In the summer of 1944, as France finally broke free from Nazi control, years of fear, betrayal, and silence came crashing down all at once.
The people who had lived under occupation now turned on those French who had collaborated with the Nazis and had hunted their own people.
What followed were brutal executions carried out in streets and town squares.
It started in May 1940, when Germany invaded France.
The German army launched a fast attack through Belgium and the Ardennes, a forest the French believed was too difficult for tanks to cross.
They were wrong.
Within days, German forces broke through, surrounded large parts of the French army, and pushed deep into the country.
By June 14, Paris was already in German hands, and the French government had fled.
On June 22, 1940, France signed an armistice with Adolf Hitler, and just like that, one of Europe s strongest countries was defeated in about six weeks.
The country was split into zones.
The north and west, including Paris and the entire Atlantic coast, were under direct German military occupation.
The south was controlled by a new French government based in Vichy, led by Philippe P tain.
This area was called the Free Zone, but in reality, it wasn t fully free.
It still had to follow German demands, especially when it came to security, economy, and dealing with enemies of the Reich.
At first, many people supported P tain.
He was seen as a national hero from World War I, especially for his role at Verdun in 1916.
He was old, in his 80s, and presented himself as someone who could keep France stable during a crisis.
After the shock of defeat, people were tired, scared, and desperate for order.
P tain promised exactly that.
He spoke about discipline, tradition, and rebuilding France under what he called a National Revolution.
But behind those calm speeches, the direction of the country was already shifting.
The Vichy regime didn t just cooperate with Germany because it had no choice.
In many cases, it went further than what the Germans even asked for.
In October 1940, the government passed its own anti-Jewish laws, known as the Statut des Juifs, without being directly forced to do so.
These laws removed Jews from jobs in government, education, media, and the military.
Soon after, Jews were arrested and handed over to German authorities.
One of the most shocking moments came in July 1942 during the Vel d Hiv roundup in Paris, when over 13,000 Jews, including thousands of children, were arrested by French police and later deported to camps like Auschwitz.
At the same time, political opponents were targeted.
Communists, resistance suspects, and anyone seen as a threat were arrested.
Prisons filled up.
Surveillance increased.
Newspapers were censored.
Radios were controlled.
But something deeper was happening under the surface.
By early 1943, the war was no longer going Germany s way, and people inside France could feel it.
The turning point had already happened in the east with the Battle of Stalingrad, where German forces suffered a massive defeat in February 1943.
At the same time, Allied bombing campaigns were increasing, and resistance movements across occupied Europe were becoming more organized.
Inside France, sabotage operations were rising, underground networks were expanding, and more young men were refusing to cooperate with German demands, especially forced labor under the STO program, which sent French workers to Germany.
This growing resistance created a serious problem for both the Germans and the Vichy government.
German forces didn t have enough manpower to control every town, village, and city.
They needed local support of people who knew the language, the streets, and the population.
And the Vichy leadership, already committed to collaboration, decided to provide exactly that.
In January 1943, the Milice Fran aise was officially created.
It was placed under the leadership of Joseph Darnand, a man with a very clear and extreme worldview.
Darnand had been a decorated soldier in World War I, but by the 1930s and 1940s, he had become deeply involved in far-right politics.
He believed strongly in authoritarian rule, hated communism, and fully supported Nazi Germany.
In 1943, he went even further and personally swore loyalty to Hitler.
Under Darnand, the Milice wasn t just set up as a police force.
It was designed as a political weapon.
Its main goal was to destroy the Resistance and protect the Vichy regime at all costs.
Members were recruited from across France, and the reasons people joined were very different.
Some were true believers in fascist ideas.
Others were opportunists who saw a chance to gain power during a chaotic time.
Some joined because they feared being targeted themselves if they refused.
And then there were those who simply wanted a uniform, a weapon, and the authority that came with it.
As the Milice tightened its grip, the social fabric of France started to tear apart in ways people had never experienced before.
Trust, which had already been shaken by defeat and occupation, almost disappeared.
In cities like Lyon, Marseille, and Paris, and even in small villages, people became careful about what they said and who they said it to.
A simple comment about the war or a complaint about the government could lead to suspicion.
And suspicion could lead to a knock on the door in the middle of the night.
The French Resistance continued to grow despite this pressure.
It wasn t one single group but a mix of networks, including communists, Gaullists loyal to Charles de Gaulle, and independent fighters.
They carried out sabotage missions, blowing up railway lines used to transport German troops and supplies, cutting communication lines, and gathering intelligence for the Allies.
They also helped Allied pilots who were shot down, guiding them through secret routes out of France.
But for every action the Resistance took, the response from the Milice became harsher.
They relied heavily on informants, sometimes offering money, protection, or favors in exchange for information.
In some cases, people were forced to inform under threat.
In others, personal revenge played a role, with individuals using the system to accuse enemies or rivals.
When the Milice arrested someone, the process was rarely official or fair.
People could be taken without warning, held in local detention centers, and interrogated for hours or days.
Torture was used to break them down and force them to reveal the names of other Resistance members.
Once one name was given, it often led to another arrest, and then another, creating a chain reaction that could destroy entire networks.
By 1944, in certain regions, people feared the Milice more than the German soldiers.
The Germans were seen as occupiers, but they often stayed in their barracks or operated in larger units.
The Milice, on the other hand, was embedded in daily life.
They walked the same streets, visited the same shops, and lived in the same neighborhoods.
They knew who had visitors, who stayed out late, who seemed nervous, and who might be hiding something.
Executions became a regular part of this system.
Some were carried out quietly, with bodies found later as a warning.
Others were done publicly to send a clear message to the population.
These public executions were meant to break morale and stop resistance activity, but in many cases, they had the opposite effect.
They fueled anger, deepened hatred, and made people more determined to fight back.
By the middle of 1944, the situation was reaching a tipping point.
The Resistance was stronger than ever, the Milice was more aggressive than ever, and the general population was caught in between, trying to survive day by day.
But beyond France, something massive was being prepared for June, 1944.
And, on the 6th of June, 1944, the Allies launched the D-Day.
It was a massive, carefully planned operation that had been building for months.
Around 156,000 Allied soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, and other countries landed on five beaches along the coast of Normandy, known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
Thousands of ships filled the English Channel, and before the landings even began, more than 13,000 paratroopers had already dropped behind enemy lines during the night to cut roads, destroy bridges, and confuse German defenses.
The scale of this invasion made it the largest amphibious assault in history, and from that moment on, it was clear that Nazi control in Western Europe was under serious threat.
News of the landings spread across France almost immediately, even though German forces tried to control information.
Radios, rumors, and word of mouth carried the message from one town to another.
For ordinary people who had been living under occupation since 1940, this was the first real sign that liberation was actually happening.
But hope didn t come alone.
It came with years of built-up anger that had nowhere to go during the occupation.
As Allied forces pushed inland from Normandy through June and July, the situation inside France started to shift fast.
The French Resistance, which had been working in secret for years, suddenly became more open and more aggressive.
In some areas, especially in the countryside, Resistance fighters even managed to take control of towns before Allied troops arrived.
By August 1944, the war had reached the heart of France, and Paris was no longer just an occupied city waiting for rescue, it was ready to rise on its own.
On August 19, Resistance fighters in the city launched an uprising.
Police officers went on strike, barricades were built in the streets, and fighting broke out between Resistance groups and German forces.
For several days, Paris became a battlefield.
As the situation escalated, Allied forces moved toward the city, and on August 25, 1944, units of the French 2nd Armored Division, supported by American troops, entered Paris.
The German commander of the city surrendered the same day, and just like that, the occupation of Paris came to an end.
Crowds filled the streets, celebrating, waving flags, and welcoming the soldiers.
But as soon as control shifted, people began looking for those they believed had betrayed them.
Across Paris and in other parts of France, suspected collaborators were identified, arrested, and dragged into public view.
One of the most visible forms of punishment was aimed at women accused of having relationships with German soldiers, something people later called horizontal collaboration.
These women were publicly humiliated, often having their heads shaved in front of large crowds.
This happened in towns and cities across France, with an estimated 20,000 women going through this kind of punishment.
After the liberation of most of France by late 1944, the country entered a period that would later be known as the puration, or the purge.
This was the process of dealing with collaborators, and it happened in two very different ways at the same time.
On one side, there was the official purge, led by the new French government under Charles de Gaulle.
This involved courts, investigations, and legal procedures meant to bring some kind of order to the situation.
On the other side, there was the unofficial purge, which had already been happening during the liberation and continued in many areas even after the fighting had moved on.
It s this unofficial side that turned especially violent.
Between the summer of 1944 and early 1945, historians estimate that around 9,000 to 10,000 people were executed without formal trials.
These were not carefully planned legal actions.
In many cases, they were carried out by local Resistance groups, militias, or even angry civilians who believed they were delivering justice.
Some of those executed were clearly involved in collaboration, including members of the Milice and informants who had helped arrest Resistance fighters.
But not everyone was guilty.
In the chaos of the moment, accusations could spread quickly, and once someone was labeled a collaborator, there was often no way to defend themselves.
Members of the Milice Fran aise were among the main targets during this period.
As Allied forces advanced, many Milice members tried to escape, knowing that their actions during the occupation had made them highly visible.
Some managed to reach Germany alongside retreating German units.
Others fled to neighboring countries or went into hiding within France, changing identities and trying to disappear.
But a large number were captured, either by Resistance fighters or by local communities that recognized them.
When these individuals were caught, the outcomes were often severe.
Public executions became a way to show that the old system was gone and that betrayal would not be tolerated.
In towns and villages, people gathered to witness these events, not just out of curiosity but because they wanted to see an end to the fear that had controlled their lives for years.
For many, watching a collaborator face punishment felt like a form of closure, a way to take back control after living under occupation.
But the problem was that this kind of justice didn t have clear limits.
Once violence started being used as a response, it became harder to control who it was used against and how far it would go.
Personal grudges, misunderstandings, and false accusations could all feed into the process.
So, the French government began to step in more strongly, trying to replace these uncontrolled actions with formal trials and legal processes.
And Joseph Darnand was the one who was tried in the legal processes.
He had first escaped toward Germany.
From there, he moved into northern Italy, where German forces still had some control in 1944.
During this period, he remained connected to pro-Nazi networks and continued to support the collapsing system.
But in June 1945, after Germany had officially surrendered in May, Darnand was captured by Allied forces in Italy.
There was no dramatic last stand or escape at that point.
The war was over, and figures like him were being tracked down and arrested.
Once in custody, he was handed over to French authorities and brought back to France to face trial.
The trial took place later in 1945, and the charges against him were serious and well-documented.
He was accused of treason for working with the enemy, direct collaboration with Nazi forces, and responsibility for violence carried out by the Milice against French citizens.
This included arrests, torture, and executions of Resistance members and other civilians.
Evidence was strong, and his role was not something he could deny.
He had led the organization, shaped its actions, and publicly supported its mission.
The trial itself did not drag on for long.
The outcome was expected given the scale of his involvement.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
On October 10, 1945, he was executed by firing squad.
Some of the executions of the Nazi collaborators were organized by local Resistance groups who had taken control after German forces withdrew.
Firing squads were one of the most common methods used, especially when they tried to give some structure to the process.
But not all deaths followed that pattern.
In some situations, violence came directly from crowds, leading to beatings that turned fatal.
The lack of control meant that each case could unfold differently, depending on who was present and how strong emotions were at that moment.
In certain areas, bodies were left in public places after executions, not hidden away, but deliberately visible as a warning to others.
These acts were not only about punishing individuals.
They were also about sending a message to the entire community.
After years of occupation, fear, and silence, these public moments showed that the balance of power had changed.
The message was that those who had worked with the enemy would face consequences, and those consequences would not be hidden.
At the same time, these events revealed something deeper about human behavior under pressure.
The same communities that had spent years living in fear were now taking part in acts of punishment.
People who had once been careful and quiet were now part of crowds demanding action.
The line between victim and aggressor became less clear, especially in situations where emotions were running high and decisions were made quickly.
After the war ended, the French government began to focus more seriously on restoring order after the chaos of liberation.
By the end of the official purge process, around 120,000 people had been prosecuted for different forms of collaboration.
These ranged from administrative cooperation to active participation in violence alongside German forces.
Out of those cases, about 6,700 people received death sentences from the courts.
However, only around 800 of those sentences were actually carried out.
Many were reduced, commuted, or not enforced, which shows a clear difference between the official approach and the earlier wave of executions that had happened without any legal process.
This shift highlighted what the government was trying to do.
It wanted to bring back control and show that justice could be measured and organized, not driven by sudden emotion.
It also wanted to rebuild trust inside the country, which had been deeply damaged during the occupation and the purge.
By creating a legal system to deal with collaboration, the government aimed to draw a line under the past and move forward.
But even with these efforts, the damage from the earlier months could not be undone.
The unofficial executions, the public punishments, and the atmosphere of fear and revenge had already left a mark on French society.
Families had lost members, sometimes without knowing whether they were truly guilty.
Communities had been divided, with people remembering who accused whom and who took part in the violence.
These scars were not just personal.
They affected how people saw each other and how they understood their own history.
