Many of the collaborators ironically claimed to be nationalists.
Although some ofthem were sincere nationalists, they nevertheless
accepted the rule of their conquerors. This contradiction
was embodied most glaringly in the Vichy government. It was
created by defeat and it capitalized on the discredit heaped on the
Third Republic and the political parties which were held responsible
for its failure. Marshal Pétain, head of the Vichy
government, was immensely popular and he enjoyed almost
unanimous support in the southern zone during the summer of
1940. After this good start two series of measures alienated
popular support. He set up a new regime which he called the
National Revolution. Its conception was heavily influenced
by Charles Maurras, a political theorist who wrote for the journal
L'Action Française. The National Revolution differed from fascism
in a number of wavs7 but it was similar in others. Its first decision
was to persecute categories of Frenchmen, including communists,
socialists, Jews, freemasons. But its major defect was to
be boni under the occupation and to survive with German
approval. The heads ol the Viehy government were convinced
that the German victory was irreversible. Their second mistake
was a policy ol systematic collaboration with the Germans. In
the- hope of mitigating German demands, they cashed in whatever
stock France had saved in the Armistice. They negotiated
the release of their prisoners of war. But Hitler reaped all they
sowed without giving in return. Pétain opposed the reversal of
alliances proposed by Pierre Laval, even though his own policy
of collaboration helped the Germans without helping France.
This policy was at variance with the progress of events. The
Wehrmacht's set-backs eventually convinced the French that
onlv the Allies could liberate them.
World History
