Maurice Papon
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Maurice Papon (born September 3, 1910) was an official of the French Vichy government, who collaborated with Nazi Germany in World War II, and was in charge of the Paris police during the Paris massacre of 1961. After the war ended, he hid his role in the Vichy government and went on to have a successful career in politics until the emergence of details about his past led to his trial and conviction for crimes against humanity in 1997-1998.
Early years
Papon was born in the Seine-et-Marne region of northern France, on September 3, 1910. The son of a solicitor-turned-industrialist, he studied law, psychology and sociology at university.After entering the public service, the ambitious and naturally intelligent twenty year old Papon was quickly promoted to higher positions. In 1942, at age 31, he took over the powerful position of General-Secretary of the Prefecture of the Gironde region in southwestern France, under the collaborationist Vichy government.
World War II and later career
During World War II, Papon served as a senior police official in the Vichy regime involved in the deportation of Jews; he was the number two official in the Bordeaux region and supervisor of its Service for Jewish Questions. With authority over Jewish affairs, Papon regularly collaborated with Nazi Germany's Schutzstaffel (SS) Corps, responsible for the extermination of Jews. Here he deported approximately 1,560 Jewish men, women and children. The majority were sent directly to detention camps at Drancy, outside Bordeaux, and then to Auschwitz or similar concentration camps. Few survived.By mid-1944, by which time it was clear that the war was turning against the Germans, Papon began to inform on the Nazis to the Resistance—actions for which he was later to be decorated with the treasured "Carte d'Ancien Combattant de la Resistance".
After the war, he managed to hide his wartime activities, and went on to enjoy a civil service career as the chief (Prefet) of Paris police, under General de Gaulle, until 1968. During this period, the French Legion of Honour was bestowed on him by general and president, Charles de Gaulle. Later he was appointed Budget Minister under Minister Raymond Barre and President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the 1970s.
During the Paris massacre of 1961, Papon was chief of the Paris police, when, on October 17, 1961, after a peaceful march organized by the Algerian National Liberation Front, a large number of Algerian civilians were killed in Paris by French police. The exact number of the dead remains unknown. The Journalist Luc Einaudi (La Bataille de Paris, Paris: Seuil, 1991) asserted that as many as 200 Algeriens had been killed. A French government commission in 1998 claim only 48 people died. The historian Jean-Paul Brunet (Police Contre FLN: Le drame d'octobre 1961, Paris: Flammarion, 1999) found satisfactory evidence for the murder of 31 Algerians, while suggesting that a number of up to 50 actual victims was credible.
Criminal conviction
Little by little evidence of his reponsibility in the Holocaust emerged, and throughout the 1980s he fought a string of legal battles. Charges began in 1983, but in 1987 they were dropped because of legal technicalities. New charges laid in 1988 accused Papon of crimes against humanity. However in 1997, after Papon's defence, and 14 years of bitter legal wrangling, he was charged with complicity in crimes against humanity.The trial was the longest in French history. It had different meanings for different French people; for some, it was considered to be the last chance to confront their collaborationist history in a court room. By his arrogance, his contempt, his refusal to express regrets or remorse during and since its lawsuit, Papon drew contempt from many.
Papon was accused of ordering the arrest and deportation of 1,560 Jews, including children and the elderly, between 1942 and 1944. One of the main issues of the trial was to determine to what extent an individual should be held responsible in a chain of responsibility. Papon's lawyers argued that he was merely a mid-level official, not the person making decisions about whom to deport; his lawyers even argued that he in fact did the most good he could given the circumstances, ensuring that those deported were treated well while in his custody. However, the prosecution argued that the defense of following orders was not sufficient, and that Papon bore at least some of the responsibility for the deportations. However, they did recommended that he only be given a 20-year prison term, as opposed to the sentence of life imprisonment, which is usually the norm for such crimes.
In his 36-minute final speech to the jury, Papon rarely evoked the victims of the Holocaust, but instead portrayed himself as a victim; of "the saddest chapter in French legal history."
Papon was convicted in 1998 and given a 10-year prison term, which was criticized by some for being relatively short. His lawyers filed an appeal before the Court of Cassation, but Papon fled to Switzerland; his appeal was summarily denied due to the Court's practice of requiring persons convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison terms to give themselves up as prisoners prior to the appeal ruling. After Switzerland sent him back to France to serve his prison sentence, he was sent to La Santé jail on October 22, 1999. Papon was also stripped of all his decorations; under French law, people convicted of severe crimes cannot be members of the Legion of Honor.
He applied for release on the grounds of poor health in March 2000, but President Jacques Chirac denied the petition. He continued to fight legal battles while in prison, however, taking his denied appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, where he argued the French court's denial of his appeal on a technicality (rather than on the merits of the case) constituted a violation of his right to appeal his conviction. The Court agreed in July 2002, admonishing the Court of Cassation and awarding Papon FF429,192 (approx. €65,400) in legal costs, but no damages.
However, Papon's lawyers had meanwhile been pursuing a separate appeal in France, petitioning for his release under the terms of a March 2002 law that provided for the release of ill and elderly prisoners to receive outside medical care. As doctors affirmed Papon, by this time 92 years old, was essentially incapacitated, he became the second person released under the terms of the law, leaving jail on September 18, 2002, less than 3 years into his sentence.
This angered the relatives of those having been deported by Papon to Auschwitz and other Nazi extermination camps, as well as those who fought to bring Papon to justice. Human rights activists and Israeli officials also expressed dismay, including Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner - a former ambassador to France - saying he was personally "stunned and outraged" by the release of Papon. Jewish groups opposed his release because they said he showed no remorse for his actions. "It's a difficult decision for us Israelis to accept given the abominable crimes of which Papon was convicted," Israeli President Moshe Katzav said in 2002.
In March 2004, another criminal investigation was opened against Papon at the request of the chancery of the Legion of Honor. He was accused of wearing this decoration (which he used to possess before being stripped of it after his conviction) illegally while being photographed for a press interview for Le Point. He was tried and fined €2,500.
Papon is currently 95 years old and under intensive medical care.
Decorations
French Legion of Honor (stripped)
"Carte d'Ancien Combattant de la Resistance".
Quotes
In a 36-minute final speech to the French war crimes jury:"I say, be careful that France does not get hurt by this verdict outside our borders."
"It would be a humiliation for our nation to be linked with Nazi Germany in its responsibility for Jewish genocide."
"France should not be accused of this horror just because it took place on her soil."
"Sometimes I ask myself, why me?"
"What should one have done?"
"[The prosecution has distorted the truth and] cast aside the law to obey higher orders."
"This is what is called a political trial."
"Staying in one's post sometimes takes more courage than resigning."
"I am either guilty or innocent! It's all or nothing."
See also
External links
- [Decision by the chancellor of the Legion of Honor] acknowledging Papon's condemnation and the stripping of his decoration.
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