DBQ- French regime

24 March 2011
DBQ Essay
    From the years between 1940 and 1944, France was undergoing a transition mainly involving their government. A man by the name of Marshal Philippe Petain was now prime minister. The largest career influence for Petain was his decision to allow Germany half of France. The French capitol of France soon became overcome by Germans, and a new capitol was moved to the city of Vichy under the rule of Petain, of course. This regime was called the Vichy regime, and there were clearly people who disliked this new government, people who supported it, and then Petain’s view of the regime.
    The majority of France in this time disliked this new regime for many reasons including the invasion of German troops populating the streets of France, general change, humiliation and the physical shrinking of the country. General Charles de Gualle, who led the Free French Movement talked to French pedestrians through radio in West Africa at the beginning of the regime in 1940 about the humiliating loss  France went through against Germany, and how this new government will transform everybody into slaves of Hitler (DOC 3). Of course he held these anti-regime views, he was the head of the Free French Movement, which, judging by the title was an extremely nationalistic group. A caricature (which was censored from newspapers) after the meeting at Montoire-sur-le-Loir, which settled the Vichy regime, depicts Hitler riding on Petain’s back, symbolizing the sheer power he had above him (DOC 4). A radio broadcast by Francois Valentim, who was a former head of the Vichy’s Veterans Legion, now a French Resistance leader through a radio broadcast bashed the Vichy regime (which had at the time had been going on for three years) in almost all aspects with his biting remarks, and told people that it was their duty to disobey it (DOC 7). He seems to have turned on the government after they made the mistake of “cooperating with the enemy“, and has become an extremely nationalistic and prideful speaker.
    There were naturally a handful of people who liked this new government, believing that it was better supported for many reasons. A poster in DOC 6 shows the superiority of the new France, depicting the older France as unstable and in shambles compared to the new one which was a complete opposite. It was published, of course, just two years after the regime. A French fascist named Pierre-Antoine Cousteau wrote an article for the newspaper called I am Everywhere which seems to be explaining to the people that even thought the invading Germans are less than welcome, that Petain is really protecting France from something worse; communism (DOC 8). This avoidance of communism theme appears again in (DOC 9) with a large poster which supports the participation with the Soviets against the Bolshevik’s.
    The views of the Vichy Regime through the eyes of Marshal Philippe Petain is biased because he was the creator of this regime, so of course he supports it. At the beginning of the shift in government on Oct. 11, 1940, Petain called out to the people through a radio address that it was time to give up this battle against the Germans. He explained that they had tried their hardest, and that they were going to lose, so now it’s time to stop fighting and surrender to the Germans (DOC 1). Just four months after this announcement, Petain spoke to the people of France again through radio, saying that change was necessary, that a new government was needed now. He told them that the old government was weak, and defeated (DOC 2). We read about Petain for the last time in (DOC 10) at his trial in July 23, 1945 which was a time finally nearing the end of the Vichy regime. In the opening statement by Petain, he argues that he was the hero of France, that he had to protect the people of France. Of course, he didn’t want to be with Hitler, it was only necessary. He even gets to the point of saying that he didn’t want the job as the Prime Minister. He begs to be let free of his awaiting death penalty through these weak arguments, which were all spiteful lies according to Pierre Laval, who was actually the Vichy Prime Minister (DOC 11).     
    All in all, there was a wide range of colorful opinions of the Vichy regime, which lasted a long four years. The pro and anti-government views made up the majority of the French people. Of course, there were also the neutral views by the peasants of France, but that’s a different story entirely. One may wonder what France would have been like today if the Vichy regime had never been created, or even worse, if it had never been destroyed. What would the country look like if Hitler had succeeded in creating a world dictatorship? That can be left for another DBQ essay.