Balder Ex-Libris

Author : De Chambrun René
Title : Pierre Laval Traitor or patriot ?
Year : 1983

Link download : De_Chambrun_Rene_-_Pierre_Laval.zip

Preface to the American edition. In the minds of the men and women who lived through the Second World War or who have read about it since, the name of Pierre Laval is that of a traitor to his country. The associated names - Petain, Vichy - evoke only condemnation for a puppet French quisling regime collaborating with the Nazis. The postwar trials in France are assumed to have sifted the facts and thus validated the common opinion. It is also remembered that although the life of Marshal Petain was spared, Laval had to face a firing squad, his last words - "Vive la France !" - being interpreted as the last hypocritical gesture in a sinister role played to the end. ...