occupied France. Paris

Back in the years of World War II, when the north of France was under the occupation forces of Germany, the residence of the collaborationist government of free southern France was stationed in Vichy, which they began to call the Vichy regime.

A traitor, an accomplice of the enemy, or in the language of historians - a collaborator - there are such people in every war. During the Second World War, individual soldiers, military units, and sometimes entire states unexpectedly took the side of those who bombed and killed them yesterday. June 22, 1940 was the day of shame for France and the triumph of Germany.

After a month-long struggle, the French suffered a crushing defeat from the German troops and agreed to a truce. In fact, it was a real surrender. Hitler insisted that the signing of the armistice take place in the Compiègne forest, in the same carriage in which, in 1918, Germany signed the humiliating surrender in the First World War.

The Nazi leader enjoyed the victory. He entered the car, listened to the preamble of the text of the truce, and defiantly left the meeting. The French had to part with the idea of ​​negotiations, the armistice was signed on the terms of Germany. France was divided into two parts, the north, together with Paris, was occupied by Germany, and in the south from the centers in the town of Vichy. The Germans allowed the French to form their new government.

By the way, by this time the majority of French citizens had concentrated in the south. The Russian émigré writer Roman Gul later recalled the atmosphere that prevailed in the summer of 1940 in the south of France:

“All the peasants, winegrowers, artisans, grocers, restaurateurs, cafe garcons and hairdressers and soldiers running like a rabble - they all wanted one thing - anything, just to end this fall into the bottomless abyss.”

Everyone had only one word in mind - "truce", which meant that the Germans would not go to the south of France, they would not come here, they would not quarter their troops here, they would not take away cattle, bread, grapes, wine. And so it happened, the south of France remained free, though not for long, very soon it would be in the hands of the Germans. But while the French were full of hope, they believed that the Third Reich would respect the sovereignty of southern France, that sooner or later the Vichy regime would succeed in uniting the country, and most importantly, that the Germans would now free almost two million French prisoners of war.

All this was to be implemented by the new head of France, who was endowed with unlimited powers. He became a very respected person in the country, the hero of the First World War, Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain. At that time he was already 84 years old.

It was Pétain who insisted on the surrender of France, although the French leadership, after the fall of Paris, wanted to withdraw to northern Africa and continue the war with Hitler. But Pétain offered to end the resistance. The French saw an attempt to save the country from destruction, but finding such a solution turned out not to be a salvation, but a disaster. The most controversial period in the history of France, not conquered but subjugated, has come.

What policy Pétain would pursue became clear from his speech on the radio. In his address to the nation, he called on the French to collaborate with the Nazis. It was in this speech that Pétain first uttered the word "collaborationism", today it is in all languages ​​and means one thing - cooperation with the enemy. It was not just a nod to Germany, this step Pétain predetermined the fate of the still free southern France.

Before the Battle of Stalingrad, all Europeans believed that Hitler would rule for a long time and everyone had to more or less adapt to the new system. There were only two exceptions, this is Great Britain and of course the Soviet Union, which believed that it would definitely win and defeat Nazi Germany, and all the rest were either occupied by the Germans or were in an alliance.

How to adapt to the new government, everyone decided for himself. When the Red Army was rapidly retreating to the east, they tried to bring industrial enterprises to the Urals, and if they did not have time, they simply blew up so that Hitler would not get a single conveyor belt. The French did it differently. A month after the surrender, French businessmen signed the first contract with the Nazis for the supply of bauxite (aluminum ore). The deal was so big that by the beginning of the war with the USSR, that is, a year later, Germany had risen to the first place in the world in aluminum production.

Paradoxically, after the actual surrender of France, things were going well for French entrepreneurs, they began to supply Germany with aircraft, aircraft engines for them, almost the entire locomotive and machine-tool industry worked exclusively for the Third Reich. The three largest French automobile companies, which, by the way, exist today, immediately shifted their focus to the production of trucks. Recently, scientists have calculated and it turned out that about 20% of Germany's truck fleet during the war years were made in France.

In fairness, it should be noted that sometimes Pétain allowed himself to openly sabotage the orders of the fascist leadership. So in 1941, the head of the Vichy government ordered the minting of 200 million copper-nickel coins of five francs, and this at a time when nickel was considered a strategic material, it was used only for the needs of the military industry, armor was made from it. During the Second World War, not one European country used nickel in minting coins. As soon as the German leadership found out about Pétain's order, almost all the coins were seized and taken out for melting down.

In other matters, Pétain's zeal exceeded even the Nazis' own expectations. So the first anti-Jewish laws in the south of France appeared even before the Germans demanded such measures. Even in northern France, which was under the rule of the Third Reich, the fascist leadership so far managed only with anti-Jewish propaganda.

There was a photo exhibition in Paris, where the guides clearly explained why the Jews are the enemies of Germany and France. The Parisian press, in which articles were written by the French under the dictation of the Germans, seethed with hysterical calls for the extermination of the Jews. The propaganda quickly bore fruit, signs began to appear in the cafe stating that “dogs and Jews” were forbidden to enter the institution.

While in the north the Germans were teaching the French to hate the Jews, in the south the Vichy regime was already disenfranchising the Jews. Now, under the new laws, Jews did not have the right to hold public office, work as doctors, teachers, could not own real estate, in addition, Jews were forbidden to use telephones and ride bicycles. They could ride in the subway, only in the last car of the train, and in the store they did not have the right to stand in a general queue.

In fact, these laws did not reflect a desire to please the Germans, but the French's own views. Anti-Semitic sentiments existed in France long before the Second World War, the French considered the Jews of the peoples to be aliens, not indigenous, and therefore they could not become good citizens, hence the desire to remove them from society. However, this did not apply to those Jews who lived in France for a long time and had French citizenship, it was only about refugees who came from Poland or Spain during the civil war.

After the end of World War I, during the 1920s, many Polish Jews migrated to France due to the economic crisis and unemployment. In France, they began to take the jobs of the indigenous population, which did not cause much enthusiasm among them.

After Pétain signed the first anti-Jewish decrees, in a matter of days, thousands of Jews found themselves without work and without a livelihood. But even here everything was thought out, such people were immediately assigned to special detachments, in which the Jew had to work for the benefit of French society, clean and improve cities, and monitor roads. They were enrolled in such detachments forcibly, they were controlled by the military, and the Jews lived in camps.

Meanwhile, the situation in the north was getting tougher, which soon spilled over into supposedly free southern France. At first, the Germans made the Jews wear yellow stars. By the way, one textile company immediately allocated 5,000 meters of fabric for sewing these stars. Then the fascist leadership announced the mandatory registration of all Jews. Later, when the raids began, this helped the authorities quickly find and identify the Jews they needed. And although the French were never in favor of the physical extermination of the Jews, as soon as the Germans ordered the collection of the entire Jewish population in special points, the French authorities again obediently complied with the order.

It is worth noting that the Vichy government helped the German side and did all the dirty work. In particular, Jews were registered by the French administration, and the French gendarmerie helped deport them. More precisely, the French police did not kill Jews, but they arrested and deported them to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Of course, this does not mean that the Vichy government was entirely responsible for the Holocaust, but it was Germany's collaborator in these processes.

As soon as the Germans moved on to the deportation of the Jewish population, ordinary Frenchmen suddenly ceased to be silent. Entire Jewish families, neighbors, acquaintances, friends disappeared before their eyes, and everyone knew that there was no turning back for these people. There were weak attempts to stop such actions, but when people realized that the German car could not be overcome, they themselves began to save their friends and acquaintances. A wave of so-called quiet mobilization has risen in the country. The French helped the Jews escape from under the escort, hide, hide.

By this time, Pétain's authority, both among ordinary Frenchmen and among German leaders, was seriously shaken, people no longer trusted him. And when in the 42nd Hitler decided to occupy all of France, and the Vichy regime turned into a puppet state, the French realized that Pétain could not protect them from the Germans, the Third Reich still came to the south of France. Later, in 1943, when it became clear to everyone that Germany was losing the war, Pétain tried to contact the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. The German reaction was very tough, Veshi's regime was immediately reinforced by Hitler's proteges. The Germans introduced true fascists and ideological collaborators from among the French into the government of Pétain.

One of them was the Frenchman Joseph Darnan, an ardent follower of Nazism. It was he who was responsible for establishing a new order, for tightening the regime. At one time he managed the prison system, the police and was responsible for punitive operations against Jews, resistance and simply opponents of the German regime.

Now Jewish raids were taking place everywhere, the largest operation began in Paris in the summer of 42, the Nazis cynically called it "spring wind." It was scheduled for the night of July 13-14, but the plans had to be adjusted, July 14 is a big holiday in France, Bastille Day. It is difficult to find at least one sober Frenchman on this day, and the operation was carried out by French police forces, the date had to be corrected. The operation was already carried out according to a well-known scenario - all the Jews were herded into one place, and then taken to the death camps, and the Nazis conveyed unambiguous instructions to each performer, all the townspeople should think that this is a purely French invention.

At four in the morning on July 16, a raid began, a patrol came to the home of the Jew and took the families to the Vel d'Yves winter velodrome. By noon, about seven thousand people had gathered there, including four thousand children. Among them was one Jewish the boy Walter Spitzer, who later recalled... we spent five days in this place, it was hell, the children were taken away from their mothers, there was no food, there was only one water tap for everyone and four outhouses. Then Walter, along with a dozen other kids, was miraculously saved by the Russian nun "Mother Mary", and when the boy grew up he became a sculptor and created a memorial to the victims of "Vel-d" Yves.

When the great exodus of Jews from Paris took place in 1942, children were also taken out of the city, this was not the demand of the German side, it was the proposal of the French, more precisely, Pierre Laval, another protege of Berlin. He suggested that all children under 16 be sent to concentration camps.

In parallel, the French leadership continued to actively support the Nazi regime. In 1942, Fritz Sauckel, Commissioner for Labor Reserves of the Third Reich, turned to the French government with a request for workers. Germany was in dire need of free labor. The French immediately signed an agreement and provided the Third Reich with 350 workers, and soon the Vichy regime went even further, the Peten government established compulsory labor service, all Frenchmen of military age had to go to work in Germany. Railroad wagons with live goods were pulled from France, but few of the young people were eager to leave their homeland, many of them ran away, hid or went into resistance.

Many French believed that it was better to live by adapting than to resist and fight the occupation. In the 44th, they were already ashamed of such a position. After the liberation of the country, none of the French wanted to remember the shamefully lost war and cooperation with the invaders. And then General Charles de Gaulle came to the rescue, he created and for many years in every way supported the myth that the French people during the years of occupation, as a whole, participated in the resistance. In France, trials began on those who served as a German, Peten was also brought to trial, because of his age he was spared and instead of the death penalty, he got off with life imprisonment.

The trials of the collaborators did not last long, already in the summer of 1949 they completed their work. More than a thousand convicts were pardoned by President de Gaulle, the rest waited for an amnesty in 1953. If in Russia former collaborators still hide that they served with the Germans, then in France such people returned to normal life already in the 50s.

The further the Second World War went down in history, the more heroic the French seemed to see their military past, no one remembered not about supplying Germany with raw materials and equipment, not about the events at the Paris velodrome. From Charles de Gaulle and all subsequent presidents of France down to François Mitterrand, they did not believe that the French Republic was responsible for the crimes committed by the Vechy regime. Only in 1995, the new President of France, Jacques Chirac, at a rally in the memorial to the victims of the Vel d'Yves, for the first time apologized for the deportation of Jews and called on the French to repent.

In that war, each state had to decide which side to be on and whom to serve. Even neutral countries could not stand aside. By signing multimillion-dollar contracts with Germany, they made their choice. But perhaps the most eloquent was the position of the United States on June 24, 1941, the future President Harry Truman said: “If we see that Germany is winning the war, we should help Russia, if Russia is winning, we should help Germany, and let them kill each other more, all for the good of America!”

The aggravation of contradictions between the powers in the 1930s led to the formation of two warring blocs: the Anglo-French-American and the German-Italian-Japanese. The German-Italian-Japanese bloc took shape in the form of an “anti-Comintern pact” and pursued the goal of not only redistributing the world, but also establishing fascist regimes throughout the world, which posed a great danger to humanity. England, USA And France set themselves the task of weakening the dangerous imperialist rivals by directing their aggression against the Soviet Union.

Having attacked Poland, Nazi Germany sent 53 divisions, 2500 tanks and 2000 aircraft to the front. The Polish army, despite the heroic resistance of individual military units (in the battle of Bzura, in the defense of Warsaw), was unable to resist the onslaught of the German troops, who were rapidly advancing deep into the country. Poland was defeated.

England and France, which were allies of Poland, declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. But, having entered the war, they still hoped to send fascist troops against the USSR and did not conduct active operations, although only 23 German divisions opposed 110 French and 5 British divisions on the Western Front. On September 12, 1939, at a meeting of the Anglo-French Supreme Military Council, it was decided to pursue passive defense tactics in the war with Germany.

Thus began the "strange war", which lasted during September 1939 - May 1940. Neither side launched active hostilities. This allowed Germany to quickly defeat Poland and prepare for new military campaigns, naval battles were somewhat more active. German submarines sank the British battleship RoyalOk, the aircraft carrier Koreydzhes, and a large number of English and French merchant ships.

At the beginning of the war, the United States declared its neutrality. The US ruling circles hoped to use the situation in the interests of their enrichment and strengthening their power. At the same time, they encouraged the advance of Germany to the east. However, the growing contradictions with the fascist bloc forced the United States to focus on rapprochement with Britain and France.

Germany, building up its armed forces, developed plans to capture the countries of Western Europe.

On April 9, 1940, she launched an invasion of Denmark and Norway. Denmark immediately capitulated. The population and army of Norway resisted the German armed forces. England and France attempted to help Norway with their troops, but they failed, and Norway was occupied.

France was next. Nazi Germany developed a plan to capture it through neutral states: Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg. The German military command, resorting to provocation, organized a raid on the German city of Freiburg, blaming the Dutch and Belgian aviation for this. On May 10, 1940, the German government ordered the invasion of German troops into Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. At the same time, the German offensive against France began. The period of the "strange war" is over.

The short-sighted policy of the ruling circles of England and France led to grave consequences. On May 14, the Netherlands capitulated. Large formations of French, Belgian and British troops were pressed to the sea near Dunkirk. Only a part of them managed to evacuate to the British Isles. Belgium surrendered with its troops on 28 May.

Occupation of France by Nazi Germany

March 21, 1940 became head of government Paul Reynaud. During the German offensive against France that began on May 10, 1940, the government showed complete inability to organize a rebuff to the aggressor: on June 14, without any resistance, Paris was surrendered to the enemy. Reynaud resigned two days later. The new government was headed by Marshal petin On June 22, France accepted the terms of surrender dictated to her by Germany. As a result of the defeat in the war, two-thirds of the territory of France, and since November 1942, the entire country was occupied by Nazi troops.

Under the terms of the surrender, the government Petain supplied fascist Germany with raw materials, food, industrial goods, labor, paying her 400 million francs daily.

The government of Petain, whose residence was in the city of Vichy, ceased the activity of representative institutions, dissolved all former political parties and public associations, and allowed the creation of fascist organizations. Germany was provided with military bases, ports, airfields in the territories of the Middle East and North Africa that belonged to France.

The struggle of the French people

The French people did not accept the fate that the new rulers of the country prepared for them. As the well-known historian A. 3. Manfred, "the national forces turned out to be superior to their leaders."

The country has resistance movement united the patriotic forces of France.

Along with the resistance movement inside the country outside of France, the patriotic anti-fascist movement "Free France" arose. It was headed by emigrated to England General de Gaulle, which was part of the last government of the Third Republic. On June 18, 1940, in a speech on London radio, de Gaulle called for resistance and the unification of all the French who, for various reasons, found themselves outside their country. On August 7, 1940, de Gaulle received Churchill's consent to the formation of volunteer French armed forces in England. In France, de Gaulle's supporters also began to create their own organizations.

After the German attack on the USSR in France in early July 1941, a National Front, which included communists, socialists, Christian Democrats, radical socialists and representatives of other parties. The National Front set itself the task of expelling the fascist invaders from French territory, punishing war criminals and their accomplices, restoring sovereignty and ensuring democratic government elections. The creation of a new organization gave mass character to the resistance movement.

At the same time, an armed struggle was unfolding in the country between the franchisors (“free shooters”) and partisans, led by the communists. By the summer of 1944, the number of detachments of freelancers and partisans amounted to 250 thousand people. Tens of thousands of them were arrested, imprisoned in concentration camps, many were executed, including eight members of the PCF Central Committee. In total, 75 thousand French communists fell for the freedom and independence of their homeland, for which it was called the “party of the executed”.

In November 1942, an agreement on joint action was concluded between the PCF and de Gaulle's supporters. In May 1943, the National Council of the Resistance was created, which was a significant step in uniting all the anti-Hitler forces in France. On June 3, 1943, the French Committee of the National Liberation (headed by de Gaulle and Giraud) was formed in Algiers, which essentially became the Provisional Government of France.

The rallying of anti-fascist forces into a united front made it possible to start preparing an armed uprising against the invaders. At the beginning of 1944, all the fighting organizations of French patriots - participants in the Resistance, merged into a single army of "French internal forces" with a total number of 500 thousand people.

In the summer of 1944, armed uprisings began in France, covering 40 departments of the country. Almost half of the occupied territory was liberated by the forces of the rebellious patriots. The fighters of the Resistance detachments helped the detachments of the Anglo-American troops to land and gain a foothold in and liberated the cities of Clermont-Ferrand and others on their own.

On August 19, 1944, French patriots raised an anti-fascist armed uprising in Paris, and on August 25, the leaders of the uprising accepted the surrender of the German commandant. Soon the Provisional Government led by de Gaulle arrived in Paris.

The 20th century in world history was marked by important discoveries in the field of technology and art, but at the same time it was the time of two World Wars that claimed the lives of several tens of millions of people in most countries of the world. The decisive role in the Victory was played by such states as the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and France. During World War II, they defeated world fascism. France was forced to capitulate, but then revived and continued to fight against Germany and its allies.

France in the prewar years

In the last pre-war years, France experienced serious economic difficulties. At that time, the People's Front was at the helm of the state. However, after Blum's resignation, the new government was headed by Shotan. His policy began to deviate from the program of the Popular Front. Taxes were raised, the 40-hour work week was abolished, and industrialists had the opportunity to increase the duration of the latter. A strike movement immediately swept across the country, however, to pacify the dissatisfied, the government sent police detachments. France before the Second World War pursued an anti-social policy and every day had less and less support among the people.

By this time, the military-political bloc "Berlin-Rome Axis" had been formed. In 1938, Germany invaded Austria. Two days later, her Anschluss took place. This event dramatically changed the state of affairs in Europe. A threat loomed over the Old World, and first of all it concerned Great Britain and France. The population of France demanded that the government take decisive action against Germany, especially since the USSR also expressed such ideas, offering to join forces and stifle the growing fascism in the bud. However, the government still continued to follow the so-called. "appeasement", believing that if Germany was given everything she asked for, war could be avoided.

The authority of the Popular Front was fading before our eyes. Unable to cope with economic problems, Shotan resigned. After that, the second Blum government was installed, which lasted less than a month until its next resignation.

Daladier government

France during the Second World War could have appeared in a different, more attractive light, if not for some actions of the new chairman of the Council of Ministers, Edouard Daladier.

The new government was formed exclusively from the composition of the democratic and right-wing forces, without the communists and socialists, however, Daladier needed the support of the latter two in the elections. Therefore, he designated his activities as a sequence of actions of the Popular Front, as a result he received the support of both the communists and the socialists. However, immediately after coming to power, everything changed dramatically.

The first steps were aimed at "improving the economy." Taxes were raised and another devaluation was carried out, which eventually gave its negative results. But this is not the most important thing in the activities of Daladier of that period. Foreign policy in Europe was at that time at the limit - one spark, and the war would have begun. France in World War II did not want to take the side of the defeatists. Inside the country there were several opinions: some wanted a close alliance with Britain and the United States; others did not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the USSR; still others strongly opposed the Popular Front, proclaiming the slogan "Better Hitler than the Popular Front." Separate from those listed were the pro-German circles of the bourgeoisie, who believed that even if they managed to defeat Germany, the revolution that would come with the USSR to Western Europe would not spare anyone. They offered to pacify Germany in every possible way, giving her freedom of action in an easterly direction.

A black spot in the history of French diplomacy

After the easy accession of Austria, Germany is increasing its appetites. Now she swung at the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Hitler made the mostly German-populated area fight for autonomy and virtual separation from Czechoslovakia. When the country's government gave a categorical rebuff to the fascist tricks, Hitler began to act as a savior of the "infringed" Germans. He threatened the government of Beneš that he could bring in his troops and take the region by force. In turn, France and Great Britain supported Czechoslovakia in words, while the USSR offered real military assistance if Beneš applied to the League of Nations and officially appealed to the USSR for help. Beneš, however, could not take a step without the instructions of the French and British, who did not want to quarrel with Hitler. The international diplomatic events that followed after that could greatly reduce France's losses in World War II, which was already inevitable, but history and politicians decreed differently, strengthening the main fascist many times over with the military factories of Czechoslovakia.

On September 28, a conference of France, England, Italy and Germany was held in Munich. Here the fate of Czechoslovakia was decided, and neither Czechoslovakia nor the Soviet Union, which expressed a desire to help, were invited. As a result, the next day, Mussolini, Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier signed the protocols of the Munich Agreements, according to which the Sudetenland was henceforth the territory of Germany, and the areas dominated by Hungarians and Poles were also to be separated from Czechoslovakia and become the lands of the titular countries.

Daladier and Chamberlain guaranteed the inviolability of the new frontiers and peace in Europe for "an entire generation" of returning national heroes.

In principle, this was, so to speak, the first capitulation of France in World War II to the main aggressor in the history of mankind.

The beginning of World War II and the entry of France into it

According to the strategy of the attack on Poland, Germany crossed the border in the early morning of the year. World War II has begun! with the support of its aviation and having a numerical superiority, it immediately took the initiative into its own hands and quickly captured Polish territory.

France in World War II, as well as England, declared war on Germany only after two days of active hostilities - on September 3, still dreaming of appeasing or "pacifying" Hitler. In principle, historians have reason to believe that if there had not been an agreement, according to which the main patron of Poland after the First World War was France, which, in the event of open aggression against the Poles, was obliged to send its troops and provide military support, most likely, there would be no declaration of war did not follow either two days later or later.

A strange war, or how France fought without fighting

France's involvement in World War II can be divided into several phases. The first is called "The Strange War". It lasted about 9 months - from September 1939 to May 1940. It is named so because in the conditions of the war by France and England against Germany, no military operations were carried out. That is, the war was declared, but no one fought. The agreement under which France was obliged to organize an offensive against Germany within 15 days was not fulfilled. the machine calmly “dealt” with Poland, not looking back at its western borders, where only 23 divisions were concentrated against 110 French and English divisions, which could dramatically change the course of events at the beginning of the war and put Germany in a difficult position, if not lead to its defeat at all. Meanwhile, in the east, beyond Poland, Germany had no rival, it had an ally - the USSR. Stalin, without waiting for an alliance with England and France, concluded it with Germany, securing his lands for some time from the onset of the Nazis, which is quite logical. But England and France in the Second World War, and specifically at its beginning, behaved rather strangely.

The Soviet Union at that time occupied the eastern part of Poland and the Baltic states, presented an ultimatum to Finland on the exchange of territories of the Karelian Peninsula. The Finns opposed this, after which the USSR unleashed a war. France and England reacted sharply to this, and preparing for war with him.

A completely strange situation has developed: in the center of Europe, at the very border of France, there is a world aggressor that threatens all of Europe and, first of all, France itself, and she declares war on the USSR, which simply wants to secure its borders, and offers an exchange of territories, and not perfidious capture. This state of affairs continued until the Benelux countries and France suffered from Germany. The period of the Second World War, marked by oddities, ended there, and the real war began.

At this time in the country ...

Immediately after the outbreak of war in France, a state of siege was introduced. All strikes and demonstrations were banned, and the media were subject to strict wartime censorship. With regard to labor relations, wages were frozen at pre-war levels, strikes were banned, vacations were not granted, and the law on the 40-hour work week was repealed.

During the Second World War, France pursued a rather tough policy within the country, especially with regard to the PCF (French Communist Party). The communists were declared practically outlaws. Their mass arrests began. The deputies were deprived of immunity and were put on trial. But the apogee of the "fight against aggressors" was the document dated November 18, 1939 - "Decree on Suspicious". According to this document, the government could imprison almost any person in a concentration camp, considering him suspicious and dangerous to the state and society. In less than two months of this decree, more than 15,000 communists found themselves in concentration camps. And in April of the following year, another decree was adopted, which equated communist activity with treason, and citizens convicted of this were punished by death.

German invasion of France

After the defeat of Poland and Scandinavia, Germany began the transfer of the main forces to the Western Front. By May 1940, there was no longer the advantage that countries such as England and France had. World War II was destined to move to the lands of "peacekeepers" who wanted to appease Hitler by giving him everything he asked for.

On May 10, 1940, Germany launched an invasion of the West. In less than a month, the Wehrmacht managed to break Belgium, Holland, defeat the British Expeditionary Force, as well as the most combat-ready French forces. All Northern France and Flanders were occupied. The morale of the French soldiers was low, while the Germans believed even more in their invincibility. The matter remained small. In ruling circles, as well as in the army, fermentation began. On June 14, Paris was surrendered to the Nazis, and the government fled to the city of Bordeaux.

Mussolini also did not want to miss the division of trophies. And on June 10, believing that France no longer poses a threat, he invaded the territory of the state. However, the Italian troops, almost twice as numerous, were not successful in the fight against the French. France in World War II managed to show what she is capable of. And even on June 21, on the eve of the signing of the surrender, 32 Italian divisions were stopped by the French. It was a complete failure of the Italians.

French surrender in World War II

After England, fearing that the French fleet would fall into the hands of the Germans, scuttled most of it, France severed all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. On June 17, 1940, her government rejected the British offer of an inviolable alliance and the need to continue the struggle to the last.

On June 22, in the forest of Compiègne, in the carriage of Marshal Foch, an armistice was signed between France and Germany. France, it promised serious consequences, primarily economic. Two-thirds of the country became German territory, while the southern part was declared independent, but obliged to pay 400 million francs a day! Most of the raw materials and finished products went to support the German economy, and primarily the army. More than 1 million French citizens were sent as labor force to Germany. The country's economy and economy suffered huge losses, which would subsequently have an impact on the industrial and agricultural development of France after the Second World War.

Vichy mode

After the capture of northern France in the resort town of Vichy, it was decided to transfer the authoritarian supreme power in southern "independent" France to Philippe Pétain. This marked the end of the Third Republic and the establishment of the Vichy government (from location). France in the Second World War showed itself not from the best side, especially during the years of the Vichy regime.

At first, the regime found support among the population. However, it was a fascist government. Communist ideas were banned, Jews, just like in all the territories occupied by the Nazis, were driven to death camps. For one killed German soldier, death overtook 50-100 ordinary citizens. The Vichy government itself did not have a regular army. There were few armed forces necessary to maintain order and obedience, while the soldiers did not have any serious military weapons.

The regime existed for quite a long time - from July 1940 to the end of April 1945.

Liberation of France

On June 6, 1944, one of the largest military-strategic operations started - the opening of the Second Front, which began with the landing of the Anglo-American allied forces in Normandy. Fierce battles began on the territory of France for its liberation, together with the allies, the French themselves carried out actions to liberate the country as part of the Resistance movement.

France in World War II dishonored itself in two ways: firstly, by being defeated, and secondly, by collaborating with the Nazis for almost 4 years. Although General de Gaulle did his best to create a myth that the entire French people as a whole fought for the country's independence, not helping Germany in anything, but only weakening it with various attacks and sabotage. "Paris has been liberated by French hands," de Gaulle asserted confidently and solemnly.

The surrender of the occupying troops took place in Paris on August 25, 1944. The Vichy government then existed in exile until the end of April 1945.

After that, something unimaginable began in the country. Face to face met those who were declared bandits under the Nazis, that is, partisans, and those who lived happily under the Nazis. Often there was a public lynching of the henchmen of Hitler and Pétain. The Anglo-American allies, who saw this with their own eyes, did not understand what was happening, and urged the French partisans to come to their senses, but they were simply furious, believing that their time had come. A large number of French women, declared fascist whores, were publicly disgraced. They were dragged out of their houses, dragged to the square, where they were shaved and led along the main streets so that everyone could see, often while all their clothes were torn off. The first years of France after the Second World War, in short, experienced the remnants of that recent, but such a sad past, when social tension and at the same time the revival of the national spirit were intertwined, creating an uncertain situation.

End of the war. Outcomes for France

The role of France in World War II was not decisive for its entire course, but there was still a certain contribution, at the same time there were negative consequences for it.

The French economy was practically destroyed. Industry, for example, produced only 38% of the output of the pre-war level. About 100 thousand French did not return from the battlefields, about two million were held captive until the end of the war. Military equipment was mostly destroyed, the fleet was sunk.

The policy of France after the Second World War is associated with the name of the military and political figure Charles de Gaulle. The first post-war years were aimed at restoring the economy and social welfare of French citizens. The losses of France in World War II could have been much lower, or perhaps they would not have happened at all if, on the eve of the war, the governments of England and France had not tried to “appease” Hitler, but had immediately dealt with the still weak German forces with one hard blow. a fascist monster that almost swallowed the whole world.

After the previous entry about the Parisian Immortal Regiment, a discussion arose: do they celebrate the Victory here, what was the occupation and liberation for the Parisians? I do not want to give unambiguous answers, as well as draw any conclusions. But I propose to listen to the eyewitnesses, to look through their eyes, to think over a few figures.

German soldiers look at Paris from the Eiffel Tower, 1940

Robert Capa. Parisians at the victory parade, 1944

Here are some dry numbers.
- France was defeated by the Germans in a month and a half. She fought in World War I for 4 years.
- During the war, 600 thousand Frenchmen died. In World War I, there were one and a half million dead.
- 40 thousand people participated in the resistance movement (of which about half were French)
- De Gaulle's "Free French" troops numbered up to 80 thousand people (of which about 40 thousand French)
- Up to 300,000 Frenchmen served in the German Wehrmacht (23,000 of them were captured by us).
- 600 thousand French were deported to Germany for forced labor. Of these, 60,000 died, 50,000 went missing, and 15,000 were executed.

And any big whole is better perceived through the prism of small events. I will give two stories of my good friends who were children in occupied Paris.

Alexander Andreevsky, son of a white emigrant.
Alexander's mother was Jewish. With the arrival of the Germans, the French began to extradite the Jews or point out to the Germans people who were suspected of being Jews. “Mother saw how the neighbors began to look askance at her, she was afraid that they would soon inform her. She went to the old rabbi and asked what she should do. He gave unusual advice: go to Germany, work there for several months and return with documents that the Germans will issue "But so that when entering Germany, my mother's passport would not be checked, the rabbi told her to knock over a jar of honey in her bag. She did so, and the German officer at the border disdained to pick up documents soiled and stuck together with honey. For four months I lived with friends, and then the mother returned from Germany and no one else had any suspicions towards her."

Francoise d'Origny, hereditary aristocrat.
“During the occupation, we lived in the suburbs, but my mother sometimes took me to the city with her. In Paris, she always walked hunched over, quietly, like a mouse, looking at the ground and not raising her eyes to anyone. And she also made me walk. But one day I saw a young German officer looking at me and smiled back at him - I was 10 or 11 then. My mother instantly gave me such a slap in the face that I almost fell. I never looked at Germans again. we were riding in the subway and there were a lot of Germans around. Suddenly, a tall man called out to my mother, she was very happy, she straightened up and seemed to look younger. The car was crowded, but it was as if an empty space appeared around us, such a breath of strength and independence. I then asked, who was this man. Mother answered - Prince Yusupov. "

Look at some photos about life during the occupation and liberation of Paris, I think they give food for thought.

1. German victory parade at the Arc de Triomphe in June 1940

2. Installation of German signs on Concord Square.

3. Palace of Chaillot. The oath of civil servants and the police of the new government

4. Champs Elysees, "new life", 1940

5. German propaganda truck in Montmartre. Broadcast music to commemorate the 30 days of the capture of Paris. July 1940

6. German soldier with a Frenchwoman on the Trocadero

7. In the Paris subway

8. Saleswoman of German newspapers

9. Andre Zucca. Hot day, Seine embankment

10. André Zucca. Parisian fashionistas. 1942

11. Tuileries Garden, 1943

12. Return to horse traction. There was almost no fuel in the city

13. Wedding in Montmartre

14. Pierre Jean. Remelting of monuments into metal. 1941

15. Sending workers to Germany.

16. Deportation of Jews, 1941

17. "Departure from Bobigny". From this station, trains went straight to the death camps.

18. At the walls of the Louvre. Products were distributed according to cards, so many planted vegetable gardens.

19. The queue at the bakery on the Champs Elysees

20. Giving away free soup

21. Entrance to the Paris metro - air raid alert

22. Legionnaires of the Anti-Bolshevik Corps

23. Volunteer French Legion goes to the Eastern Front

24. Parisians spit on captured British paratroopers, whom the Germans are leading through the city.

25. Torture of a member of the Resistance in the German police

26. Captured members of the resistance movement are led to execution

27. Robert Capa. German paratrooper caught by resistance partisans

28. At the barricade in Paris in August 1944

29. Street fighting in Paris. In the center is Simon Seguan, an 18-year-old partisan from Dunkirk.

30. Robert Capa. Resistance fighters during the liberation of Paris

31. Skirmish with German snipers

32. Pierre Jamet. Procession of the Leclerc Division, Avenue du Maine. Liberation of Paris, August 1944

33. Robert Capa. Resistance fighters and French soldiers celebrate the liberation of Paris, August 1944

34. Parisian with allies

35. Robert Capa. Mother and daughter, who were shaved for cooperation with the invaders.

36. Robert Capa. Paris welcomes General De Gaulle, August 1944

What does France have to do with the victory over fascism?

Freedom-loving, democratic and left-leaning France (which is the historical image that many of us are used to) was nothing more than a myth. Historian Zeev Sternhel in his works he repeatedly raised the question of the “French roots of fascism”.

Of course, in the Soviet Union it was well understood that the "great" French resistance could not be compared in any way with the partisan movement in Belarus or Yugoslavia, since, according to some estimates, it was inferior in its scope even Italy And Greece. But, nevertheless, France was seen by Soviet politicians as the weakest link in the capitalist system, again Charles de Gaulle did not hesitate to demonstrate his frankly skeptical attitude towards US and NATO, and therefore some myths of French history were looked through with fingers.

Now the situation has changed dramatically. From the former French independent policy no trace left. France - regardless of which party government is in power - behaves like an obedient satellite of the United States. And this gives us, the Russians, citizens of the country that suffered the most damage in the world from the war, finally an impartial look at the so-called French ally in the anti-Hitler coalition ...

War of haute couture

When the Second World War began in September 1939, French society met it in the highest degree strangely: did ... an abundance of new "patriotic" hats appear ?! So, the so-called "Astrakhan fez" became a bestseller. In addition, checkered fabric began to be intensively imported from England, which was used to cut women's berets. This style of headwear immediately brought to life many new hairstyles. Much was borrowed from military baggage.

So, for example, a hat designed Rosa Desca, very reminiscent of an English cap. In addition, a new accessory came into fashion almost immediately. Many wore the obligatory gas mask on their side. The fear of gas attacks was so great that for several months the Parisians did not even dare to go out without it. The gas mask could be seen everywhere: in the market, at school, in the cinema, in the theater, in a restaurant, in the subway. Some of the French women showed a lot of ingenuity in disguising gas masks. High fashion felt this trend almost immediately. So fancy bags for gas masks, made of satin, suede or leather, began to appear.

A woman with a wheelchair equipped against gas attacks. England 1938

Advertising and trade immediately joined this process. A new style has appeared - in the form of miniature gas masks they began to produce perfume bottles And even tubes of lipstick. But the cylindrical hatboxes that Lanvin made were considered special chic. They even stepped across the Atlantic. With cylindrical handbags, very reminiscent of cases for gas masks, Argentine and Brazilian fashionistas began to walk around, who were by no means threatened by the horrors of war.

The war and its first consequences (air raids and power cuts) dictated a change in the behavior of the French, especially the townspeople. Some of the eccentric Parisians began to wear khaki shirts with gilded buttons. Epaulettes began to appear on jackets. Traditional hats were replaced by stylized shakos, cocked hats and fezzes. Attributes came into fashion operetta military. Many young women, with their summer tan still on their faces, refused to style their hair. They fell on their shoulders, resembling a kind of hood that had previously been called upon to protect from the cold. Curls and curls went out of fashion almost immediately.

Against the backdrop of the official military propaganda in the press, again strange at first glance questions sounded the loudest: how would it be better to sell all collections of fashionable clothes - to the French and foreign clients? How to keep the palm, which has traditionally been reserved for Parisian haute couture? In one of the French newspapers, the following phrase flashed: “Where are those glorious old days when people flocked to Paris from all parts of the globe? When the sale of one luxurious dress allowed the government to buy ten tons of coal? When selling a liter of perfume allowed you to buy two tons of gasoline? What will happen to the 25,000 women who worked in fashion houses?”…

As you can see, at first the war for the French was just inconvenience that interfered with fashionable life. This is the only way to understand the essence of the proposal with which the famous French fashion designer Lucien Lelong addressed the authorities. He wanted guarantees state support ... French couturier! He tried to explain that in the conditions of war such support was vital, and the continuation of high-class tailoring in France would allow him to maintain a presence in foreign markets! He said:

« Luxury and comfort are national industries. They bring millions of foreign exchange reserves, which we now so badly need. What Germany earns with the help of mechanical engineering and the chemical industry, we earn with transparent fabrics, perfumes, flowers and ribbons "...

The situation changed little when the period of the “strange war” passed and real hostilities began. The inhabitants of France saw the catastrophe mainly only in the fact that fashionable shops, variety shows and restaurants were closed. Now the war was perceived not just as an inconvenience, but like a ruinous mom nt. As a result, the defeat of France in the war was met, albeit wary, but without tragic moods.

Interrupted daily life resumed almost immediately after the occupation by the Germans Northern France. Already on June 18, 1940, almost all stores opened iron shutters on their windows. Large department stores in Paris: Louvre, Galeries, Lafayette, etc. - started working again. Years later, a new literary genre will appear in France - “How I did not like boches” (in Germany, its analogue will be “How I sympathized with anti-fascists”).

However, the actual diary entries made by the French in the second half of 1940 showed a completely different picture. Many almost rejoiced that they could reopen their establishments. The owners of shops, stalls and restaurants were pleased with an unprecedented number of " new visitors". They were even more delighted that they were ready to buy everything Germans paid in cash…

A crowd of women, children and soldiers with the signature Nazi salute. France

Large groups of "tourists" in field gray uniforms and armbands with swastikas actively photographed all Parisian sights: the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower. And although the majority of the population was wary of what was happening, there were also many who openly welcomed the occupying troops. Gradually the fear went away. Young schoolgirls with braided pigtails sometimes mustered up the courage to smile at the conquerors. In Paris, gradually scattered: « How polite are they?!», « How cute are they!». The Germans became charming invaders". In the subway, without hesitation, they gave way to the elderly and women with children. Not only trade, but also public life revived, although this happened in a very specific way.

Path to the Nazi EU

“The European idea is deeply rooted in France. Since Europe has become associated primarily with Germany, then this idea works exclusively for us. At present, the exhibition "France-European", the opening of which was organized by our diplomatic services, attracts the attention of many visitors. We have connected the radio, the press and literary reviewers to continuously propagate the European ideology.”

These were the words contained in the message of the German ambassador Otto Abeza, which was sent on 23 June 1941 to the Reich Foreign Minister Ribbentrop. It must be said that " European ideas for France were not new.

It was the French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand at the end of the 20s put forward the idea of ​​uniting Europe. It immediately began to be actively discussed both in the left and in the right circles of the republic. There are many new magazines appearing in France: “ New order», « New Europe”,“ Plans ”,“ The struggle of the young. From the titles it already follows that young French intellectuals, holding different political views, were looking for new ways to transform the "old Europe" with its disputed territories, mutual reproaches, economic crises and political scandals. Questions were actively discussed as to whether it was possible for the emergence of pan-European patriotism, supra-class socialism, and whether these phenomena could become the basis for the unification of all Western European peoples.

It should be noted that these discussions did not stop during the Second World War. No European country under German control wrote so much about " European idea like in France! The so-called. "Vichy government", as its youngest representatives immediately turned to the German ambassador Abetsu. They presented to the German diplomat a plan for the reorganization of France, which was supposed to not only meet the "standards" of the "axis" countries, but also integrate your economy into a common (read German) economic space. The policy statement did not at all resemble the request of the occupied country - the representatives of the "Vichy government" intended "through the defeat of France to gain the victory of Europe."

Specifically, their memorandum stated:

“We are forced to take an active position, as our country is in distress. Military defeat, growing unemployment, the specters of hunger disorientated the public. Being under the pernicious influence of old prejudices, false propaganda, which feeds on facts alien to the lives of ordinary people, instead of looking to the future, our country turns into the bygone past, content with voices heard from abroad. We offer our countrymen an extremely useful and exciting field of activity that can satisfy the vital interests of the country, revolutionary instincts and demanding national self-consciousness.

The proposed transformation of France included seven important components: the adoption of a new political constitution, the transformation of the French economy, which was supposed to integrate into the European economy, the adoption of a public works program in the field of construction, the creation national socialist movement, new landmarks in French foreign policy.

Of all this list, we should be primarily interested in the question of the "new" foreign policy. On this issue, the document stated the following:

“The French government does not want to abuse the confidence placed in it, and therefore won't let you recreate the past system of unions, focused on the preservation of the so-called. equilibrium in Europe. In addition, France should not be a weak point, but a zone through which non-European political ideas would seep. France is forever connected with the fate of the continent, it emphasizes solidarity, which in the future should unite our country with all the peoples of Europe. Based on this, we believe that France should become the defensive frontier of Europe, which is predetermined by our sea coast, and therefore can become a European bastion in the Atlantic. France will be able to cope with this task if the same harmonious distribution of responsibilities is applied in this area as in the areas of the economy. France must protect Europe primarily through the strength of her fleet and colonial troops.

For the most part " European idea” in France was clearly Anglophobic in nature. This was not surprising, given the details of the meeting between Marshal Pétain and Hitler, which took place on October 24, 1940 in the town of Montoire-sur-le-Loire. During these negotiations, Hitler told the marshal, who became the head of France:

“Someone has to pay for the lost war. It will be either France or England. If England covers the costs, France will take her rightful place in Europe and can fully maintain her position. colonial power».

Activists who rallied around the New Europe magazine actively developed this topic. In the course was the story of the deceased at the stake Joan of Arc, the treacherous flight of British troops from Dunkirk, attacks on the French fleet near Mers-el-Kebir and much more ...

... It would seem that all these historical facts could continue to be looked through the fingers, which, in fact, was done at one time by Soviet politicians. However, the first wake-up call for us came in 1994, when the Russian delegation was not invited to the celebrations dedicated to the opening of the Second Front. At the same time, the Western community openly hinted that they say France is a real victorious country, and Russia "as it were, not very much." And today these sentiments to distort history in the West are only intensifying.

So it makes sense for our historians and diplomats (before it is too late) to pose a number of questions to the world community that require an extremely clear answer:

- why for one Frenchman who went into partisans, there were several of his compatriots who voluntarily enlisted in the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS?

- why did one hundred pilots from the Normandie-Niemen squadron account for many thousands of Frenchmen who were captured by the Soviets when they fought on the side of Hitler?

- why did the radical French fascist Georges Valois end his days in the Sachsenhazuen concentration camp, and the French communist Jacques Doriot volunteered for the Eastern Front to fight against the USSR?

- why the last battles in Berlin at the Reich Chancellery, the Red Army had to fight not against fanatical Germans, but against French SS?

- why did the Europeans, not distinguished by a long historical memory, begin to attribute the arbitrariness perpetrated by the French occupation authorities in Germany to units of the Red Army?

- why the Vichy administration Francois Mitterrand after the end of the war he became a respected politician, and the great French writer Louis Ferdinand Celine was subjected to "public dishonor"?

- why did the fashion designer who collaborated with the invaders Lucien Lelong was hailed as a figure of "cultural resistance" ("He saved French fashion"), and the French novelist and journalist Robert Brasillach was shot as an accomplice of the invaders?

And finally, the most important two questions:

- Can France be considered the winner of fascism, if it was her predatory policy, carried out under the guise of the Versailles Peace Treaty, on the one hand that provoked the emergence of Italian fascism and German National Socialism, and on the other hand laid the foundation for global geopolitical conflict which eventually escalated into World War II?

France during the occupation in World War II.

Poll in France: Who made the most significant contribution to the victory over Germany in World War II? 60 years of propaganda...

More detailed and a variety of information about the events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet, can be obtained on Internet conferences, constantly held on the website "Keys of Knowledge". All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite all waking up and interested ...