Who ruled France during ww2?
Charles de Gaulle led the Free French forces in resisting capitulation to Germany during World War II and became provisional president of France in the immediate aftermath of the war.
What happened to the leader of Vichy France?
Pierre Laval, the puppet leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, is executed by firing squad for treason against France. Henri Pétain took over the new Vichy state, and Laval served as minister of state.
What happened to the Vichy French after ww2?
The last of the Vichy exiles were captured in the Sigmaringen enclave in April 1945. Pétain was put on trial for treason by the new Provisional Government, and sentenced to death, but that was commuted to life imprisonment by de Gaulle.
What is the Vichy government best known for?
Vichy is best known for being chosen after the German occupation in 1940 to house Marshal Pétain’s puppet regime that collaborated with the Nazis and ensured the deportation of one quarter of France’s Jewish population.
Why did France switch sides in ww2?
Following the lost Battle of France in 1940, the country switched from a democratic republican regime fighting with the Allies to an authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany and opposing the Allies in several campaigns.
Which country suffered the greatest military losses?
Among the Soviet Union’s 15 republics, Russia withstood the highest number of casualties, with 6,750,000 military deaths and 7,200,000 civilian deaths.
Why didn’t Germany invade all of France?
The illusion of legitimacy created by Petain’s government greatly delayed the need to send significant German occupation forces to the south of France for anti-partisan and subjugation duties. The drain on manpower was far less severe as a result, and Nazi Germany required every formations they could on the Ost front.
Why did the French give up in ww2?
France surrendered to the Nazis in 1940 for complex reasons. The proximate cause, of course, was the success of the German invasion, which left metropolitan France at the mercy of Nazi armies. But the German victory opened profound rifts in French society.