 Jul at the resort city of Vichy, therefore his authoritative government would later come to be known as Vichy-France. He was generally considered the savior of the French people at this time for negotiating an end to the hopeless fight against the German invasion. On 10 Jul he took on the title of Head of the State of France, abolishing the positions of president and prime minister, and ruled with absolute power with his prime minister Pierre Laval. His government was influenced by German leader Adolf Hitler in that anti-semetic laws were passed and the government controlled the press. Pétain and Vichy-France's anti-semetic policies were viewed favorable by some elements of Islamic subjects living in French colonies in North Africa and the Middle East, whose hatred for the Jews brought them to support their new colonial masters. In addition, Pétain was also guilty of deporting French Jews to German concentration camps. When Americans entered the North Africa theater in Nov 1942, he publicly denounced Admiral François Darlan for cooperating with American General Dwight Eisenhower. After Allied troops secured their beachheads at Normandy, Pétain and his government fled to the neutral Switzerland.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, he was returned to France from Switzerland. He was conficted for collaborating with Nazi Germany and sentenced to death by firing squad. Charles de Gaulle lessened the sentence to life imprisonment on 17 Aug 1945 out of respect for Pétain's venerable age. Pétain passed away in prison on the island of Île d'Yeu in 1951.

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