Joseph Darnand | |
|---|---|
 Darnandc. 1943–1944 | |
| Born | (1897-03-19)19 March 1897 |
| Died | 10 October 1945(1945-10-10) (aged 48) |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Buried | Batignolles Cemetery, Paris |
| Allegiance |  France(1916–1940) Vichy France (1940–1944) Nazi Germany (1943–1945) |
| Branch |  Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1916–1918 1919–1921 1939–1945 |
| Rank |  SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) |
| Battles / wars | World War I Franco-Turkish War World War II |
Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a Frenchfar-right political figure,Nazi collaborator and convictedwar criminal during theSecond World War. A decorated veteran of theFirst World War and theBattle of France in 1940, he later pledged allegiance toNazi Germany, joining theWaffen-SS on 8 August 1943.
Darnand was the de facto leader of theMilice française, a fascistparamilitary organisation established under theVichy regime to combat theFrench Resistance,persecute Jews, and enforceforced labour drafts. On 1 January 1944, at the request of the German authorities, he was appointed Secretary General for Law and Order, before becoming Secretary of State for the Interior on 14 June 1944.
Following theliberation of France, he was arrested, tried fortreason, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad on 10 October 1945.
Darnand was born atColigny,Ain,Rhône-Alpes in France.
On 8 January 1916, he enlisted in the 35th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to corporal in April 1917, sergeant on 1 June 1917 and to adjutant (warrant officer) in 1918. He volunteered for a squadron that undertook dangerous missions. For his efforts in July 1918 penetrating German lines in the Champagne sector with a small force that captured prisoners and secured information about a forthcoming German offensive, "Darnand emerged a major war hero."[1]
Demobilised after the armistice, he again enlisted for two years in the army in September 1919. After a stint in thearmy of occupation in Germany, he participated in thecampaign against the forces of Kemal Atatürk inCilicia. He ended his service in July 1921 as a sub-lieutenant (second lieutenant). He worked as a cabinetmaker and later founded his own transportation company inNice.
Between the wars, Darnand joined a number of far-right political, paramilitary organizations:l'Action Française in 1925, theCroix-de-Feu in 1928,La Cagoule andJacques Doriot'sFrench Popular Party (PPF) in 1936.[2] He formed his own Fascist outfit, theChevaliers du Glaive (Knights of the Sword); in the 1930s he became prominent among La Cagoule, or theCagoulards ("Hooded Men"), a secret terrorist group that organised bombings and assassinations, and that stored arms in depots all over France.[3]
At the beginning ofWorld War II, Darnand volunteered to join the French Army and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He served in theMaginot Line and was decorated for bravery. During thePhoney War, Darnand took part in several commando actions against German forces. He was captured in June 1940, but fled to Nice. He became a leading figure in theVichy French organizationLégion Française des Combattants and recruited troopers for the "fight againstBolshevism".
In 1941, Darnand was made a member of theNational Council ofVichy France. The same year, he founded thecollaborationist militia,Service d'ordre légionnaire (SOL), that supportedPhilippe Pétain and Vichy France. He offered his help against theFrench Resistance. On 1 January 1943 he transformed the organization into theMilice. AlthoughPierre Laval was its officialpresident, Darnand was itsde facto leader. Darnand's political convictions were of the far right but he was known as a Germanophobe. Nonetheless, his views toward Nazi Germany changed. By the spring of 1941, Darnand had told a friend that "France had been wrong to fight Germany in 1939."Germany's assault on the Soviet Union in June 1941 "reinforced Darnand's evolution toward collaboration."[4]
Darnand turned to Nazi Germany and was made an officer of theSS. Darnand's turn to the SS was also influenced by the fact thatmiliciens were being targeted for assassination by the Resistance butVichy andWehrmacht authorities refused to arm the Milice.[5]
In joining the SS, Darnand took apersonal oath of loyalty toAdolf Hitler, receiving a rank ofUntersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) in theWaffen-SS in August 1943.
In December 1943, he became head of police and later secretary of the interior. Joseph Darnand expanded the Milice and by 1944 it had over 35,000 members. The organization played an important role in investigating the French Resistance;[6] as time progressed it "became ever more unrestrained," carrying out assassinations, chasing resisters, and "enthusiastically ... rounding up Jews."[7]
In early 1944, Vichy France announced a new law empowering Darnand "to create special courts martial to try on the spot" persons caught in violent acts against the state. The law was "without precedent in modern French legal history." The Milice also aided German forces in combat against the Resistance, and Darnand himself commanded a Milice unit in March 1944 near Lyons that flushed out somemaquisards (French Resistance guerilla fighters).[8] After theinvasion of Normandy and Allied advance, Darnand fled to Germany in September 1944 and joined the pro-Nazipuppet government in theSigmaringen enclave. He received a promotion toSturmbannführer on 1 November 1944.
In April 1945, he fled from Sigmaringen toMerano in northernItaly. The British captured him in Italy on 25 June 1945 and took him back to France. Like some other collaboration leaders, Darnand was found guilty of collaboration with the enemy.[9] He was sentenced to death on 3 October 1945 andexecuted byfiring squad on 10 October 1945 at theFort de Châtillon in Paris.[10]
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