Joseph Darnand
Aime-Joseph Darnand is a war veteran and Politician French (born with Coligny in the Ain the March 19th 1897 and dead shot with the extremely of Châtillon, with Fontenay-Aux-Roses (current department of the Hauts-de-Seine) in the department of the the Seine the October 10th 1945). It was a major figure of the French Collaboration.
War veteran of the Great War and 1939-1940, militant of extreme right-hand side in the inter-war period, active and early support of the marshal Pétain and the Mode of Vichy, he became member of the S in 1943. In spite of some inclinations to pass to the Resistance, its principal historical role was that of founder and directing Milice French, organization ultra Collaborationniste and of type Fasciste, suppletive of the Gestapo and in charge of the tracking of the resistant , Juifs and refractories with STO.
The systematic exactions of its men, who like the Germans usually resorted to the Délation, to the Torture, the raids and the arbitrary executions, were worth in Darnand the quasi-general hatred of the population and a death sentence after the war.
First World War
Joseph Darnand fights during the First World War, and receives several quotations for his courage like “cleaner of trenches”. In 1918, its commando seizes essential German documents which make it possible to know the plan of the enemy offensive of July 15th, 1918, which will be dedicated to the immediate failure thanks to the general Mangin. Darnand receives the Military decoration hands of the general Pétain, to whom it dedicates then an attachment without terminal.
Disappointed not to be appointed officer of active at the conclusion of the war, it makes responsible the republican mode from there.
Inter-war period
Between the two wars, parallel to its activity of conveyer, it militates with the Extrême right-hand side initially within the framework of the French Action. He then conspires against the République in connection with the plot of “the Hood”, of which he is the person in charge with Nice.
Second world war
In 1939 and 1940, it fights, in a battalion of Alpine hunters (with the irregular force of 29e D.I), on the backs of the enemy lines.
It is named “first soldier of France” and is named officer of the Légion of honor to have been to seek with the hands of the enemy the body of his chief and friend the Agnely captain.
Pétain and GROUND
In June 1940, when Pétain seizes the power, it adopts the “national Révolution”. Darnand takes the head of the news French Légion of the combatants (LFC), in the the Alpes-Maritimes. After the opening of the LFC to the young partisans of the mode who never fought, it founds in August 1941, in its department, a Service of order legionary (GROUND), where certain elements of the “medium are introduced” niçois. This GROUND, wide later on at all the nonoccupied zone and the North Africa, preaches the active Collaboration with the occupant Nazi. Several chiefs and militants of the GROUND devote to brutal actions against the real or supposed adversaries mode and start a wave of Délation which saves neither the civil authorities, nor religious authorities of the French State.
When the national command of the GROUND is allotted to Darnand, it settles with Vichy. There posts positions there openly collaborationnists, while remaining always very close to Pétain.
According to the resistant Claude Bourdet, the resistant ones of the Alpes-Maritimes tried into 1940 to convince Darnand to enter dissidence and to found the group-francs of the Résistance. One hesitant moment, Darnand refused in the name of its absolute allegiance with Pétain. In 1943, in one moment of difficult negotiations with Laval and the Germans, Darnand, a discouraged time, made some surveys in direction of Free France, then gave up any idea definitively to undoubtedly change camp also its opinions pushed it much more to benefit from a mode which enabled him to satisfy its rancours anti-semites, anticommunists, antimaconnic and antirépublicaines.
The January 5th 1943, the Marshal exalte the “Patriotisme” of the GROUND which would have, with dimensioned Army of Africa, drawn on the Americans following the unloading allied from November 1942 in North Africa. Actually, only a few tens of the men of Darnand, on thousands, fought with Oran and the Morocco, while with Algiers the GROUND let all capture without resistance, at the time of the Putsch of November 8th, 1942.
Birth of the Militia
Pétain announces the autonomy of the GROUND and its transformation into French Milice, under the orders of its national chief Darnand.L' autonomy of the GROUND is decided, as much to draw aside from the Legion its members more the extremists, that to allow Darnand and its men to act, with their way.
January 30th, 1943, the foundation of the Militia takes place in Vichy. Laval is the official president, but current management and the true direction return in Darnand. Pétain and Laval will never contradict their official support for the Militia and its acts. In November 1943, Laval still points out that it is “hand in the hand with Darnand” because according to him, “the democracy, it is the anteroom of the Bolchevism”.
The oath of the Militia mentions inter alia the combat against “Jewish leprosy”. The movement wanted to be at the same time anti-semite, anticommunist, anticapitalist and revolutionist. According to the historians Henry Rousso or Jean-Pierre Azéma, the project of Darnand and its men was to make of the Militia a substitute of Sole party, and in the long term the framework of an authentic mode Totalitaire. Rise in force of Darnand in the Mode of Vichy, until there before very authoritative and reactionary, mark a decisive stage in the final Fascisation of the mode, like in its orbiting by the Germans.
In August 1943, Darnand is named Sturmbannführer Waffen-SS and it lends oath to Hitler, the German embassy, street from Lille, in Paris.
The December 30th 1943, at the request of the Germans, it is named by Pétain “secretary-general with the maintenance of law and order”, and the June 13rd 1944 “Secretary of State inside”. In 1944, the militia is extended to the north of France, and the henchmen of various parties collaborationnists are versed there.
The activity of the Militia
Darnand comes to Paris and seeks a comfortable housing. It throws its reserved on an apartment of the 16th district, in a building pertaining to the Jewish family Schwob d' Héricourt, whose legitimate occupants, including their small children, are constrained to hide. The French Milice, that Darnand describes as “news Chevalerie”, carries out a series of violent actions: as back-up troops of the Germans, they fight against the Résistance and take part in the liquidation of the Maquis of Glières. Destabilized by their unpopularity near the clear majority of French, the militiamans redouble extremism. The buildings of the Militia, to start with the Small Casino of Vichy, become places of systematic Torture. The militiamans also practice the Délation, contribute to the organization of the raids, and devote themselves sometimes to authentic Massacre S, thus with Saint-Amand-Montrond (June 11th 1944) where more than 80 corpses of civilians will be withdrawn from a well. Against the resistant ones, Darnand institutes in spring 1944 also martial Cours, where no elementary guarantee of the right is respected. They will be in particular given the responsability to condemn to dead and to make carry out revolted central prison of Eysses (April 1944), with which it life saves had been promised in exchange of their rendering.
The militiamans also devote themselves to summary executions: following the assassination by the resistance of the Secretary of State of information and propaganda Philippe Henriot, of the members of the Militia in the car the streets of Chateauroux furrow while drawing randomly on the passers by. With Rillieux-the-Pope, Paul Touvier makes shoot seven arbitrarily Israélites. The men of Darnand also engage in hunting for the Juif S, and in the Assassinat of the politicians, who, like Georges Mandel, or Maurice Sarraut, tried to be opposed to the Nazi Germany (Georges Mandel was also killed in reprisals with the assassination of Henriot). At the beginning of 1944, the militiamans also shot towards Lyon the octogenarians Victor Basch and his wife Helene Basch, making pay with the former president Ligue of the Human rights of the decades of Dreyfusisme and republican militancy, like its Jewish origins.
Man lack, Darnand will never lay out of more than: 35000 militants, of which much is not armed or active. Also it is shown little looking on recruitment: young people who seek to escape STO, but also a large number of adventurers, taken again justice, criminals of common right. The political exactions of the militiamans thus double many flights, burglings, rackets, extortion of moneies, ways of facts on the public highway or against civils servant, who complete to completely discredit the Militia in the population.
August 6th, 1944, Pétain ends up repudiating - in a letter which it did not make public - the exactions of the men of Darnand, too tardily so that this last is easily deceived. “During four years, he will answer caustically, I was entitled to all your encouragements because what we did, it was “for France”. And today that the Americans are with the doors of Paris, you start to say to me that I will be the spot of the French history. One could have been caught there earlier! ”.
The escape in Germany
With the Release, the militiamans take the way of the Germany, where they are assigned to Waffen S (Division Charlemagne). But Darnand must give up the command with a German senior officer of it, while itself is sent in Italy North to make hunting for the partisans. It is there that it is stopped the June 25th 1945 by the Britanniques, and given to the French authorities.
Death sentence
Transferred in France, Darnand is judged the October 3rd 1945 and is condemned to died by the High Court of justice. He is shot the October 10th 1945.
Family
Its nephew, Robert Darnand, was resistant and was off-set with Neuengamme.
See too
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