The Forgotten Axis Puppet: Vichy France | Animated History

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Sources:
Adelman, Jonathan R. Hitler and His Allies in World War II. London: Routledge, 2007.
Carroll, David. "What It Meant to Be "A Jew" in Vichy France: Xavier Vallat, State Anti-Semitism, and the Question of Assimilation." SubStance 27, no. 3: 36-54. 1998. doi:10.2307/3685578.
Irvine, William D. “Domestic Politics and the Fall of France in 1940.” Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques 22, No. 1, The French Defeat of 1940: Reassessments (Winter 1996), pp. 77-90. www.jstor.org/stable/41299051.
Jackson, Julian. France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Kitson, Simon. "From Enthusiasm to Disenchantment: The French Police and the Vichy Regime, 1940-1944." Contemporary European History 11, no. 3: 371-90. 2002. www.jstor.org/stable/20081843.
Kocher, Matthew Adam, Adria K. Lawrence, and Nuno P. Monteiro. “Nationalism, Collaboration, and Resistance: France under Nazi Occupation.” International Security 43, no. 2: 117-150. 2018. doi: doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00329.
Parker, Thomas. "When Churchill Bombed France." The National Interest, no. 145: 77-84. 2016. www.jstor.org/stable/26557339.
Paxton, Robert O. Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
Roberts, Andrew. Holy Fox: The Life of Lord Halifax. Head Of Zeus, 2019.
Thomas, Martin. "After Mers-el-Kébir: The Armed Neutrality of the Vichy French Navy, 1940-43." The English Historical Review 112, no. 447: 643-70. 1997. www.jstor.org/stable/576348.
Thomas, R.T. Britain and Vichy: The Dilemma of Anglo-French Relations 1940-42. London: The MacMillan Press, Ltd, 1979.
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[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Go to nordvpn.com/historyvpn to get 73% off the 2-year plan with 1 additional month for free! Try NordVPN risk-free thanks to their 30-day money back guarantee! Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Promo code: ARMCHAIRHISTORY for 50% OFF Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Check out the new Armchair History TV Mobile App too! apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id1514643375 play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.uscreen.armchairhistorytv Discord: discord.gg/zY5jzKp Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist

[@landonbohinc8146]

Plzzzz do da Russian civil war

[@LM-pt1rr]

Can you do a Video about the Italian occupation of albania

[@LeoMes01]

Do Iran and Iraq during ww2

[@nokhtarthiam809]

Hello,Cool video.

[@itsblitz4437]

I hope you do a video on the Yugoslav Wars.

[@c.lynnmiller5677]

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Marshal Pétain is the living embodiment of this quote.

[@user-oi3jk4qo9j]

Yes he is..

[@skinfan2806]

Well said

[@TheResilient5689]

Petain got off far too easy. He should’ve been imprisoned in solitary confinement for the rest of his life, with no hope of clemency or early release whatsoever.

[@spidmadjarski4234]

​@@TheResilient5689tell me you're brainwashed, without telling me you're brainwashed, Long live Petain, Long live France

[@TheResilient5689]

@@spidmadjarski4234 Petain was a traitor complicit in the deaths and suffering of thousands or even millions of his own people, among other things.

[@BHuang92]

To elaborate on Darlan's assassination, he was not missed by the Allies as even he switched allegiance, the Allies did not trust him. It was no coincidence that many speculated that the Allies staged the assassination as a means of convenience.

[@saltmerchant749]

Darlan was only ever on one side, to which he remained loyal for the duration of the conflict, and that was the side of Darlan himself. If he had to play both sides, so be it.

[@BHuang92]

@@saltmerchant749 Harold Macmillan described Darlan as, " Once he was bought, he stayed bought".

[@yeetjones927]

Darlan was a coward no matter how good an admiral he was a snake that would sell his own family to the gestapo if he lived an extra hour

[@Kamfrenchie]

the allies suspected De Gaulle of doing it, but afaik it was orchestrated by a group of anti vichist. They drew straws to decide who would kill him, and the killer in the end, was a royalist iirc

[@bishop6218]

@@Kamfrenchie In his memoirs, De Gaulle basically wrote "Wasn't me !". He sure had no reason to be implicated *wink wink* That being said, the assassin was secretly "tried" and executed by Giraud's orders the very next day, so maybe he told the truth, who knows. Fact is not a lot of people missed Darlan more than 3.5 seconds imho... 😉

[@johnniescott284]

"Marshal Pétain was a great man. He died in 1925, but he did not know it" - Charles De Gaulle

[@fransengherre7098]

All my respects to this great man.

[@snowhuskybaalkaii8621]

De Gaulle was only trying to protect the integrity of France and enroll the followers of Petain by not throwing that traitor to the wolves . In this world Justice is never bestow on the ruling class .

[@fransengherre7098]

@@snowhuskybaalkaii8621 You are a leftist, globalist, revisionist, obscurantist and an enemy of the truth. In conclusion, you are the empire of lies, an enemy of humanity. You cherish the causes of which you deplore the effects. You hold phantasmagorical speeches, meaningless and opposed to your actions. You are mentally deranged. You will lose, without even needing an enemy. Because in nature everything that is not fit for life dies. You have already started to rot, it is visible to all. We cannot lose, because the truth does not cease to be because it is denied. We have the strength of the world, we have already won. We will always win.

[@Upliftmofo89]

Said by the man who ran away and didn't have to pick up the pieces

[@peterhaslund]

Petain was a butcher of soldiers, then of civilians. End of

[@sven_the_giant]

My grandmother was born in Alsace and raised outside of Paris. She endured the full might of German occupation during WW2. She almost lost her life when a group of Waffen SS stormed into a city square she was at with a half-track and dismounted infantry shooting everyone in sight. Reprisals for the killing of SS officers earlier. She was saved when a stranger told her to hide in a ditch. She never saw that stranger again. Before she passed, I was able to interview her about her experiences during the war and wrote a paper on it in college. She was the number one reason why I got my degree in history. I miss her greatly.

[@darger3]

Incredible.

[@Geodendronitrian]

Your Grandma is a brave woman, may she rest in peace.

[@AceCmbatguy25]

Thank you for sharing, wow

[@TEverettReynolds]

> wrote a paper on it in college Now you must go a step further, to document her story, for all the future generations of her family (track them all down). Paper is nice, but does not last the test of time. Create something that will outlast you, and tell her story for all to learn from. In our families today, our youth does not understand true sacrifice, or what opportunity really means. They have a sad sense of entitlement (due to being raised with so much security and material things). Her story can enlighten them, and their future generations. These are the lessens that our schools fail to teach our children today.

[@khankrum1]

I wonder if she would have supported the EU?

[@schizoidboy]

Keep in mind the French Resistance was not entirely unified itself. They were made up of various groups, ranging from Communist with ex-fighters from Spain, pro-monarchist, pro-de Gaulle, deserters from the Vichy military, and escaped forced laborers - to name a few. One of the reasons for the Free French wanting to take Paris was to keep these guerrilla forces from taking over especially the Communists.

[@Th3Shyguy]

Overall a motly crews of mostly untrained youths that had little to no ammo and great ambitions. The FTP was probably the most prominent of french resistant in comparison to armée secrète. SOE played a large role in somewhat organizing, however much possible. Needless to say the french resistance wasn't trusted much by the allies, but played a bigger role than most people realize keeping the 2nd SS Panzer Division: Das Reich cooped up in the areas they rose up in due to the unyeilding policy of keeping every inch of territory gained.

[@delta2372]

The french resistance was honestly pretty useless.

[@johnwotek3816]

French resistance started to unify itself under De Gaulles impulsion, by the work of Jean Moulin. They created the french resistance council, which basically layed the foundation of the provisory governement.

[@rockmycd1319]

@@delta2372 They weren't. They collaborated with the Western Allies and committed to sabotage attacks just prior to D-Day. They certainly did more then the "lol let's delay this crucial counter-attack because of a superficial report of fleeing french soldiers even though we didn't believe the numerous reports of Panzer columns advancing through the Ardennes" aka the French Army.

[@delta2372]

@@rockmycd1319 last I checked, those "sabatoge" efforts were mostly due to british commandos, without the british commandos helping the french "resistance" or as they should be called the french communist's since those were the only ones "resisting" and even then it wasn't until the soviet was invaded did they even start doing that because the french commies were more interested in shooting each other than the germans. The french resistance was a joke and de gaulle was an opportunist crybaby who thought he should have a say in anything when the free french army was as useless as the communist resistance.

[@polargray1]

Fun fact: Soldiers from Vichy France (and Occupied France) that fought on the eastern front called the 33rd Waffen Grenadier of the SS Charlemagne Division (Composed of members from the Milice, LVF, and Volunteer Sturmbrigade France) were one of the last divisions to defend to Berlin and were among the last Axis Forces to surrender

[@yourmajestyy9674]

Based

[@joshepstalin5399]

I know, go watch explain of downfall (film)

[@fleurdeurope6858]

The story of the French volunteers and their feats of arms are fascinating. I publish lyrics videos of the song and marches of those units (LVF, Brigade Frankreich, Div. Charlemagne) I could find on my channel with English translation. Eventually I would like to record my own version of the missing ones.

[@TheBlackfall234]

that also goes for Spanish Waffen SS Volunteer Division.

[@rudynathan8852]

Wow. Cool and smart! NOT

[@oldschool1993]

When I lived in Paris, I met a French veteran of the war. He had only 1 arm, having lost the other in action in 1940. The Germans had released him because they felt he was no further threat. He promptly escaped France and joined the British in India where he served in some desk duty for most of the war, before returning after the liberation of Paris. He had 2 sons, and tragically both were killed during the Algerian war. I also knew a French lady who told an interesting story. Her husband had been captured in 1940 and she was not sure if he survived ( they were Jews). When the war ended , the French government and the church offered a dispensation of divorce for people who had missing spouses so that they could go on with their lives. This lady re-married after the war and sometime in the late 1940's she was in a restaurant with her new husband and ran into her 1st husband who had been in a forced labor camp in Eastern Europe and was then sent to another labor camp by the Russians- he spent nearly 10 years as a prisoner.

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

Awkward!

[@siyacer]

Uh oh

[@SuperCatacata]

@@thereisnosanctuary6184 I cannot imagine being the 1st husband in that situation. Probably the only thing that kept him going was the thought of seeing her again. Smh

[@doublesnapdowntownjackson6634]

She's for the streets

[@tomz5704]

So how did that end, with her being remarried and all that?

[@noitatpab1114]

As a Frenchman, we studied this period so much on university and it’s really interesting. Your video sums up well what happened during the war. However, this period remains the center of many debates within the history community. What was Petain’s real goal ? What was Laval’s true role with the German collaboration ?

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

There's this same debate with the Thai Prime Minister during this period, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, definitely the time when he was nowhere to be found for a few hours during the Japanese invasion of Thailand.

[@just_pleb8977]

its even worse now with zemmour deffending petain

[@jwil4286]

@@just_pleb8977 how much of a choice did Petain really have though? Given how quickly Germany dissolved Vichy France in 1944, I don’t see how they could have reasonably gone against Germany.

[@Kurowll]

@@jwil4286 As some suggested, forming a governement in exile in Britain or relocate the capital in Algeria (who was integrated in the french territory and not a colony at the time) to continue the fight. His willingness to collaborate instead of that suggest an opportunist spirit or an ideological motivation, maybe both

[@jwil4286]

@@Kurowll moving the capital would have just delayed the inevitable. If they became a government in exile, then Germany could have taken over all of France and probably would have destroyed more of it.

[@jacobmask4381]

"Petain's life was successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre" - Charles de Gaulle

[@lunarmodule6419]

But De Gaule wasn't there anymore, he had fled. Someone has to be and leader and do the right thing.

[@LoneCourier2281]

@@lunarmodule6419the right thing?!! My guy he willingly sentenced thousands of his own people to death

[@TheResilient5689]

@@LoneCourier2281Hundreds of thousands at least, in fact.

[@RandyMCPEmaster]

Petain is an example of "You Either Die A Hero, Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain"

[@scottwillie6389]

History has vindicated him to large degree. All the great men of that period were smeared by the Communists who took over after the war.

[@quandaledingle7812]

Scott Willie if your willing to bend over for your enemies you don't deserve a nationality he's not french

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@quandaledingle7812 In his situation it was either bending or being bent over violently. Not much choice about practical result.

[@ZEtruckipu]

Oh.... So now De Gaulle was. Communist?

[@taan1424]

@@scottwillie6389 being a senile fascist puppet and an instrument of genocide is hardly being vindicated

[@kovesp1]

A bit of trivia. At the end of the movie Casablanca there is a barbed reference to Vichy France. Luis grabs a bottle of mineral water with a well readable "L'Eau Vichy", then contemptuously tosses it into the garbage. BTW, Casablanca is chock-full of these kinds of references which one usually only notices after watching the movie multiple times.

[@slowmo9642]

Give me more

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Bit like Dr Strangelove, with one of the folders in front of General Jack D. Ripper called Assigned Targets for Megadeaths.

[@justalonesoul5825]

Oh, trust me, the story of Vichy has absolutely never been forgotten and still gets public attention and is a recurring source of dissession in France.

[@dannyvandervoort1989]

I’ve always been intrigued by Vichy regime. I personally liked many things about Paul Reynaud and his hardline against Germany but am curious about the French opinion of Petain?

[@luma8840]

@@dannyvandervoort1989 The opinion of the French on Petain is diverse. President Emmanuel Macron called him a hero of the Great War but a gravedigger in the Second. The Vichy Regime is seen as a disgrace by most French people. There is still a minority who claim that Petain helped De Gaulle by saving a semblance of the French state, the myth of the sword and shield. (De Gaulle was the sword and Petain the shield). But it is rather difficult to give a clear answer on the subject. For example, Petain was disgraced of his title of Marechal at the end of the war but most of the population and even the media still call him by his military title.

[@didierroux1547]

@@dannyvandervoort1989 Paul Reynaud President of the Council Georges Mandel Minister of the Interior, Louis Maurin Minister of State, General De Gaulle Secretary of State and others... wanted to continue the fight, if necessary from North Africa. And it was possible! But the soldiers petain marshal, generalissimo weygand and his deputy, general Alphonse Georges, Francois Darlan admiral of the fleet, lieutenant-colonel De Vilmune member of Reynaud's military council. Algeria was still a French department in 1940)

[@camillemorelli5422]

I’m French and the pain is still here about this dark past. Personaly my great grandfather was in the French Army and worked in a farm in Germany after he was captured. My other great grandfather was in the resistance at the age of 15 with his sister who was 17. They were captured and released by the Gestapo or the Milice because there were no proofs about their engagement in the Resistance. (So I was just writing our felt and the story of my family about this event and lot of assholes flow their French hate on the comments, stop being stupid).

[@joshuafrimpong244]

Lucky

[@Cruxial_]

Understood that the French have horrors, though living in Hamburg, and having a grandfather who fought on the western front and ended up losing his leg, the way how the French treated German POW was worse than how Germans treated polish people, the French gave only half as much of rations that the Germans gave the polish, so I can say that as I feel bad for the French they definitely treated us worse.

[@Cruxial_]

I’m not putting down the pain of your grandfather, I’m just explaining the way of living for all of us.

[@claradavidson1837]

@@joshuafrimpong244 very 💯👍

[@perhaps579]

@@Cruxial_ didn’t really treat Russians too well though did you, neither the Jews or anyone else you didn’t like

[@Spongebrain97]

French teachers in the 1950s talking about Petain in WWI: Yeah I'm pretty sure this guy is a war criminal now

[@user-ry6ey8gq3t]

Mais tellement

[@Spongebrain97]

@Rudolf Hiller yeah, thank you

[@matpk]

@@Spongebrain97 Compare 1930s Nazi Germany Vs 2020s Communist Chinazi IN YOUR NEXT VIDEO Project before it's too late

[@Spongebrain97]

@@matpk modern day China is closer to fascism than communism

[@sspicyyful]

In France there was a lot of political tension between (far) right and (far) left before the war, which influenced what happened during the war. For example, some among the conservative right viewed German occupation in a 'traditional' way, i.e. as temporary until the end of the war as had happened before, and saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the left and of the communists. In that perspective, Nazis were viewed as a tool, not 'friends' or 'masters' and as such not all people working for Vichy can be labelled as 'collaborators' or 'puppets'. Note also that the French communists did not act against German occupiers until German broke the German-Soviet Pact on Moscow's order, which was not exactly the height of patriotism, either. The period really is a French civil war that came close to reignite during the Algerian War.

[@mihovillmisha9885]

Absolutely rigt

[@tomk3732]

Same occurred in other places, like Poland. It was not just France where Germans were execution tool for political enemies.

[@bartoszN01]

@@tomk3732 Can you explain the case of Poland?

[@puma7171]

This explains why France sided with Germany early on. But does it excuse it? France could have fought on, buying the British time and maybe even keep some stronghold like Brittany, from which to deny the Germans the Atlantic (U-Boats from Brest almost brought down Britain) and serving as a base for invasion. The French fleet could have made a big difference to the British war effort too. All this with some hindsight, of course, but de Gaulle wanted exactly that before fleeing to Britain.

[@sspicyyful]

@@puma7171 France did not "side with Germany early on"... It was invaded along with most of Europe. If you want to argue that France sought an armistice too early then this is not the explanation. Rather one needs to remember what happened in WWI, which was fought on French soil: People of 1940 remembered it very well since they had done the fighting. "France would have kept a stronghold in Brittany" is a completely unrealistic suggestion: The German army had swept through Europe but could have somehow been stopped along a small frontline in open terrain? This is not Asterix the Gaul...

[@ignatiusjackson235]

This was incredible. Thanks for all the hard work you put into it.

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

A detail with its own importance : During the campaign on Syria, Vichyist Foreign Legionnaires and Free France Foreign Legionnaires fought against one another. When all was said and done, victims from both sides were buried side by side, with no regard for alliegiance, save for to the Legion... Literal brothers in opposing sides...

[@sidvyas8549]

Legio Patria Nostra

[@samfikeu623]

Man that's tough.

[@jclee2651]

Fascinating story

[@mrcarr9890]

Pierre-Marie, can u provide any links with info on this?

[@carlossaraiva8213]

Yeah, but one side were real cunts who didnt deserved the honour. No excuses for fascism. Fascists are no ones brothers.

[@michaelsinger4638]

Marshal Petain really feels almost Shakespearean in how tragic his story was.

[@mrnobody5669]

@Steve Walker How?

[@harryblaney8571]

@Steve Walker Says the man who’s profile picture is that of a man behind an American flag.

[@BHuang92]

He lived long to see himself become a villian.

[@charlie8344]

@Steve Walker which side are you on then?

[@eugeneoliveros5814]

@Steve Walker you’ve got the wrong flag in your pfp then

[@andrewkhan4561]

Love how your style of story telling is developing. Your videos always get an automatic thumbs up from me. Keep up the great work!

[@greghansen38]

Thank you! I've seen Vichy France mention many times, but nobody has ever said anything even about what it was. It was always just a name, and otherwise, well, forgotten.

[@MyVanir]

You must've been blind then, it literally takes half a minute to know what it was at its base and a couple of minutes to have a boatload of details.

[@jayburn00]

Petain in some ways mirrored Benedict Arnold. If Benedict Arnold had died immediately after the battle of Saratoga, he would have been remembered as an American hero. If Petain had died before world war two, he would have been remembered as a hero of France. Instead they lived long enough to become remembered as traitors.

[@keithbulley2587]

"Major General Benedict Arnold, American patriot, resided here from 1796 until his death, June 14, 1801." Plaque outside No. 62, Gloucester Place, London W1! I think I read somewhere that one of Arnold's motivations in joining forces with the mother country against the rebels was that he could not stomach the idea of fighting alongside the traditional enemy, the French. I must be one of the few who has visited his grave (by accident) in the crypt of St Mary, Battersea.

[@danielparker3333]

He was also always getting fucked over by other generals in America for corruption that was never proven. His only real ally was George Washington and when Benedict Arnold was wounded in a battle. George Washington wouldn’t let him resign

[@hebl47]

I can actually understand Petain's initial actions and the pursuit of peace. He did not want to see a repeat of WW1 where millions of young French would suffer needless deaths. However there is no excuse for his further actions.

[@necromater6656]

I have heard the argument that given his very advanced age he wasnt entirelty under control of the situation, with his deputy actually doing most of the more heinous orders.

[@qingyunwang3802]

It’s not mass death he didn’t want to see, he was afraid that a WWI-style war will bring a WWI-style Revolution and France will become a Communist regime (not unfounded considering the sabotage to the war efforts against Germany by French Communist Party under direction from Moscow, when USSR and Nazi Germany were still allies).

[@lycaonpictus9662]

It was a little more complicated than just wanting peace "at any cost." He had far right / authoritarian political leanings, had no love for the French republic, and was an Anglophobe that viewed Britain, rather than Germany, as France's mortal enemy. He's a lot less sympathetic when you dig into his political views & actions while ruling France.

[@swisstraeng]

@@lycaonpictus9662 and sums up quite well what france was at that time tbh...

[@mawile3037]

Yeah he got what he needed and then did what he wanted, they were a neutral party and had no reason to go as far as he did

[@slash7303]

The quality of these videos is amazing 👏 keep up the good work

[@parodyclip36]

I am deciding to share what some of my family experienced during ww2 (as a French) because of the crippling ignorance of some in the comments. One of my great grandfather was captured along the French army in 1940. I know he escaped during the trip to Germany but was recaptured and then he re-espcaped of a stalag later during the war. I am not sure if he joined the free French but I know he was awarded a medal so I am assuming he did. One of my other great grandfather was a simple man in 1940. When 2 German scouts on a side-car arrived in his village, one of the young men promptly took their gun away and started molesting them. They succeed to run away back to their division. Later in the week they came back with trucks and soldiers. The 2 Germans quickly pointed out 5 French that looked like their attacker. They executed all 5 of them, my great grandfather among them. They did it "Pour l'exemple" as we say. The last one I know of was a simple farmer with a couple cows and animals. Throughout the entirety of the war German soldiers would came to his farm, beat him and point a gun at his head, in front of his family, before taking his products (milk, eggs, bread...). They would do so about once or twice a month. He even got beat in front of his children because the Germans were threatening everyone if he didn't comply. That s all I got. You can hear a lot of people say French were Collaborationist, they sided with the Germans. The opposite isn't necessarily true, not everyone was a resistant. 98% of the French population was just struggling to stay alive and focused on this or their family, not collaboration. Resistance helped ease the pain (coupons, tracts, radio) so there was a lot of passive resistance.

[@SuperCatacata]

Nobody blames the French public for any of this, they handled such a terrible situation for survival very well. It all falls on those who were leading at the time.

[@greenlamp9219]

i lov reading stories like these and hearing accounts of people who the war affected most of all-just regular day to day people trying to get by. makes you think when u hear stories of war crimes that come from typical solders not just ss or gestapo though

[@ForelliBoy]

As for Paul Reynaud, by the end of the war he was interned in Castle Itter - the scene of that famous battle between a combined American-Wehrmacht(-and-that-one-SS-officer) force and the Waffen-SS. After his liberation he returned to political life until 1962, when he resigned in protest against Charles de Gaulle's electoral changes.

[@TragicTester034]

ah The Last Battle

[@mattc9998]

Absolutely incredible animation quality. It should be mentioned that one of Churchill's suggestion's, which was very nearly agreed upon (a document was actually drawn up), was the formal union of the UK and France into a single state.

[@How23497]

Apparently french officials were on the way to sign it but something (idk what) stopped them

[@Twosec2die]

It wasn't even remotely close to succeeding in practice. Sure thing that the respective heads of states (de Gaulle & Churchill) favoured it above capitulating to Germany but nothing came of it since everything was on fire, in quite a literal sense. Beyond some details such as the positions of each head of state would be extended to the other meaning France would have a king again and Britain have a president and that both parliaments would pass the same legislations - all other details had not been defined yet.

[@jimmygray5782]

@@Twosec2die spot on. Couldn't have said it better myself. History matters video?

[@stefpix]

@@Twosec2die Churchill was not head of state, but the head of government. The King was the head of state.

[@panttuckerenjoyer7625]

That’s some 1984 stuff right there

[@SteelScream88]

Thank you for this mini documentary. I have a history major and we don't talk about Vichy France as much as we should. So thank you so much. Thank you for educating people. Much oblidged !!!!

[@claudemontezin911]

Merci, thank you for this. To complement your great expose, I would like to share with you the true story of a resistance fighter. My father was a young corporal, trained as a machinist and mechanic, when France briefly fought and surrendered to Nazi. I was a passionate of war toys and when I grew up and asked him so many questions about the war, but he rarely said anything. Eventually, facing my stubbornness he provided some answers. My dad and my uncle (also named Claude) were career soldiers. They did not shy from occasional fist fights against bullies growing up. My dad led a small team of rag tags resistance, using stolen or captured guns (my dad's favorite were Berettas - he said they never jammed). They blew up railroads - Nazi's were the only ones using them - and one time he laid his charges and ran to cover, while a bullet almost grazed his skull. Many times I've asked him "how many Nazi did you kill dad?" while playing with GI Joes. One day, he looked away, and said "I don't know. But if I were to be paid a nickel for every bullet I fired directly at the enemy, I would be multi, multi, millionaire". He eventually got caught. Since France surrendered, you as a resistance fighter have no longer any Geneva Convention protection and they will torture and execute all they wish. Resistance women and men lived off of stealing chickens, even eating cats (he said so) and your old time neighbor could shoot you in the back, in exchange for chocolate or wine offered by local policing SS (or to avoid their brutality). Once made prisoner, my dad was smart and convinced them he was more valuable to them alive since he was a trained mechanic and machinist. It worked and they had him work in their stronghold submarine base at La Rochelle (where Spielberg filmed Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1980 and Wolfgang Peterson filmed scenes of Das Boot). I told you he was a "fighter" so he managed to sabotage the sophisticated aim of the 88mm deck cannon of several subs (95% of the time, 'Boats" encounter lightly armed ships, saving torpedoes for destroyers or battleships). Many skippers eventually reported shots and misses (while hurrying up to dive, avoiding roaming B25s with barrel dept charges, rushing to aid ships carrying cargo or troupes). Diving towards deeper depths, at a maximum of 8 knots, takes several nerve racking minutes. So they didn't stick around. I reckon that my dad saved a few hundred lives that way, but nobody knows. Nazis had great investigators and intelligence, so they traced all these failures down to HIM. He was imprisoned and tortured, and yet he managed once more to convinced some officers of his worth (indeed they had a severe need of skilled manpower) and they put him back working on U-boats, but watched constantly by a dedicated armed "chaperon" soldier See, since France surrendered, and resistance were "traitors" to France, and mostly since quite a large number of French military personnel had no choice but to fight FOR the nazis, it was never "popular" to mention these stories, even after the war. Nowadays, you see in movies how glamorous it was to be a spy or a resistance fighter. Well, the Gestapo (internal nazi police) used to hunt them down, and impale the back of their skulls on meat hooks. Then they'd send photos to the Brits or US intelligence, a bit like a cat would show you the mouse he caught. So being , by choice, a resistance fighter, joining the brave women and men who did so, was just like diving in the worst military conditions we can imagine. Many got it a lot worse than my father, and nobody will ever know. After the war, he came to Canada and married my mother - a registered nurse - and they had three kids. My dad raised us right as he swore to be a good provider for us kids. However the war did really affect him. He worked in Canada as a machinist, and was very liked by his co-worker until he passed when I was 17 of complications with the one lung he had left. A last anecdote if you don't mind: One time my mother was knitting at home and I noticed her wearing a silver ring with a bashed death skull at an angle, framing short crossbones at the back. She declined telling me why a nurse working in pediatrics would wear a death symbol... Many years later after she passed, I saw this exact design on the web and it was a genuine totenkopf "death's head" SS ring. My father must have offered it to her, no doubt taken from a dead SS he had killed and taken it as a souvenir. I will share this story around, but I assure you that nobody in the entire world, even my late French grampa, even my father's wife have never known the extent of this story, as my dad was extremely private. May there never ever be wars. Being surrounded by peace, fraternity and love is definitely better. Cheer!

[@robelalehegne8438]

You could make this a book great story and sorry for your loss

[@skuaLT]

thanks for sharing

[@user-hf9gn2pt8n]

​@@robelalehegne8438stupid

[@zeljkothegreekserb]

Independent State of Croatia is 10 times more forgotten, even though it had far worse death cаmps by sadism than any German run ones, it didn't have gas extermination, instead Serbs, Jews and Roma were killed directly with knives, hammers, pistols, even competitions in killings of inmates were held (google Petar Brzica) , women and children were thrown alive into pits like Prebilovci to die from the fall and there was even an assimilation camp specially made for Serb children, Jastrebarsko, which was run by actual nuns that forced kids to sleep on hay and concrete. The monster that ran this country Ante Pavelic is unknown to most people in the west and because it's so, you can still visit his grave in Madrid even now. You can also visit the grave of Vjekoslav Luburic in Valencia, the guy that was the head of the camp network and essentially the croat Himmler. Could you imagine visiting Himmler's grave in the 21st century in the middle of the EU?

[@misterpikes7600]

Croatia was the only puppeted state ? did Germany had direct control over the rest of Yugoslavia ?

[@Ihavenousernameidea]

mad serb lol

[@nigelswindles1129]

Little bit more known now thanks for that info 👍

[@lolofblitz6468]

yea yea sure sure 100k killed in NDH compared to 1,2 Million in 1 german camp here lies only you wont get anything from this .......... Killed with hammers? pistols? you don't have any proof of this or any people who saw this and reported to Autorities after german capitulation ........

[@wyattpeterson6286]

Are there any books on that?

[@waffle6376]

Fun fact : the actual forgotten axis is iraq because most people don’t know about the middle east in ww2 also the axis help them

[@Anarcho-Stupidity]

They both are forgotten axis power also don't forget Burgarla, Romainia and Hungary they are very forgotten

[@BHuang92]

Also note how WW2 affected the Middle East in ways that still reverberate.

[@Moses_VII]

Baath party of Saddam Hussein is related to Nazis, wasn't it?

[@firstnamelastname4249]

@@Moses_VII لا قصدهم على رشيد عالي الكيلاني

[@zoemaliya6408]

@@Moses_VII no mate, two different ideologies. Baathism was mixed with communism and facism.

[@jeffblunte]

Your vids are getting better with more relevant info and less common knowledge & filler, more interesting for history buffs who already know a fair amount about WWII, nice job!

[@christopherellis2663]

Well done! I have been to France several times, and the Memorials to their dead are everywhere. It would have been a horrible thing to live through.

[@markfeltonsson3093]

These animations are just so well done! Keep up the amazing work!

[@charlie8344]

@Eva Braun’s New Jewish Husband it's you again

[@mautun3830]

@Renzo Alarcón Eva Braun's New Jewish Husband

[@FastTquick]

I really love documentaries that pay absolute attention to period-accurate details. I like how you used actual Vichy French flags to depict The French State rather than lazily use the standard French Tri-color.

[@sergevictoryyt]

Vichy France’s official flag was the standard tricolor, though. The Vichy French flag that’s commonly used (the one with the axe) is used to differentiate them from the French Republic.

[@Joe_Mama661]

Thing is, it might be good for showing which is which, but the flag is wrong. That's a battle flag or something, not the official flag. Even Wikipedia uses the regular flag.

[@ForelliBoy]

There's a modern-border European map about halfway through the video, in the background

[@manius1222]

@@ForelliBoy Same with africa.

[@sergevictoryyt]

@@baL88537 he didn’t. He was saying that using the axe flag was attention to detail, when it was the wrong flag.

[@bartsmith3219]

Excellent episode. I never knew the Vichy history. Thanks for the information.

[@malafunkshun8086]

Another good episode! As time goes on, and more distance is gained between the Second World War and the Present, I think it will become easier for historians to not only study histories of collaboration - including Vichy France - but also assess their significance. Studying these histories is difficult because they are often considered “kapu” (taboo), due to the shame surrounding them. But these stories are as essential to understanding World War II as the more familiar stories of occupation, resistance, and liberation. Aloha 🙏🏼🤙🏼

[@elmehecano6837]

It's really tragic to see how Pétain went from national war hero for his service in Verdun to dictator that helped send numerous French citizens to their death

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Sending your men to the meat grinder shouldn't be enough to make you a hero.The french only have themselves to blame.

[@JM-ys5vx]

@@naamadossantossilva4736 Specifically the French were the worst in WW1 about needless deaths. Like their leaders forced them to wear red pants into battle and refused to change it till tens of thousands of people died. And after they finally changed uniforms, they went with "sky blue" instead of the color of the ground because they thought that during a charge they'd be able to blend in with the horizon.

[@joshuagrover795]

That why's Pétain is called the 'Lion of Verdun' and the 'Soldier, Soldier' because of his actions, (stability the defences) during the battle in 1916. Pétain for all his crimes in WW2 was a General who didn't believe in endless useless attacks but wearing down the enemy in defence tactics.

[@EnigmaEnginseer]

@@JM-ys5vx Russia easily takes the title for meaningless deaths in WW1. Tannenberg was an absolute disaster and the Tsar later taking full control of the military only made things worse

[@ganonsoify]

Tragic but not unexpected when you know French politics. Petain was a legit anti-Republican (born in 1856 so under the Second Empire). He and the rest of the French State were bona fide facists

[@Kulumuli]

Thank you. Finally an easy overlook of Vichy France. I'm Norwegian and I know about the Nazi occupation of Norway well. But it was quite different in France. I guess the historic rivalry between UK and France played a lot into it. Norway, allthough neutral before the invasion, preferred to side with the British. Norway had the Nazi puppet Quisling. But Vichy seems to be more complex.

[@francoiscamy5066]

As usual in France. We have so many different ideas but hate those are not thinking like us. For us, WWII was also a civil war. And even, many resistance groups hated each other, like they were Germans themselves. It's not much different today.

[@marcokite]

we English love the Scandinavian peoples, our relationship with France has always been more complicated........

[@lechatrelou6393]

@@marcokite and it's not like history didn't try to make us friendly, we had english kings and you had french kings... But we like germans more than you.

[@jwil4286]

Didn’t the king of Norway read Mein Kampf and decide he wanted no part of Hitler?

[@lloydnaylor6113]

@@lechatrelou6393 a terrible comment, you prefer Germans to us! Hopefully the German army will never again swarm over your borders again and you cast yours eyes across the channel for help. Next time you are out and about in the French countryside take a look at the British and Commonwealth graveyards. Their blood forever soaked into French soil for your freedom.

[@Numba003]

This is the kind of educational content I'm here for. Another excellent video about a WW2 nation I unfortunately know very little about. Thank you. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends! :)

[@dpedd12]

This channel has only recently come to my attention. And has immediately become my favorite channel on all of KZbin. Honestly incredible. The context the imagery provides to the historical stories are just perfect. And such a good tool for learning.

[@thomassoubirous6453]

Zemmour even here ! I'm also french, and joke put aside, my grand-father was arrested by milice and transferred to the east to work in the Buchenwald concentration camp, digging tunnel for V-2 ... Under the daily supervision of werner von braun, later architect of Apollo 11. After being the only survivor of his group during the nazi escape (who would bring the deported into a walk bare foot in the snow, then burn the barn where they rested) he was tortured by US OSS members who believed him to be a spy. Truth and History, indeed, show many faces

[@hib7295]

désolé pour ton grand-père, aucun être human mérite ça.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Physiatrist: Darth Petain isn’t real, he can’t hurt you. Armchair historian:

[@channingmorrison8115]

Amazing video! That ending statement was so poignant and set the context so well. You should have started the video with it. I’ve always been interested in this history and I’ve seen most of your videos on KZbin but this one really got to me. Incredible stuff thanks.

[@ChristineCAlb1]

Another great video. I always learn something new when watching your channel.

[@cannonball666]

Free French: "You are traitors!" Vichy French: "No, mon ami. We were just profiting from tragedy and selling you out"

[@FlagAnthem]

De Gaulle: You were the Lion of Verdun! It was said you would fight the Germans not join them! Bring glory to France not leave her in the datkness!

[@ommsterlitz1805]

@@FlagAnthem Not only this is cannon as Star wars is an SF version of ww1 and ww2 but Anakin and Obiwan are in a republic and Palpatine transformed it into a Dictatorship

[@burningphoenix6679]

@White Knight De Gaulle helped save France from tyranny. Whether he was personally a good leader or not is debatable as he did some bad things in the Cold War, but France under him was far far better than France under the traitor Petain.

[@Sceptonic]

@@burningphoenix6679 What "bad" things did he do? Step up to the puppeting Americans by making a nuke and leaving NATO?

[@FlagAnthem]

@White Knight nazi spotted

[@jerryu8166]

"History resists simplicity." Well said.

[@Jeff-dv9jl]

Thank you for this succinct and informative program!

[@mongoose6685]

Odd how Anglo-Saxons seem to always forget what France did during WW2: they had more casualties during the German Blitz attack than all Allies during D-Day, they saved the British retreat at Dunkirk, they had a resistance that helped gather intelligence for the Allies, sabotage German production and save downed pilots... but all the British and Americans like to talk about is how they surrendered. On another note: once the Germans were kicked out of France, to be considered a "collabo" (collaborator with the Germans) brought ruin and violence against any French person, often without any trial - France certainly did not forget those that helped the Germans rule. Thank you for having a more nuanced take than most.

[@landsea7332]

1) The Anglo - Saxon Era ended in 1066 . Actually, for the next 300 years , the Norman and Plantagenet nobility who ruled over England , Wales and Scotland spoke Norman French . The British Peoples migrated and invaded from the Roman Empire to Scandinavia . 2 ) The Battle of France was lost in matter of weeks by total incompetence of the French Generals in contrast to the brilliance of the German Generals - the difference in communication methods was night and day. The BEF attack near Arras lead to the Halt Order - which gave the BEF and French 1st Army time to set up a perimeter. During the evacuation , the French held the perimeter from near Gravelines to Berges and the BEF held it from Berges to Neuport . The evacuation was successful because of the organization of the Royal Navy . Approx. 220,000 BEF solders and 120,000 French and Belgian were evacuated from Dunkirk . .

[@mongoose6685]

@@landsea7332 The simple fact that you used the cliff notes description of calling French generals as being simply incompetent as opposed to outmanoeuvred and unable to match a blitzkrieg strategy and that all common historical narratives never mentions any British incompetence or ineptitude leading to Dunkirk, in Northen Africa when facing Rommel, when losing ground in Asia and the total reliance on the US to reclaim continental Europe is ample proof of an anti-French bias pushed by English historians. The British Empire was spared invasion by a few kilometers of water and saved by the US. Hardly the indomitable nation on the battlefield they like to portray themselves.

[@matthewjay660]

Vichy: an Axis power or an Axis puppet? It’s like asking the same thing for Bulgaria: power or puppet? 🙋🏻‍♂️ I vote “Axis puppet” because “power” implies that they had “choice and control” like Japan.

[@romaboo6218]

Yeah

[@davethompson3326]

Bulgaria pretty much managed to limit their war, sending no troops east

[@baronofbahlingen9662]

Bulgaria wasn’t a Puppet, they willingly joined and invaded Yugoslavia and Greece and were allowed to refuse support to Barbarossa.

[@CountScarlioni]

They still had a choice. Between the roles of resentful slave and willing servant they all too frequently chose the latter. Thank god the indomitable heroism of the Free French helped to balance the books.

[@tomk3732]

Bulgaria was a minor Axis power - as it had national army that did participate on the side of the axis. Through not to the same extend as other minor powers, such as Hungary. Did they had a choice? Sure, they could have tried to stay neutral and be invaded or even join allies. Certainly their role in alliance was far more minor then say Japan or Italy, hence minor power. Notice that a small country of Greece did not join the Axis - they decided to be a minor allied power.

[@murkywateradminssions5219]

"ah, so this is how Napoleon felt when he was exiled..." -marshal Philippe Pétain probably

[@samrevlej9331]

Napoleon, for all his faults, dictatorial tendancies and warmongering, wasn't a traitor who sold over 75,000 Jews living in France in exchange for an even worse situation for the country. I'm not one of the little Corsican's worshippers but comparing him to Pétain is a bit of an insult.

[@murkywateradminssions5219]

It was ment to be a joke about Napoleon's exilelation.(hint, the probably at the end was a good indication) Napoleon for all his warmongering at least served his people and did changes that influenced both France and modern society and he was rather chill with religion and the Jewish population at the time. Pètain on the other hand deserves to be trialed at the Nuremberg trails for crimes against humanity and should be hung/shot by firing squad for mass deportation of Jews and other minority groups in France. Him being transferred to several private homes/prisons was too relaxed of a prison sentence in my opinion but I'm no Frenchman so I can't say for certain... Again I would like to enforce the message that my comment if purely for comedic purposes, it does not reflect my personal opinion about real history events such as this. If you read my essay comment, thank you for understanding.

[@unclesam5230]

@@samrevlej9331 Napoleon was a traitor because he was a Revolutionary that helped destroy the French Monarchy and started many wars to assert a foreign run empire to conquer Europe so yeah HES A TRAITOR!

[@brokiller1383]

Wahnsinn, danke für die Einblicke!

[@wsleet]

Yeah Vichy France is definitely not the most forgotten axis puppet.

[@MR_ponki]

yeah its probably the independent state of Macedonia or smth, it only lasted for 3 months

[@aaronpaul9188]

The Dreyfus affair deserves its own video, and especially the effect on the political sphere.

[@stolenhandle]

The Dreyfus affair has massive repercussions that still impact the world today.

[@brianarbenz1329]

I’ve read that in 1940, about 40 percent of France’s population welcomed the German invasion. That, coupled with the treatment of Dreyfus, displays the long anti Semitic history within French society. Though since WWII, the French populace overwhelmingly sees the anti-nazi resistance as heroic, France, like all countries, is complex on the issue of equality.

[@aaronpaul9188]

@@brianarbenz1329 I don't know where you got the 40% statistics, but I have my doubts. Nor does welcoming the defeat of the 3rd republic equate to antisemitism. No one was happy Germany occupied France. Some were very pleased the third republic was destroyed.

[@rachelgarber1423]

Yes, the French military has a long his of antisemitism. Dreyfus was tried twice, after suppression of evidence supporting his innocence. They refused to allow a statue honoring him to be placed in the courtyard of military school, on the grounds that it isn’t open to the public. (Ecole militaries) several places were proposed, but were rejected for various reasons

[@kalpanaanubhav]

@@brianarbenz1329 Well, not everyone in France was an anti-Semite. Charles de Gaulle and Napoleon are widely known for positive treatment of Jews.

[@eduardogutierrez4698]

Petain somehow reminds me of Robert E. Lee. Both were war heroes ( Petain was admired for his actions in WWI ,while Lee was for what he did in the war against Mexico ) but their reputations were severely stained due to them joining the wrong side years later.

[@dac5782]

You mean Pétain?

[@robosoldier11]

Defining them as individuals falling to the "Wrong side" that they picked seems short sighted in my opinion. At the end of the day they choose their country (I guess for Lee his state but in practical sense a country esq. thing) even if it meant getting dirtied by the macro messaging of certain wars in history. I'm not sure if they would be considered noble men but there leaders that at the very least have a sympathetic tale. They didn't start the war but they did get caught up in whirlwinds of one and they got tossed around while trying to endure it and hopefully ensure their countries come out unscathed/no worse off.

[@abdurrahmanqureshi3030]

Im pretty sure Rober E Lee was admired no matter which part of America you were from

[@chrisjansen1943]

Vichy is a town, not a person.

[@robosoldier11]

@@abdurrahmanqureshi3030 Back then? Sure he was a veteran of the Mexican American war and more or less seemed to be on the up and up. You don't get recommended by president to lead the army for the shits and giggles of it when there is a actual war brewing. Today it more or less is who you ask. People up in North of the US view anything attached to the confederacy as dirty and implicated hence there is a negative stigma to Lee. You do get some admirers of Lee also in the South but more or less I think the majority of people view Lee as someone who got forced into a very hard choice. Whether it was the right one or not is again up the individual.

[@brianarbenz1329]

I learned of the Vichy French government decades ago, but in all this time, I had never known the details of the story. Excellent video. Thank You.

[@johnhammond9962]

Thank you. This is teaching me about these Vichy French. I have wondered for a long time.

[@derpyhead3414]

The forgotten axis power: "France" Thailand: cries

[@ernestogastelum9123]

thailand was more of Japans allie rather than Germany and Italy

[@thierrydesu]

9:50 I feel like it's important to mention that the elected representatives of the National Assembly and the Senate gathered in Vichy on July 10 and voted Pétain full powers, effectively putting an end to the Third Republic.

[@phlm9038]

Yes, the Vichy Government wasn't a republic. It was a dictature.

[@thierrydesu]

@@phlm9038 My point is that Vichy does not come from anywhere. It was a legitimate regime given that's what the Paliament voted for.

[@phlm9038]

@@thierrydesu Yes of course.

[@lunarmodule6419]

They had Germans in the streets. The war was over for them. They didn't have the luxury...

[@thierrydesu]

@@lunarmodule6419 People took advantage of the situation to impose a new regime but there's no relation between the conditions of the armistice and the political change. The Germans didn't ask for anything.

[@victorau6950]

Glad you made a video about Vichy France. It was a topic I really wanted to know more about instead of the French resistance again

[@DarkDennis1961]

Great job. Of course the History lesson was very informative, such good research.... but let me just say a bit about the animation. Animation is a very effective visual aid. And i want to compliment you on the quality of the animation. I love the little footnotes that pop up. I have to stop the video to read them. but that's not a big deal. excellent video.

[@paradoxicalpotato8927]

I would love similar videos about Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Chetniks and Thailand.

[@Zastava-hv5qt]

Also Slovakia and Iraq

[@paradoxicalpotato8927]

@@Zastava-hv5qt That would be nice too

[@Aureus282]

Hungary and Romania especially. The rivalry between them is interesting and how Antonescu and Horthy reacted individually. Most History nerds know about Croatian warcrimes but not many know about Bulgaria's refusal to cooperate with the other Axis powers.

[@blackpowderuser373]

Manchukuo, and the Japanese occupations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. And Subhas Chandra Bose.

[@blackpowderuser373]

@@Aureus282 Bulgaria's Tsar Boris III.

[@Kozvick]

2:20 "The citizens of Vichy France were subjected to a constant barrage of propaganda" While showing Philippe Pétain as Palpatine. Lol.

[@Draythur]

I just wanna give a shoutout to whoever made that beautiful 3D rendition of Dunkerque that was in the background behind Darlan for like... 5 seconds before never being seen again. Damn nice little details all over. Good stuff!

[@Wehfi]

keep up the great work bro love your videos

[@CJ_1406]

De Gaulle: I'm the leader of France. Roosevelt: No, Vichy is the legitimate government of France. *months later* Germany: *invades Vichy France* De Gaulle: So? Roosevelt: ... *NO!*

[@av_oid]

Both de Gaulle and Petain were pompous, arrogant, self-promoting French gits. Just that de Gaulle was a patriot and anti-German.

[@Cjnw]

Am I going insane??!

[@SpookyScarySkitarii]

@@av_oid Pompous and arrogant ? Like any american ?

[@ElWillyNacho]

Fantastic work as always, thanks for sharing, greetings from Chile

[@michaelbirch8666]

Thank you. I've never really understood the distinction between occupied France and Vichy France; very illuminating.

[@staffan-]

"His pal Petain" 17:16 I see what you did there...

[@rotequelle]

Hey guys, love your videos! I have a suggestions for a topic you could make a video about: The German spartacist uprising in 1919. It is very interesting and often overlooked. It has got everything you could want: Intriguing, battles, politics and many more

[@coldwar45]

Agreed. Especially since it, like the similar one in Munich, was also a critical event in ushering Hitler into politics as well.

[@harryblaney8571]

That’s actually one event I wouldn’t mind a video on. Be quite interesting.

[@rotequelle]

I currently working on such a video for a school project (and will surely upload it) but it's sadly in German. But if you'd be interested in some background story and information let me know

[@coldwar45]

@@rotequelle Perhaps add English subs?

[@GMKGoji01]

16:54 Darth Petain!

[@EdMcF1]

Reading books by British sailors/airmen c. 1940-41 in the Med, the main impression I got was that Vichy France loomed largest as the hostile force to be reckoned with.

[@kaisercaliberhistory3533]

Petain is probably the best real life historical embodiment of “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.”

[@th8257]

What a stupid saying.

[@OskTheMosk]

Stolen comment, BUT you might have thought the same thing

[@laserpmr]

He was most likely evil from a start

[@anthonykatsivalis224]

@@laserpmr we won’t know for sure, but what we do know is he did what he thought was right, he wanted to keep the peace in France, however personally I do not like the fact he committed acts of genocide and authoritarianism

[@laserpmr]

@@anthonykatsivalis224 he was fascist even before the nazis. So we do know what he wanted. He published a lot of propaganda and gave speeches every few day. All extremely right-wing . If he wanted to help France, he would have moved to Africa to mobilize millions of soldiers from the colonies

[@chrisd8866]

5:23 Most likely not, the plan favored by those in the french government and military still willing to fight like De Gaulle and Mandel was to relocate to Algiers, as French Algeria was at the time a formal part of the country and not simply a colony. Besides, that was what all local civilian and military authorities were pleading the government to do, even days after Pétain took over. The desperate pleas of General Noguès, commander in chief of the North African theater, to continue the fight from there are well known.

[@Patoecapoeira]

If you're interested, there's an incredible alternate history project called: 1940 La France Continue where Petain dies and France stays in the war fighting from North Africa, you should take a look to it.

[@RhysapGrug]

Nonsense! The so called resistance was grossly exaggerated, mostly a bunch of commies with a few British spies sent to help out. Vichy France was well entrenched with the axis power's even going as far as shooting at the Allies powers during the torch landings " in N Africa and other theatres of the war. Even forming a couple of SS Devisions AS charmaine " fighting the Russians all the way to the Hitler bunker! Should have treated France the same as Germany,Japan and Italy at wars end,by occupying them for years.

[@Sceptonic]

@@RhysapGrug Someone is Anti-French. What did France do to you?

[@Stripedbottom]

France staying in the fight will also have some interesting repercussions in the Far East. With French Indochina firmly in the Allied camp and at war, there will be no Franco-Thai conflict as Thailand doesn't dare to invade, and neither will the Japanese take over for the same reason, until they're ready for their main invasion in December 1941. Well supplied, not having suffered the losses of the Franco-Thai war and with British support, French Indochina will be able to put up a bit more of a fight against the Japanese than they otherwise could. They will of course still be quickly overrun, but this will cause pretty much everything for the Japanese in the Siam-Malay-Dutch East Indies sector to happen a little bit slower. This might mean they never advance as far in Burma as they really did, and that they will take more casualties in taking over the Dutch East Indies - especially ships and planes which will then not be available for the Solomons campaign. It's not much, but it's a bit of a twist to the Pacific Theatre as well.

[@Stripedbottom]

We might see, for example, Repulse and Prince of Wales being sunk by Japanese aircraft at a later date, and maybe in a different place than where they actually were. (Those planes were flying from by then well-established Japanese airbases in French Indochina.)

[@Crypteddd]

The characters move like stellaris portraits and i love it

[@jasonz7788]

Awesome thanks for the great work Sir 👍

[@alex.harrison]

Did the title change from “The Forgotten Axis Power” to “The Forgotten Axis Puppet” or did I just imagine that? Love these videos, outstanding channel - thanks Griffin and the team!

[@nate13012]

Yeah pretty sure he changed it too

[@joeis18]

This a better title to be sure

[@thekraken1173]

@@joeis18 Its less historically accurate though. Vichy France was the real France. It was recognized as official France by most of countries.

[@nate13012]

@@thekraken1173 They became a puppet after Case Anton, but Im not sure that is what the video meant, so you are right. They weren't technically an Axis power as well as they were 'neutral'.

[@FlagAnthem]

They changed it. It is more fitting honestly

[@hank780]

Excellent video. Animations got much better. It would be great if you do videos about the minor axis powers (like Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary [I am Hungarian], and Romania)

[@rob9853]

I live in Vichy and it’s one of my favorite city in France. Thermal water known since Julius Cesar built a bridge there on his way home from his defeat at Gergovie against Vercingetorix. Not any visible scar from WW2 over here. The real figure that changed the city is Napoleon III

[@romainbalard536]

I am french and I am happy to see a work of good quality on the subject.

[@caseblue2232]

I felt we often blinded by hoi4 in a way, I played as Vichy France, and declared on Germany in 43 to liberate France, making Petain actually an national hero, that felt really good. Yet, I know little about the real Petain, so thank you for making this video, to let me know more about the actual history.

[@EumosVideos]

bideo game is like real life

[@canthi109]

When historical focus is off

[@Reskov]

Wow that’s actually a scenario I’ve never thought of. Good stuff.

[@scottwillie6389]

Pétain was a national hero. If The UK/US didn't invade France at the conclusion of the war and Pétain's government hadn't been deposed, France would probably look much like Switzerland today and French Algeria never would have fallen.

[@destubae3271]

I had a democratic and very libertarian France heading the Little Entente (basically the Allies with democratic Germany and democratic Italy) conquer most of the Soviet union, which was all headed by Pierre Laval. That game can't be historical, even if historical was on

[@Kabutoes]

fun fact: When De Gaulle visited old General Pershing, the highest ranking US general in ww1 and a good friend of Petain, Pershing asked how Petain was doing. De Gaulle said "he's doing fine"

[@user-hf9gn2pt8n]

💀💀💀💀

[@Goosavich]

As someone who loves WWII history this is a perspective I never knew about. Thank you.

[@bigbrowntau]

Thank you so much for this video. It's a complex subject, handled remarkably well. I remember as a kid reading about Australian troops fighting against French forces in Syria, then being transferred to fight the Italians and Germans in Egypt. I was confused at the time as to why they were fighting the French, so I've always been fascinated by Vichy France.

[@kaanyasin3733]

I dissagree about the "forgotten" one. Its the Most WELL KNOWN puppet in the axis

[@hazzmati]

Yeah agreed this is not a good title.

[@pocketmarcy6990]

Less people probably know about Bulgaria Romania and Hungary’s role in the war as opposed to Vichy France’s

[@kaanyasin3733]

@@pocketmarcy6990 yeah but they we're fully Independent. Bulagria even kept diplomatic reletions with the soviets after the Invasion of russia. Bulagria also didnt willingly deport jews (exept for in the regions that they got after the Invasion of greece and yugoslavia because there we're German troops there). But yes.

[@robmiah4501]

Well said well know puppet of Axis Hitler lackeys

[@mawile3037]

Yeah to me it seems like the Balkans basically folded because their military was just not up to snuff while France it's like " yeah we just put this puppet state for the rest of it because we don't want to waste the resources outright conquering everything " like it's so obvious but mostly because it's really the only country on the western front, the Benelux region is basically just free real estate

[@streamlinedengine]

The ending was beautiful, sir. I’ve been fascinated by France’s WW2 experience for a while now, partly thanks to your video on “Life in Occupied France”. Now, today’s episode is on an even higher level. Despite my mostly British centric historic views, I have long resisted France’s role in WW2 as simply “surrendering”, to the point I can even fight memes over it. As you said, history, like truth, rejects simplicity. Thank you again, sir!

[@Papacour]

The meme went way too far, especially since it's not just about WWII but all their history for some reason. Everyone got smashed by the Germans at the beginning, including the Soviets.

[@dekaredfire]

Such a shame that even acclaimed war movies like "Dunkirk" and "1917" are still fall to Anglocentric view of history.

[@hib7295]

i'm glad that you actually see my country for what it is and was instead of joining the masses with the "haha french white flag" jokes. thank you.

[@streamlinedengine]

@@hib7295 Amen my friend, I’m from Taiwan, and I more than know how it feels when ignorant people say uneducated things about my country. Vive la France! 🇹🇼 🇫🇷

[@bullshitdepartment]

@@Papacour soviets didn't surrender tho

[@enokcga7311]

Clear, precise, correct ... for as much a 20 min video allows. Well done ! Some French guy somewhere abroad.

[@chrisedrev9519]

This was wonderful. One of your most in-depth videos so far. Thank you for continuing to increase your quality.

[@jmontign1]

Thank you for bringing us the untold stories of such events. It's important to understand the complexity of the war beyond the battlefield.

[@20spen]

Nice to see a video with some good fucking sources for once blessed bro keep doing what youre doing

[@sealifyseason2]

I wouldn't really call it forgotten, Frances situations in/outside of the Axis are pretty well remembered.

[@gatorvon3178]

I love that you put subtle pop culture references here and there, in this case Palpetain

[@SyndicateSuperman]

Palpetain made me snort laugh. Thank you.

[@jonbaxter2254]

The fourth axis, and one that really doesn't get the flak it should. The Milice alone were monsters.

[@phlm9038]

Not only the Milice but also the French Gestapo, made of criminals.

[@joerogers6043]

Finally some quality content from this channel and not just D day videos

[@aaamondieu]

Thank you very much for your hard work of research and not being just a mockery video on France

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

In his book To War in a Stringbag, Charles Lamb RNAS includes a recount of his time as a POW of the Vichy French of North Africa. He was not kind, (and neither were they). The shameful behaviour of the Vichy French is not as well known as it should be. Good summary Griff, and long overdue.

[@joelsigleycross9636]

What does RNAS stand for ?

[@onthatrockhewillbuildhisch1510]

@@joelsigleycross9636 Royal Navy Air Sevice

[@salmay4266]

And then De Gaulle turns to become a dictator and a gruesome war criminal in the Algerian war

[@scottanno8861]

And tries stealing American Gold

[@robej2517]

Mad

[@mrronron7328]

Thank you for speaking about this subject ! I'm tired of hearing some peoples saying "french surrender" without even knowing how complex the situation was

[@MrVlad12340]

That video makes it clear that “french surrender and then switch allegiances and become even worse”.

[@mrronron7328]

@@MrVlad12340 Have you even watched the video ?

[@MrVlad12340]

@@mrronron7328 yes. Vichi collaborating government had people’s support unlike De Gaulle’s government in exile.

[@mrronron7328]

@@MrVlad12340 No, peoples were just trying to live their life. They weren't against De Gaulle's governement, they were against the image that Petain's propaganda made of it. Also don't forget that France was under constant bombing from the UK after its occupation by Germany, so it certainly didn't helped the population to pick a side. And still, when France was getting liberated, there was more than 1M resistant landing in/ in France, and many peoples decided that it was stime to fight the Germans once again.

[@user-io1bq9qk7l]

What a conclusion! Vichy France is not an easy topic to talk about but you did it well! Thanks for that!

[@TheFrencky]

You have been my favorite KZbinr of all time. Every video gets me excited after a long day of work. As a French men I’m happy you try to explore these topics as it is a hard topic to talk about in France

[@thunderbird1921]

Well, at least those traitors were crushed and you formed a new republic. Remarkable how Frenchmen then fought for another nation's freedom just five years later. You guys had a volunteer force fighting in Korea (and they actually fought alongside our American forces against the Chinese at the critical Battle of Chipyong-ni).