Philippe Pétain(1856 — 1951)

By taking command of Verdun, Pétain organised a troop rotation system and a revolutionary logistics network via the Voie Sacrée (Sacred Way). This major military achievement allowed France to hold against the German offensive and established his national reputation.

Appointed commander-in-chief in May 1917, Pétain restored the morale and discipline of the French army by improving soldiers' conditions and avoiding needless costly offensives. This action prevented the total military collapse of France.

Armed with the full powers voted on 10 July 1940, Pétain ended the Third Republic and established an authoritarian regime founded on the motto 'Work, Family, Fatherland'. This regime collaborated with Nazi Germany and enacted, among other measures, the Jewish Statutes.

Enacted as early as October 1940, this legislation excluded Jews from the civil service, the military, and numerous professions. It was a racial discrimination law adopted on Vichy's own initiative, without direct requirement from the Germans.

A collection of speeches, messages, and programmatic texts in which Pétain outlined his doctrine of the National Revolution. These texts advocated a return to traditional values, corporatism, and authority, in opposition to republican and democratic values.

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you today that we must cease the fighting. I have addressed myself this night to the adversary to ask him whether he is ready to seek with me, between soldiers, after the struggle and in honor, the means of putting an end to the hostilities.

I met last Thursday with the Chancellor of the Reich. This meeting has raised hopes and provoked anxieties. I owe you some explanations on this matter. Such a collaboration has been envisaged between the two countries. I have accepted the principle of it.

Defeat invites us to return to the traditions of our forefathers. Work, Family, Fatherland: such is the motto around which our efforts of recovery are ordered.

I have nothing to reproach myself for. I played the role of shield to protect the French people. My policy of collaboration spared France many misfortunes.

I am returning to France to receive the judgment of my country, whatever the consequences may be for my person. All my life I have sought only to serve France.

Scene of the longest and deadliest battle of the First World War (1916), Verdun is inseparable from the legend of Pétain. It is here that he forged his reputation as a 'saviour' by organising the French resistance.

Seat of the French State government from 1940 to 1944, the Hôtel du Parc is the place from which Pétain and his ministers exercised their power under German occupation. Vichy became synonymous with collaboration and authoritarianism.

Prison where Pétain was held from 1945 until his death in 1951. This isolated Atlantic location was chosen to keep the elderly marshal away from any risk of political demonstrations in his favour on the mainland.

Town where, on 24 October 1940, the famous meeting between Pétain and Hitler took place, officially sealing the policy of Franco-German collaboration. The handshake between the two men was photographed and became an iconic image of this period.

Pétain's birthplace in northern France, where he was born on 24 April 1856 into a peasant family. This place recalls his humble origins and his openly displayed attachment to the rural and traditional values he would champion at Vichy.