Pétain was the heroic commander-in-chief of the French army in World War I, France’s savior at Verdun. He emerged from WWI a national hero. Between the wars, he came to identify inflexibly with the French right — the “real France” — of the countryside as opposed to that of cosmopolitan Paris. He stepped forward in 1940, at an advanced age, to lead a defeated, demoralized nation during the latter phase of the Battle of France. Following the French surrender to the Nazis, which Pétain advocated, he became the head of the semi-autonomous puppet government in the unoccupied zone in southern France (Vichy France). For the next four years, Pétain collaborated with the Germans, who occupied the rest of the country. The Vichy Regime became a police state and Pétain’s government aided the Germans in the deportation of 75,000 French Jews, most of whom were murdered. After the war, Pétain was convicted of treason, spending his last years in prison. This lecture chronicles the rise and fall of Henri-Philippe Pétain: from World War I hero to Nazi collaborator during World War II.

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Course # W1R7 — One Time Event
Place:	Auditorium, Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus
Dates:	Thursday, January 26 2017
Time:	11:15 - 12:45 PM
Fee:	$25 / member; $35 / non-member

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