Occupied France
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| Occupied France | |
|---|---|
| Name | Occupied France |
| Caption | German troops on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, 1940 |
| Period | 1940–1944 |
| Location | Northern and Western France, Channel Islands |
| Result | Liberation of France; establishment of Provisional Government of the French Republic; trials and purges |
Occupied France
Occupied France refers to parts of France under direct control of Nazi Germany and its allies following the 1940 defeat of the French Third Republic and the armistices of 1940; it encompassed military, administrative, and economic occupation intertwined with the Vichy France regime, the activities of the French Resistance, and the persecution of Jews and political opponents until liberation by Allied forces and the Liberation of Paris in 1944.
Background and Fall of France
The German Blitzkrieg offensive of Battle of France in May–June 1940, following the fall of Belgium and the Battle of Sedan, routed French Army units and led to the evacuation at Dunkirk and the collapse of the Third Republic, culminating in the Armistice of 22 June 1940 negotiated by Marshal Philippe Pétain and signed with Adolf Hitler and representatives of the Wehrmacht and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, while leaders such as Charles de Gaulle fled to London to form the Free French Forces. The armistice divided metropolitan France into an occupied zone under Wehrmacht control and a so‑called unoccupied zone administered from Vichy by Pétain’s cabinet including figures like Pierre Laval and ministers allied with Axis powers policies, even as military governors such as Generaloberst Otto von Stülpnagel and later Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel implemented security measures.
Vichy Regime and Governance
The Vichy regime led by Philippe Pétain and key officials like Pierre Laval, René Bousquet, and Marcel Déat promulgated conservative, authoritarian legislation including the Statut des Juifs and instituted collaborationist policies aligned with Italian Social Republic sympathizers and German demands; Vichy political structures interacted with institutions such as the Milice led by Joseph Darnand, the French police under prefects including Antoine Bernard (note: historical prefect names vary), and ministries that coordinated with German authorities and the Comité d'études économiques while suppressing parties like the French Communist Party and dissident networks tied to figures like Léon Blum and Georges Mandel. Vichy diplomacy engaged with Spain under Francisco Franco, negotiated labor exchanges with Reichsarbeitsdienst and implemented policies affecting colonies including Algeria and French Indochina overseen by officials from ministries such as the Ministry of Colonies.
German Military Administration
The German military administration in northern and western zones, led initially by authorities like Wilhelm Keitel at the strategic level and by military commanders and occupation authorities including the Abwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo/SD), established control through institutions such as the Kommandanturen, economic agencies tied to the Reichswerke Hermann Göring, and transportation directives affecting the Chemins de fer de l'État and ports like Le Havre and Cherbourg. Occupation policy oscillated between directives from Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Auswärtiges Amt, and SS leaders including Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, while military governors contended with French Army remnants, Vichy officials, and partisan activity around regions such as Normandy, Brittany, and the Île-de-France.
Daily Life and Economy under Occupation
Civilians in cities like Paris, Lyon, and Marseille experienced rationing, black markets, and requisitions as German authorities and Vichy bureaucracies controlled food distribution, industrial output in firms such as Renault and Peugeot, and labor conscription via initiatives linked to the Service du travail obligatoire and German firms including Krupp; shortages affected commodities from bread and coal to clothing, while cultural life persisted with cinemas screening films by directors such as Jean Renoir and writers like Marcel Pagnol even as newspapers like Le Matin and radio stations faced censorship by Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda officials including Joseph Goebbels. Infrastructure repair after bombing of ports and factories involved labor from prisoners, POWs from the British Expeditionary Force, and conscripts sent to work for companies like Siemens and IG Farben.
Resistance and Collaboration
Resistance movements, including Free French Forces, the French Forces of the Interior, networks like Combat, Franc-Tireur, Libération-Nord, and communist-led Francs-Tireurs et Partisans coordinated sabotage, intelligence for Special Operations Executive missions, and uprisings in coordination with Allied plans for Operation Overlord and Operation Dragoon, led by figures such as Jean Moulin, Henri Frenay, and Lucie Aubrac, while collaborationist organizations and individuals—ranging from the Milice and newspaper editors like Jules Brunet (example name usage varies) to industrial collaborators and politicians—worked with German authorities or joined fascist parties including the Parti Populaire Français under Jacques Doriot and the Rassemblement National Populaire under Marcel Déat.
Jewish Population and Persecution
The Jewish population faced persecution through measures enacted by Vichy’s Statut des Juifs, roundups such as the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup organized by French police, deportations to extermination camps including Auschwitz managed by Nazi units and collaborators like the Gestapo and SS, aided by coordination between figures like René Bousquet and German officials; notable rescue efforts involved clergy such as Monsignor Saliège, diplomats like Raoul Nordling and Chiune Sugihara (noting his actions were elsewhere), and organizations like Oeuvre de secours aux enfants and networks led by Adolphe Stern and local rescuers in cities and rural areas. Postwar trials examined responsibility for collaboration and complicity, implicating Vichy ministers, police officials, and German occupiers addressed by courts and commissions including those in Nuremberg and French purges.
Liberation and Aftermath
The Allied Operation Overlord landings in Normandy (June 1944) and the Provence landings (Operation Dragoon) precipitated the collapse of German control, the uprising in Paris facilitated by French Forces of the Interior and led politically by Charles de Gaulle culminating in the Liberation of Paris and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, followed by trials of collaborators such as Pierre Laval and the épuration légale and extra‑legal purges involving local militias and tribunals; postwar reconstruction engaged institutions like the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and economic planners such as Jean Monnet while debates over memory involved writers and filmmakers such as Robert Paxton, Marc Bloch, Alain Resnais, and legal reckonings at bodies including the High Court of Justice (France).