Vichy Two Years of Deception.Pdf

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"V R 20' :? 5 "" 22 3 </ 7 a: VICHY Two Years of Deception THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK, BOSTON CHICAGO * DALLAS ATtANTA SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, TORONTO VICHY Two Years of Deception BY LEON MARCHAL NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY '943 1943, BY LON MARCHAL All rights reserved no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper. FIRST PRINTING PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Foreword I owe a brief personal explanation to my readers. In June, 1940, I was stationed in Morocco. Like the over- whelming majority of Frenchmen in North Africa, I was op- posed to the armistice and to the breaking of our alliances. As they did, I refused to concede that a capitulation manifestly contrary to the will of the French people could put an end to the state of war between France and Germany. With this in mind, four months later, I personally opened the first negotia- tions for the supplying of North Africa. By maintaining eco- nomic relations with the free world I, among others, hoped that a barrier could be erected against German penetration in the French Empire, thus preparing the way for the French overseas territories to break with Vichy and reenter the war. From April, 194.1, to April, 1942, in my new functions as Counsellor to the French Embassy in Washington, I pursued the same policy for as long as it could reasonably counteract the development of Franco-German collaboration and main- tain the spirit of resistance in North Africa. During that time I dealt only with matters pertaining to North Africa, and was not connected with any other activity of the Vichy representa- tion. After Pierre Laval's return to power, I openly joined Gen- eral de Gaulle. It was then in answer to a suggestion made by The Macmil- lan Company of New York that I decided to write on the fatal evolution led Vichy regime and the which it, from concession to concession, to the last stage of enslavement. In carrying out this task, I have endeavored to attain the v VI FOREWORD ''"sam'e 'accuracy aifd Objectivity as in my professional work for the;Fj&jjch Foreign Service. Itaveinade use of all the available and significant sources of information except, however, official documents with which ! could not have become acquainted in any way but for my diplomatic position. I can assure my readers, nevertheless, that the documents I refrained from using do not contain, to my knowledge, any elements which might be invoked to attenuate the responsibility of the men of Vichy. I am indebted to numerous friends for first-hand accounts and reports which, I regret to say, I have often been unable to credit specifically. Some of my informants or members of their families are still in France, and I have no right to expose them to reprisals. Reports of United States correspondents in Europe have often been of great aid and I wish to express my admiration for the care and the precision with which, despite extreme difficul- ties, they inform the public of the United States on what is taking place in France. During my stay in London last July, I was able to gather first- hand information on conditions in the Occupied Zone and the internal resistance of the French people. I have used all this documentation, coming from the most varied sources, with complete independence of judgment and This has expression. book undergone no censorship and bears no imprimatur. Fighting France knows the price of freedom of thought. It is what we are fighting for. text was The original written in French. The English translation is the work of MM. Jean Davidson and Don Schwind. I wish to state here that they have been, for me, more than translators: I have found in them real collaborators and friends. If this book succeeds in giving an exact picture of what has taken in France for the place past two years, it will be through their efforts as well as the writer's. Contents Foreword v I JUNE 25, 1940 i ii PETAIN 12 III LAVAL 26 IV THE VICTORS 43 V THE VANQUISHED 54 VI THE FIRST MONTHS OF VICHY 67 VII MONTOIRE 85 VIII THE FALL OF LAVAL 103 IX DARLAN 117 X WEYGAND 135 XI VICHY AND WASHINGTON 157 XII THE SECOND WINTER 171 XIII THE RETURN OF LAVAL 193 XIV FIGHTING FRANCE 214 CONCLUSION 341 INDEX VICHY Two Years of Deception June 25, 1940 To die is not what matters, but to win the war. MARSHAL FOCH Since one o'clock this morning Franco-German and Franco- Italian armistice conventions have been in force. The struggle has ceased from Bordeaux to the Alps and the remnants of the French Army are still falling back. At full speed the mechanized divisions of the invader are still thrusting forward and there will arise in several days a steel curtain to cut France in two* the Demarcation line. The Bordeaux Government (a name that recalls for the Frenchman the tragic hours o January, 1871, and those of August, 1914) has proclaimed a national day of mourning. In the provinces which have been spared the invasion, in North Africa, and deep within the most distant lands of the Empire, flags have been dipped to half-mast over the public buildings, and funeral ceremonies are celebrated in the churches. In Rabat, capital of French Morocco, on that African ground which has nourished the youngest glories of France and the greatest hopes of her army, civil and military officials stand within the cathedral, pressing into the first ranks of the assembly. The altar is draped in black. A catafalque arises below the choir in the dim light of tapers; the tricolor that covers it is veiled in crape. One cannot help remembering, despite himself, other cere- the monies of this kind, m this place, which brought together same people each November i 1 in remembrance of the dead who fell in another war a victorious war. It is the same cathedral of Rabat, but the feelings that make the hearts within it 2 VICHY the dead rises beneath pound are very different. The liturgy for the dome. The words of the "Dies Irae"-on the day of wrath taken and trembling when the earth crumbles into dusthave on a new meaning. This day is the Day of Judgment. and The high dignitaries of the Sultan's court, viziers pashas, come as though to the funeral of a friend. They are silent and and their dignified. No word passes. Their sympathy loyalty are beyond question; of these they have, in the last days, given the most moving proof. What are they dreaming beneath the great white veils that envelop them? One thing they must know. In a few weeks or a few months, the Frenchman will yield the land to a new conqueror, a rapa- cious and hard master. The German, who coveted Morocco even before August, 1914, is no stranger to them. The Grand Vizier, Si El Hadj Mohamed El Mokri, this venerable old man who has served four Sultans and whose exact age nobody knows, may well recall that day in March, 1905, when Kaiser Wilhelm II nearly set fire to Europe by disembarking at Tan- gier in the dazzling uniform of His Imperial Majesty's White Cuirassiers to declare that Germany would protect Morocco against the intrigues of the French and English. The menace "inferior of Germany's domination, pitiless to the so-called races/' arises once more, just when it was believed definitely eliminated. Sages of Islam turn to the words of the Koran; "It is written/' God who gives the victory smashes one by one the rulers who do not belong to the true Faith, the unworthy vessels in which He chooses to test His own people. God is the Highest. He is the most Learned. Let His will be done. The sentiments of the Frenchman are not very different from the fatalism of the Moslem. Here in Morocco, with only the official communiques which hide or restrict the truth, it has been far from easy to follow the fortunes of battle. Up to the very last illusions have lingered. JUNE 25, 1940 3 But the awaited miracle has not occurred as in September, 1914. Neither on the Somme, nor on the Marne, nor on the Seine, nor on the Loire. Stubborn hopes have sprung up again and again on the rivers of France; but hopes deceive, and now everything collapses. Now, these men who, for the most part, fought the other war, who were victorious in their youth, must contemplate from this moment the prospect of ending their days under the yoke. Their shoulders stir as if beneath a too heavy burden, and eyes drowned with tears look without see- ing.

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