France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain

This book takes the trial of Marshal Petain in 1945 as a lens through which to examine the central crisis of twentieth century France: the defeat of 1940, the signing of an armistice with German and collaboration with Hitler - history of France under occupation. It examines the ways in which Pétain’s ‘treason’ was constructed in 1945 and follows the debates over the Pétain case up to the last French election in 2022.
Julian Jackson is emeritus professor of French history at Queen Mary University of London. His publications include France: the Dark Years 1940-1944 (2001), The Fall of France (2003), which won the Wolfson Prize for History, and A Certain Idea of France: A life of Charles de Gaulle (2018) which won several prize including the Duff Cooper Prize for non-fiction.
With comments from Shannon Fogg and Alice Kaplan.
The Washington History Seminar is co-chaired by Eric Arnesen (George Washington University) and Christian Ostermann (Woodrow Wilson Center) and is organized jointly by the American Historical Association and the Woodrow Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. It meets weekly during the academic year. The seminar thanks its anonymous individual donors and institutional partner (the George Washington University History Department) for their continued support.

[@ehodfi6037]

Thanks for this. I'm a fan of Professor Jackson.

[@didierroux1547]

Pétain was a bad general in 14 18 Capitulare at Verdun in 1916 on two occasions and a notorious defeatist in 1918 on 4 occasions
Deposed of his title of generalissimo in March 1918 at the interallied conference of Doullens.
Between the two wars, 1920-1939, despite the military positions he occupied, including Minister of War, Petain did everything to strip France of its military alliances in the East, such as with Russia, Yuslavia, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Petain prevented the Maginot Line from being completed in 1927, again in 1932 and especially in 1934 as Minister of War
Petain will again refuse Daladier to come on January 14, 1940.
He will always refuse as cowardly a 3rd time, to the new head of Government Paul Reynaud on May 1, 1940
at Paul Reynaud's 2nd call on May 14, 1940 Petain said to his ordering officer "The situation seems lost, I accept!" and will arrive on May 17, 1940 in Paris with a cowardly refusal to occupy the Ministry of Defense that the Reynaud Government logically offers him, because Petain has already occupied this position in the year 1934 and for more than one career soldier it is natural to expect him to defend his homeland since he is paid for that.
Resuming his 14-18 defeatist posture Petain on June 17, 1940 hastened to lay down his arms by asking for a dishonorable armistice from the enemy.

[@BStrapper]

In September 1951, it was Georges Pompidou who announced to Charles de Gaulle that "Pétain is dead". De Gaulle then corrected him by responding: "Yes, the Marshal is dead."
This response from de Gaulle is quite telling.

[@didierroux1547]

Above all, don't forget that Pétain had ratified the death sentence of General De Gaulle, pronounced on August 2, 1940 in Clermont Ferrand. And that throughout the war of 1940-1945 this sentence was neither pardoned nor reduced. And let me know that Petain's death sentence of August 15, 1945 in Paris was pardoned by whom? General de Gaulle.