Purification with the Release in France

The purification with the Libération in France aimed at the people having collaborated with the German authorities of occupation. A purification by the mode of Vichy had taken place between 1940 and 1944.

Before the courts of justice and civic Chambres are created and installed, and sometimes afterwards, the resistant ones and the populations are caught some with the Collaborateurs. This extra-judicial purification, or " purification sauvage" , aims mainly proven collaborators. It also takes place with the Libération with the favor of the sways in the crowd, where the joy and the desire of revenge mix. " mowed " are the first victims of this popular jubilation. The extrajudicial executions of collaborationists, or considered as such, are the object of a black legend where the figures become truths arguments in the attempts at rehabilitations of some. However even if the skids and the actions of pure banditism exist (Maquis Coz), all the executions " extralégales" are not impressed of injustice. Thereafter legal purification takes over. She is exerted via emergency courts: the High court of justice, the courts of justice, and the civic Rooms for the actions not repressed by the penal code.

It touches all the branches of industry and all the layers of the company.

The fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second world war, in the middle of the years 1990, was the occasion many studies making it possible to light of a new light this extraordinary period, with the clean direction of the term, which is the Libération. It was also the moment to synthesize the whole of work concerning the period. Thus, extra-judicial purification resulted in the death of 10.000 people, the shearing of 20.000 " horizontal ". Legal purification concerned more than 300.000 files, of which 127.000 involve judgments, which gives 97.000 condemned. Sorrows going 5 years of national Degradation with the capital punishment. Anxious to quickly reduce the fracture between the French, the government of the French Republic voted three amnesties for purified, since 1947, then in 1951 and 1953.

Purification is very quickly a polemical subject. The first to be written on the subject are purified themselves or the purifiers. What does not support the neutrality of the remarks. Moreover newspapers of extreme-right-hand side (it remains about it after the Libération) and the old Vichyist ones or their lawyers relay the " caption noire" purification: massacres, figures eccentric. However the last investigations carried out by the Committee of History of Second world war (CHGM) and its successor, the Institute of History of Time Present (IHTP) gives for 84 departments (out of 90 in 1945) the figure of 8.775 summary executions during the extra-judicial purification, for which it is necessary to add condemned to dead by the High court of justice and the courts of justice (791 or 767 following investigations), and by the courses martial (769 per 77 departments according to IHTP.).

Purification would thus have made between 10.000 and 11.000 dead.

Extra-judicial purification

The Libération takes in certain areas of the paces of riot or civil war. There exist territories where the representatives of the State, coldly invested, cannot penetrate and who are dominated by lords of the Résistance However all the coldly released French areas knew an extra-judicial purification, first of all during the occupation of the collaborators were assassinated. When the collaborators are killed by the resistant ones organized, the decision emanates most often from a " court martiale" or of a " tribunal" in fact. In the case of individual acts, the author does not embarrass pretense of legality. Other collaborators are threatened of reprisals if they do not cease their activities. During the Release, in the fire of the action, the proven or supposed collaborators undergo popular vindication. They can be killed, or sequestered while waiting for a judgment.

Mowed

Quarrel of the figures of extra-judicial purification

Very early, Purification is a subject for the booksellers and the newspapers, but at the beginning, they are especially testimonys of purified or not very inclined purifiers to give a neutral image of it. The newspapers of extreme-right-hand side and old Vichyist relay the " caption noire" purification. The black legend could be the fact of the primary education anticommunism of an American journalist, having indicated that 50.000 people were killed by the " rouges" in only South-east. This kind of information is extrapolated by all those which see in the release of France the next victory of the Communists to the favor of a true civil war. Moreover, the government does not contradict the figures which circulate, on the contrary. Thus, in November 1944, the Minister of Interior Department Adrien Tixier, drops the figure from 100.000 victims of purification. Jean-Pierre Rioux thinks that the government could let inflate the figures thus bringing back in its bosom the not very inclined populations to face a revolution whereas the war is not finished. Thus, the historical pseudo-investigations published in Rivarol in 1951, Defense of the Occident in 1957, or French Lectures ( the black book of purification of Henry Coston in 1964) emanate from what Peter Novick calls " the camp of the victimes". Polemical works and articles, they systematically take again the most consequent figures, the various facts and the most outstanding abuses. The authors do not make work of historians, because their problems are not to approach the " vérité" but to use certain facts, and to forget the others, in order to defend the collaborators victims of purification. The black legend also consults each other in more consequent works and of more neutral appearance, whereas one could await wild purification of Philippe Bourdrel, published in two volumes in 1988 and 1991, an attention more pushed a little for the former studies made on extra-judicial purification.

Bourdrel Philippe, wild purification, 1944-1945 , (Two volumes), Perrin, Paris, 1988, and 1991.
Coston Henry, " The black book of the épuration" , French Readings , August-September 1964.
Rivarol , Supplement with the n°32, August 23rd, 1951.
Rougier Louis, " The épuration" , Defense of the occident , n°39-40, January-February 1957.

Following questions written with the National Assembly, the ministry for the interior launches a first investigation via the prefects, for whom the total is of 9.673 summary executions. The second inquires more pointed, intervenes in 1952. It separates 8.867 dead suspected of collaboration, and 1.955 victims for which one could not determine of mobile. That is to say a total of 10.822 executions.

The first historical work on the question of purification is a sum written in ten years (1966-1975) by Robert Aron. Its Histoire of purification comprises three volumes. To satisfy everyone, Aron draws to the top the figures of the two investigations into extra-judicial purification realized in 1948 and 1952, by the services of Gendarmerie and the General informations, for the ministry for the interior. It multiplies the results by an erudite calculation, finally not very convincing, to arrive at a range of 30.000 to 40.000 summary executions.

In 1968, the thesis of the American researcher, Peter Novick, is published in the United States. This work is not " habité" by French realities related to the purification. This is why the author can, without being " étiqueté" , to dismount point by point extrapolations of Aron. The Novick is translated only into 1985 pennies the title purification Frenchwoman 1944-1949 .

The polemic swelling, the Committee of History of the Second world war (C.H.D.G.M.), which succeeds in 1981, the Institute of History of Time Present (I.H.T.P.), lance an exhaustive investigation into the number of victims of extra-judicial and legal purification. The investigation begins in 1967, in each department the correspondents of the C.H.D.G.M. are charged to determine the weight of repression extralégale to the Libération and of the activity of the departmental sections of the courts of justice. The last report of the study launched in 1967, on the repression of the facts of collaboration, is made in the review Twentieth century. Review of history , the first quarter 1992 (n°33) by Henry Rousso, in an article entitled: " Purification in France a history inachevée". It gives us the figures of 84 departments (out of 90): 8775 summary executions during extra-judicial purification, whether it is before or during the Libération.

Henri Amouroux, great history of the French after the occupation . Volume 9: " Settlings of score, September 1944 - January 1945 " , Robert Laffont, Paris, 1991. Volume 10: " The page is not turned yet, January-October 1945 " , Robert Laffont, Paris, 1993.
Peter Novick, French purification : 1944-1949, Balland, Paris, 1985.
Robert Aron, History of purification . Volume 1: " Indulgence with the massacres, November 1942 - September 1944 " , Beech, Paris, 1967. Volume 2: " Clandestine prisons with the emergency courts, September 1944 - June 1949 " , Beech, Paris, 1969. Volume 3-1: " The business world, 1944-1953v, Beech, Paris, 1974. Volume 3-2: " The world of the press, arts, the letters…, 1944-1953" , Beech, Paris, 1975.
Henry Rousso, " Purification in France a history inachevée" , Twentieth century. Review of history , n°33, January-March 1992, pages 78-105.

Legal purification

The assessment of legal purification is not as precise as we could have hoped for it, the Libération does not support the good behavior of the files. The governmental investigation of 1948 gives 791 death sentences carried out, and that of 1952,767 executions. The two figures are in spite of very concordant.

Before the Release

Legal purification born in Algiers on August 18th, 1943, by the ordinance of the French Committee of National Release (CFLN). The body representing the free France, chaired in alternation by the general de Gaulle and the General Henri-Honore Giraud establishes by this ordinance a commission of purification for one three months duration. Following the unloading in North Africa (November 1942), senior officials of Vichy, and even a former minister for the interior Pierre Pucheu were made prisoners. This last is accused at the end of August 1943. The lawsuit of Pierre Pucheu begins on March 4th, 1944. Shown treason, it is carried out on March 20th, 1944.

Pierre Buttin, the lawsuit Pucheu , Paris, Amiot-Dumont, 1948.
Fred Kupferman, the lawsuit of Vichy: Pucheu, Pétain, Laval , Brussels, Editions Complex, 1980.

Administrative internment

In all France, the structures having been used for the internment of resistant, the Jews, of the Spanish Republicans, are used again for the supposed collaborators. Ten departments only do not take place of internment, whereas others have several of them. In December 1944, the ministry for the interior gives a list of 171 sites of internment. They are camps, but also, a college, barracks, castles, etc In the Paris region, the collaborators were gathered with the cycle-racing track of Winter and the Camp of Drancy, like with the Prison of Fresnes. The daily newspaper Combat mentions that the guards of Fresnes attacked the prisoner Tino Rossi to ask him for autographs. It was the case for other celebrities, such Pierre Benoit or Arletty. In the Toulouse region, it is the camp of Noah which is put at contribution.

The ordinance of October 4th, 1944 authorizes the prefects (prefect of police for the Seine) to carry out the internment of people considered to be dangerous, until the suspension of the hostilities (it does without 11 months between the Débarquement Normandy and the end of the war). In a circular of August 30th, 1945, Adrien Tixier, Minister of Interior Department, specifies that the decree indicating the end of the engagements is not appeared but that it is advisable “to return to rained early with republican legality” (p 447), also the new internments are prohibited, except in serious cases (espionage, important black-market). The law of May 10th, 1946 fixes the legal date of suspension of the hostilities, and the last internee leaves at the end of May the camp of Al to Charente.

The figure of the internees is difficult to give. The public records preserve data of the ministry for the interior indicating the presence of 49.000 internees approximately in December 1944. This lack is a minimum, the data of the ministry not integrating some departments, and the Alsace-Lorraine is not released. The sites of internment always accommodate 39.000 internees (including 18.000 foreigners) in July 1945. In December 1945, the figure is not any more but of 4.200. The last internee leaves at the end of May the camp of Al to Charente in May 1946. The internees are especially " politiques" and of the German civilians (after the release of Alsace-Lorraine). Nomads, traffickers of the common Black-market and some rights supplement the data.

With the beginning of the Libération the camps are used for the groups of resistant to pile up the suspects stopped everywhere, by all. The camps are sometimes entirely managed by the Résistants (Drancy), until the arrival of the competent authorities, in fact the gendarmerie (on September 15th, 1944 for Drancy). For Collaborator , the internment was a means of avoiding the reprisals. The camps merge sometimes with the prisons, thus one finds internees administrative in the prisons and of the defendants (suspect on standby of judgment) in the camps of administrative internment.

To separate the good grain of the ryegrass proving to be delicate, Adrien Tixier creates as of on October 31st, 1944, of the Audit Boards of the camps of internment and the house arrests. Chaired by a magistrate or a former magistrate, assisted of a representative of CDL, and a civil servant of the general secretary to the police force, a commission sits in Each legal district. A National Commission installation in Paris undertakes with the difficulties of supply, of the sudden surge of internees, in the zones of combat, of the conditions of internment. The Croix-Rouge intervenes regularly with the downstream of the authorities in the camps. Helping accumulation, hygiene is often lamentable. The straw mattresses are of rigor, and not many enough, idem for the covers. Moreover, as for the populations, the food shortage watches for and the food been used for the internees is not very rich.

The camps are directed by Résistants, the personnel of guard is sometimes that which ensured the framing of the internees during the Occupation. As for all the professions, it was difficult to make clean slate of the past. The volunteers engaged during the Libération always did not have the qualifications necessary.

Eric Malo, " From Vichy to the Fourth Republic: the camp of Noah (1943-1945) " , Yearly of the South. Review of southernmost France , n° 199-200, July-December 1992.
Denis Peschanski, France of the camps , Gallimard, 2002.
Henry Rousso, " Purification in France a history inachevée" , Twentieth century. Review of history , n°33, January-March 1992, page 102.
Benedicte Vergez-Chaignon, Vichy in prison. Purified in Fresnes after the Release , Gallimard, 2006. the work does not concern only the administrative internees, it also treats purified judged and imprisoned with Fresnes.

Sacha Guitry, Sixty days of prison , the dash, Paris, 1949.
Claude Jamet, Fifi king , the dash, Paris, 1947.

Legal purification

Ordinances of the GRPF relating to purification

GPRF writes a whole series of ordinances making it possible to purify the French company. The texts relate to all the population (Ordonnances of June 26th, 1944, of August 26th, 1944,…), or of the specific categories of the population (Ordinances of January 18th, 1945, of May 5th, 1945,…). These texts pose a problem in right when to retroactivity of their action. The non-retroactivity is a basic principle of legality of a law.

National unworthiness

Jurisdictions

GPRF sets up a justice of exception and creates special courts to judge the facts of collaboration. The High court of justice for the members of the government, the courts of justice for the concerning crusher-run aggregate penal code, and the civic Rooms of the courts of justice for the remainder. The civic Chambres failed to be called Special sections courts of justice. The writer of the law was not informed undoubtedly of the Special sections used by the Vichy government to consider the culprits of crimes political.

Alain Bancaud, " The return of the republican rule of law by a justice of exception: purification judiciaire" , in the re-establishment of republican legality. 1944 , act of the conference of 1996, Editions Complexes, Brussels, 1996, pages 435-445.

High court of justice

A High court of justice already exists in the Constitution of IIIe République, created by the laws of the February 16th and 24th 1875. It is expected that if the leaders of the State let themselves go to the high treason, the Sénat organizes a court, heading High court of justice. Then Senators judge the faulty ones: President of the Republic, ministers, senior officials. Only by the constitutional act n°5 of July 30th, 1940 the Pétain marshal issues the suppression of this competence of the Senate (article 1), to create a court " whose organization, competence and procedure will be regulated by a loi". In fact, by a law of July 30th, 1940, a Supreme court of justice is charged to judge the leaders of the State in the event of offenses, crimes " or to have betrayed the duties of their charge". August 8th a text specifies that the Supreme court of justice sits at Riom. (see Lawsuit of Riom)

Also, a High court of justice, is recreated on November 18th, 1944. Located in Paris, it is charged to judge the Head of the French State, Philippe Pétain, the members of its governments (ministers, Secretaries of State), the police chiefs general, the general residents, the general governors, the High-Commissioners, and their possible accomplices. It is not installation by the Senators any more. It is chaired by the first president of the Court of appeal, assisted of the president of the court of criminal appeal of the Court of appeal, and the first president of the Court of Appeal of Paris. The High court of justice is composed of 24 sworn, drawn with the fate on two lists (12 per list). The first list includes/understands 50 senators or deputies in the course of mandate at September 1st, 1939, not having voted the full powerss with Pétain the July 10th, 1940 (constitutional Loi of July 10th, 1940). The second list consists of 50 people chosen by the Consultative Assembly, in the resistance movements. The law of December 27th, 1945 modifies the composition of the High court of justice, thus, it henceforth consists of 27 members, three magistrates, and 24 sworn all drawn with the fate on a list from 96 deputies of the constituent National Assembly, elected on October 21st, 1945 (article 1). The share of political trainings in the list of the 96 deputies is proportional to the number of deputies of each party in the Parliament. In fact the High court of justice becomes a parliamentary high court.

Article 10 of the ordinance specifies that the decisions of the High court of justice are made jointly by the magistrates and sworn, and must be justified. The principle of deferment does not apply to not condemned by the High court of justice. There does not exist appeal, the only possible recourse being the grace.

The High court of justice is modified again by the law September 15th, 1947.

Finally, it becomes again what it was at the beginning, a purely parliamentary court by the law of April 19th, 1948. However, the Senate yields the place to the National Assembly. The High court of justice comprises 15 members, a president, two vice-presidents and twelve sworn selected among a list of 72 deputies. The share of each parliamentary group in the list of sworn is proportional to the political weight of the known as groups in the National Assembly.

The first lawsuit was that of the admiral Jean-Pierre Esteva, Résident general of France in Tunisia. He is condemned to detention with perpetuity on March 15th, 1945. It avoids the capital punishment, because the court recognizes that the defendant helped of the patriots in May 1943, right before leaving Tunisia. Patient, Esteva, are pardoned on August 11th, 1950. He dies a few months later.

July 23rd, 1945, opens the lawsuit of the marshal Pétain, a lawsuit during which the youngest lawyer of the Marshal, Jacques Isorni ignites the court. However, on August 15th, 1945 the High court of justice condemns Philippe Pétain to the capital punishment. However considering the age of condemned, and its states of service during the First World War, Philippe Pétain sees his sorrow commuted to life imprisonment

The Prime Minister by twice Pierre Laval (July-December 1940 and April 1942 - August 1944) has to succeed in fleeing in Spain. However Franco returns it to Innsbruck (Austria), into full zone with occupation of the United States. Laval is delivered to the French authorities. Its lawsuit opens at the beginning of October 1945. After a bâclé lawsuit, where Laval is often prevented from speaking, the former Prime Minister is condemned to died for treason on October 9th, 1945 and carried out one week later, on October 15th.

The last lawsuit relates to André Parmentier, Managing director of the police force, and general secretary of the ministry for the interior. Condemned to 5 years of national Unworthiness, on July 1st, 1949, it of continuation is raised of its judgment for facts of resistance.

The court still meets (see low), but at July 1st, 1949, it informed 108 files and gave 108 judgments:

In 8 files, the justiciable ones died before judgment, therefore the legal action dies out: Jean Bichelonne died in Germany in December 1944,…

3 payments, of which Marcel Peyrouton discharged on December 22nd, 1948,

42 withdrawal of case: Jacques Roy Ladurie (December 12th, 1945), Jerome Carcopino (January 11th, 1947),…

18 capital punishments, including 3 carried out (Pierre Laval, Joseph Darnand, Fernand de Brinon), 5 commuted (Philippe Pétain, Henri Dentz, Raphaël Alibert,…), and 10 contumacies,

8 sorrows of forced labors, including 6 in time (Jacques Knight, Paul Baudoin, Charles Nogues…), and 2 with perpetuity (Gabriel Auphan, Hubert Lagardelle),

14 custodial sentences, including 13 in time (Yves Bouthillier, André Marquis, Bléhaut Henri,…), and 1 with perpetuity (Jean-Pierre Esteva),

15 sorrows of national Degradation, like pains principal (François Piétri, Adrien Marquet,…), 7 will be suspended for " fact of résistance" (Jean Ybarnegaray,…).

The High court of justice meets again between 1954 and 1960 when condemned by Contumace go or are made prisoners. The court is systematically more lenient than during the judgment by contumacy. 20 years of forced labors for the resident general in Morocco, Charles Noguès, on November 28th, 1947 (Contumacious), and the national Unworthiness raised immediately, for same on October 26th, 1956.

Jacques Isorni, Philippe Pétain , 2 Volumes, the roundtable, Paris, 1972-1973.

Fred Kupferman, the lawsuit of Vichy: Pucheu, Pétain, Laval , Editions Complex, Brussels, 1980.

Fred Kupferman, Laval , Balland, Paris, 1987.

Louis Noguères, the High court of the Release (1944-1949) , Edition of Midnight, Paris, 1965.

Frederic Pottecher, the lawsuit Pétain , J-C Lattes, 1980.

Courts of justice

The courts of justice are created by the ordinance of June 26th, 1944. For GPRF, it is advisable to organize purification and to affirm its authority on the released territories.

First of all, they are installed in the cities where sit the course of call. Then the need helping each department has its court of justice. 90 at the beginning, the courts of justice are 30 in January 1946 and 25 in January 1947. The court of justice of Paris is the last to cease its activity. The courts of justice are removed by a law of July 29th, 1949. However if the business had been judged in Contumace, the contumax caught up with by justice after July 29th, 1949 passes before the court of justice of the Seine. After 1951, the military jurisdictions take over.

Article 6 of the ordinance indicates that the procedure that the courts of justice must follow is that of a Court of Assizes.

It is made up of a magistrate chair the court, of four sworn appointed by a commission where sit of the magistrates and the members of the departmental committee of the Release (CDL), of a government commissioner, acting as Procureur, and of a Examining magistrate.

According to the official final assessment, at January 31st, 1951, the total of the files treated by the courts of justice (including their civic Room) is of 311.263. 183.512 files are classified without continuation (140 011 before information, 43.511 after information). The courts of justice judges 57.954 files, allowing to rule on the case of 55.331 people:

6.724 payments,
6.763 capital punishments, 2.853 marked in the presence of the defendant, including 767 carried out (the remainder (2 086 death sentences) is commuted), and 3.910 contumacies,
13.339 sorrows of forced labors, whose 2.702 with perpetuity (454 in the presence of the defendant, 2.248 contumacies), and 10.637 in time (1 773 in the presence of the defendant, 8.864 contumacies),
2.044 sorrows of imprisonment (1 956 in the presence of the defendant, 88 contumacies),
22.883 prison sentences,
3.578 sorrows of national Dégradation, like pains principal (3 559 in the presence of the defendant, 19 contumacies).

Civic rooms

Created by the ordinance of August 26th, 1944, the first complete name was: special section of the courts of justice. The resemblance to Special sections of the courses of call of disaster report (recent) involves the modification of the name. After the ordinance of September 30th, 1944, the president and the four sworn sit at the civic room of the court of justice.

The purpose of each civic room is to judge the people whose actions are not punishable penally. It puts condemned in a state of national Indignité, and national Dégradation punishes them.

According to the official final assessment, at January 31st, 1951, the civic rooms of the courts of justice judges 69.797 files, making it possible to rule on the case of 69.282 people:

19.453 payments,
14.701 national Degradation with life: 9.946 marked in the presence of the defendant, and 4.755 contumacies,
31.944 national Degradation in time: 30.617 marked in the presence of the defendant, and 1.327 contumacies,
3.184 people are condemned but raised of continuation of their sorrow for facts of resistance.

military Jurisdictions

The military jurisdictions functioned before the introduction of the courts of justice and to judge the remainder of the businesses in progress afterwards. The investigation of the CHSGM for legal purification gives us for 77 departments, 769 judgments carried out.

Brownish (Lieutenant), Courts of justice soldier , Auvours, School of application of the Infantry, 1948.

Presidential pardon

Charles de Gaulle announces in her memories that 2071 recourse in grace were presented to him. It rejects 768, and grants 1303 graces of them.

Purification of the intellectuals

The purification of the intellectuals is at the same time extra-judicial and legal. The nature of purified makes necessary the drafting of an article particular. The intellectuals have an excellent visibility. They create themselves of the sources for justice. The media produced during the occupation will be used to condemn their authors, when the latter were let go to preach the victory of Germany, the glory of the new Europe or the marshal Pétain, that it is with the radio (TSF), in the newspapers and the remainder of the written press, with the cinema.

The journalists, writers, lampoonists, chroniclers, men of radio or spirit expressed themselves near the public as they always do it. However, times are disturbed, the German occupy the country. These Germans are fascistic and anti-semites, the glorifier expose holding them of the French Action, of I am everywhere, and/or of Radio Paris.

Intellectuals engage completely in the Collaboration and belong to the political personnel in load of the nation. The Secretary of State to information is in charge of the propaganda of Vichy and of its allies, Philippe Henriot pays it its life, on June 28th, 1944, killed by the Résistance.

With the Release, the French actors of collaboration to the Nazism and their encenseurs are confused like persons in charge of the occupation, including repression of resistant, Jews, gypsies, etc the four years of occupation, and the stagnation which accompany them with the daily newspaper for the population and with forfiori for persecuted, are judged on parts, and the authors of all kinds manufacture some.

With the first cabins, Parisian intellectuals, those which are supposed to have collaborated are quickly stopped. The Vel of hiv, Fresnes, Drancy fill writers, actors, journalists. Many is slackened after " instruction" of their file (Pierre Benoit, Sacha Guitry,…). But, others take the way of preventive before appearing before the court of justice of Paris. The movement is visible in all France. In province, the most visible element of the purification of the intellectuals was the spontaneous generation of newspapers born on ashes of the newspapers having appeared during the occupation. The ordinance of September 30th, 1944 relating to the press prohibits all the born titles, or having continued to appear after June 25th, 1940. free Maine replaces the Sarthe , the Dauphine one released settles in the Alps, Charente becomes Libre .

In the press, purified are rather journalists that leaders of newspaper. Even, if there exist counterexamples of size. Thus, in November 1944, Georges Suarez, director of the newspaper Today , author of disastrous a Pétain or the democracy? It is necessary to choose? in 1942 is carried out. Albert Lejeune, director of many newspapers of province and the company of the newspaper the Car, has very positive ratios with the " Propaganda Abteilung in Frankreich" , body of propaganda of the German army. What is worth to him to be stopped in the Rhone delta after the Libération. He is accused of intelligence with the enemy, is condemned to death, and is carried out with Marseilles on January 3rd, 1945.

In the same way, it is to better be an editor that writer. Gaston Gallimard is not worried, whereas Robert Brasillach, collaborator of I am everywhere, and whose Gallimard published a compilation of texts in 1941, " The lawsuit of Jeanne d' Arc" , is condemned to death. He is shot on February 6th, 1945.

Journalists of the Radio are also condemned to died by the court of justice of Paris: Jean Hérold-Pasture responsible leading article with Radio Paris, member of the Milice, Jean Luchaire, ultra of the collaboration, which directed the newspaper France and the radio Ici France in time that Minister for the information of the " gouvernement" French in Germany.

The national committee of the writers enacts lists d'" writers indésirables". The members of the CNE commit themselves not working with the editors who would employ writers having helped morally or materially the Occupation. Ostracism is pronounced on the basis of idea. It is an ideological purification, the judged facts are especially political facts.

The trade union of the chansonniers also only purifies itself. Chansonniers " désolidarisent" of ten of their colleagues who lent their liveliness to official receptions or radio programs a little too committed.

The purification specific of the intellectuals at the professional level is governed by a late ordinance. The Ordinance of May 30th, 1945 relating to the purification of the men of letters, authors and type-setters, of the painters, draftsmen, sculptors and engravers creates two committees which divide the spot:

the national committee of purification of the author, men of letters and type-setter;
the national committee of purification of the painters, draftsmen, sculptors and engravers.

The committees pronounce professional sorrows: prohibition to play, publish, of " to pronounce conferences and causeries" (article 3), to expose, sell (article 4), to charge royalties and of reproduction. The incomes (reproduction and Royalty) of condemned are versed with works. The sanctions cannot exceed one two years duration.

The sorrows would be disproportionate for Pierre Assouline. One can speak about an over-representation of the intellectuals in purified. But, as for the whole of purification, being judged tardily can help. A Louis-Ferdinand Céline is condemned by contumacy to one year of prison in 1950. The public place of the intellectual exposes it, however the free-referee of each one allows to choose his camp

Pierre Assouline, the purification of the intellectuals , Editions Complexes, Brussels, 1985.
Pierre-Marie Dioudonnat, the money Nazi with the conquest of the French press , Picollec, 1981.
Jean-Pierre Berthin-Maghit, " 1945, the purification of the French cinema: myth or réalité" , in Film and history , Editions of the E.H.E.S.S., Paris, 1984, pages 131-142.
Charles-Louis Fuller, Claude Levy, the purification of the French press , CEREP, April 1975.
Jacques Isorni, the lawsuit of Robert Brasillach , Flammarion, Paris, 1946.
Gilles Ragache, Jean-Robert Ragache, Daily life of the writers and the artists under the occupation, 1940-1944 , Hatchet, Paris, 1988.
Michel Winock, " Was it necessary to shoot Brasillach? " , the History , n°179, July 1994, pages 62-69.
lawsuits of the radio: Ferdonnet and Jean Hérold-Pasture. Shorthand report , Albin Michel, Paris, without date, 248 Pages.

Administrative purification

Economic purification

Amnesties

After the Second world war, the State works with the national reconciliation. The country is bloodless, on January 1st, 1946 the ration cards of bread, declared useless before the municipal elections, Législatives and senatorial of 1945, was restored. The bread, one of the bases of the food at the time, is tiny room to 200 grams per day on August 27th, 1947. The war has been gained for more than two years. The Marshall plan, plan of states-unien assistance, is set up since 1947, it is one of the factors of the Rebuilding. But the economy needs arm and competences to be implemented. Also, GPRF cannot let remain very a long time, the idea of the “bad citizens” to punish, prevailing in the ordinances in relation to with the repression of the facts of collaboration (Ordonnances of the GRPF relating to purification). This is why very quickly of the amnesties are promulgated towards the Collaborateurs. Moreover, the texts are not always respected with the letter and of the faults excluded from the field of application of the texts are sometimes amnestied.

Of August 16th, 1947 amnesties

January 16th, 1947, Vincent Auriol is elected president of the Republic, it has the capacity of Amnistie. This power inherited the royalty gives the opportunity to him to give of the sorrows and thus to release from the prisoners. August 16th of the same year Vincent Auriol sign a broad law of amnesty where some articles concerning the condemned collaborators slip.

The law relates to a rather large audience. After the authors of various infringements, titles II and III are addressed to the minors, and to " certain categories of délinquants" , including purified people. Article 17 specifies that the amnesty applies to the only cases of people condemned to have written or have distributed documents " opposites with the interests of the people français" but without missing with " their duty of attachment in France". The field of application is thus tiny room to the authors and propagandists of the national Révolution, excluding the defenders from the Collaboration. Moreover, article 20 concerns the colonies and their nationals. It relates to the sorrows of national degradation of the Algerians, if they are condemned in Algérie, like all the sorrows concerned with a simple obedience to the directives of Vichy, if they are condemned in Métropole.

Badie Vincent, Koops Albert, the amnesty, the law of August 16th, 1947 , Causse, Graille and Castelnau, Montpellier, 1947.
Monteil Jacques, the amnesty of August 16th, 1947 , Dupont, Paris, 1948,32 Pages.

Of January 5th, 1951 amnesties

January 5th, 1951, the Parliament votes a law " carrying amnesties, instituting a mode of early release, limiting the effects of national degradation and repressing the antinationales" activities;. In fact, it is a law of amnesty especially devoted to the purified people. However, as any law of amnesty, it is necessary to make a request.

After having written a request for amnesty, the prisoner can obtain a decree in his favor. The application of the law involves the handing-over of all the sorrows principal, additional, and complementary, " in particular relegation, as well as the disappearance of all the forfeitures, exclusions, incapacities and deprivations of rights attached to the peine" indicate article 14. However, the confiscation of the illicit profits is always applied. The honors are not returned with amnestied. They are not reinstated in their functions and ranks of which they underwent the forfeiture, idem for the Légion of honor and decorations (article 15 and 16).

The national Dégradation instituted forfeitures and other dismissals stated in article 21 of the ordinance of December 26th, 1944. They are re-examined with the fall. With the law of amnesty of January 5th, 1951, the still punished people of national Degradation, find part of their civic rights. " The deprivation of all the civic rights and politiques" (article 21), is replaced by " The deprivation of straight attached to the capacity politique" (article 23). Thus national degradation does not comprise any more prohibition to be a curator or to belong to a board of guardians, to have responsibilities in a trade union, to be manager or administrator of company, and to be a managing director or general secretary of a company of bank or insurance, and to hold or carry a weapon. The collaborators can make finance or drive out, but still do not have the right to teach, have media, and to vote.

The law makes profit from the amnesty, automatically, the defendants condemned to a sorrow of national Dégradation on a purely principal basis, that she is pronounced by the civic Chambre or the court of justice. If this one does not exceed fifteen years, taking into account the various graces attached to the sorrow (article 2), or if the defendant were already " excusé" within sight of these actions for the Resistance, but is nevertheless in state d'" national Unworthiness " (article 1).

The minors of less blackjack years, at the time of the facts, sanctioned by the court of justice under the terms of the ordinance of November 28th, 1944, are also profit full. For that, it is necessary that the sorrow of enfermement marked in their opposition does not exceed five years, and that it is not followed or is not preceded by another judgment (article 3).

The law also envisages individual measurements widening the population being able to be allowed with the amnesty. Thus the sorrows of national Degradation on a purely principal basis not entering within the framework of article 2, i.e. being higher than fifteen years, can be allowed all the same for the benefit of the law (article 6). The play of track continues, in reference to article 3, article 7 allows the minors not satisfying the second condition, namely any other judgment, to see their cancelled sorrow. Article 9 authorizes the amnesty for the struck people of a sorrow of enfermement of less than three years, taking into account the graces, or expired before the first January 1951. It is necessary that the sorrow does not result from a contumacy, that the defendant does not have other judgments on his police records, and " that not guilty of denunciations, that not by intrigues, knowingly exposed or tempted to expose people to tortures, the deportation or died and that knowingly not contributed to the action of the police services or of espionage ennemis" (article 9).

" In spite of us " , Alsatian and Natives of the Moselle region, built-in of force after August 25th, 1942, in the same way the Moslems having integrated military formations into the orders of Vichy, or Occupying German, are amnestied, except the persons in charge of War crimes (article 8 and 12).

Charles Raymond, " The law of amnesty of January 5th, 1951 " , general Collection of the laws, decrees, and stopped , Volume 81,1951, pages 49-68.

Of August 6th, 1953 amnesties

The law of amnesty of August 6th, 1953 supplements that of January 5th, 1951. Thus two years and half, only after the first law of amnesty, the State enacts a new text, whose extent is very important. Conscious of criticisms which can be worth to them this law, the writers write a first article in the shape of document in proof near the Résistance: " The French Republic returns testimony to the Resistance, whose combat saved the nation. It is in fidelity with the spirit of the resistance which she hears that leniency is exempted today. The amnesty is not a rehabilitation, nor a revenge, not more than it is not a criticism against those which, in the name of the nation had the heavy task to judge and of punir." Measurements defining the full recipients are gathered in articles 2 to 10. The facts having involved sorrows of national degradation on a purely principal basis, are amnestied without condition of duration nor of cause (article 2). For the defendants condemned by the court of justice to principal sorrows other that the national Degradation, the new text takes again the restrictions given in article 9 of the law of January 5th, 1951, by adding the " culprits of murder, viol" (article 4). The duration of maximum sentence of imprisonment making it possible to profit from the law, passes to five years, with a fine lower than 200.000 francs, this for the judgments without later graces (article 3). The war veterans and disabled ex-serviceman profit from special conditions. The duration of the sorrow of imprisonment should not exceed ten years, and the possible fine, 200.000 francs (article 7). The facts of economic aid in Germany repressed in the ordinance of March 29th, 1945, are amnestied according to the same conditions (article 5). The defendants profiting from graces, must have a sorrow of less than five years, or of which the duration expired before January 1st, 1952, in the same way the fine attached to the sorrow should not be higher than two franc million (article 4). Are excluded from these two provisions, the people condemned another time to more than two years of imprisonment. Article 6 of the law amnesties the minors of less than eighteen years at the time of the facts whatever the crimes, and the sorrows. With application of the already quoted restrictions, the minors of less blackjack years at the time of the facts are them also amnestied whatever the duration of their sorrow.

Amnesties by individual measurements are envisaged. By always taking account of the restrictions defined in article 4 of the law, the people of which the duration of imprisonment, graces include, does not exceed fifteen years, and twenty for the categories aimed to article 7, can profit with in an individual capacity from the amnesty (article 11)

At the political level, article 19 makes eligible again for all the elections, the people déchues of this right by the ordinance of April 21st, 1944 ( ordinance in relation to with the organization of the public authorities after the Libération ). The politicians having given their support for Vichy can find their place, at least at the local level. This measurement makes it possible moreover to legalize elections of which the winners would not have, not even had to arise taking into account the ordinance of April 21st, 1944.

The law of amnesty of August 6th, 1953 cancels the majority of the judgments, only the most serious cases, in particular the not commuted sorrows with perpetuity are always applicable.

Charles Raymond, " The amnesty of August 6th, 1953 " , general Collection of the laws, decrees, and stopped , Volume 83,1953, pages 49-68.
Copper-Royer Jean, the amnesty, law of August 6th, 1953 , Dalloz, Paris, 1954,93 Pages.

Comparison of European purifications

The studied countries of Western Europe (Norway, Denmark (to see by there) , Netherlands (to see by there and here) , Belgium (to see by there) have to adapt their legislation to the characteristics of time. Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands restored the capital punishment for the occasion. In the worldwide studied the laws enacted with the Release are retroactive.

The system of the " national Unworthiness " was adopted by the 4 countries. Thus, condemned for collaboration with the German occupant are put at the round of applause of the company, by the limitation of their civic rights, political, economic. Moreover, in the Netherlands, 60.000 people lost their nationality Dutchwoman, to be entered with the service of a foreign power.

The jurisdictions used for the purification of the Collaborateurs are either of the existing, and modified courts (the Belgian military tribunals count two civilians, Denmark), or of the emergency courts created for the occasion (With the Netherlands, 100 cours special made up of a judge and two members of resistance judge the cases the least serious). Belgium, Netherlands, and Norway allowed legal arrangements. Thus, the prosecutor proposed a sorrow, which, accepted by the defendant, enclosed the file, and the lawsuit did not take place. What made it possible to reduce the duration of legal purification.

If one reports the number of custodial sentences pronounced in France to the population is 38.000 sorrows for 40 million inhabitants, it appears that 94 French for 100.000 were imprisoned for facts of collaboration. The same operation gives 374 Danes, 419 Netherlanders 596 Belgians and 633 Norwegians for 100.000 people.

Thus purification in France does not appear to have been too strong, nor too lenient. However, it is necessary to take account of the difference between the marked sorrows and the sorrows carried out.

Peter Novick, French Purification (1944-1945) , Baland, Paris, 1985, pages 296 and 325-328.

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