Paul Touvier
Encyclopedia
Paul Touvier was a French
Nazi collaborator. In 1994, he was the first Frenchman convicted of crimes against humanity for his actions in Vichy France
.
, Alpes de Haute-Provence, in southeastern France. His family was devoutly Roman Catholic, lower-middle-class and extremely conservative. He was one of 11 children, the oldest of the five boys. He was an altar boy and spent one year in a seminary, intending to become a priest.
Touvier's mother, Eugenie, was an orphan who was raised by nuns. As an adult, she was very religious and went to mass
every day and died when Touvier was an adolescent. Touvier's father, François, was a tax collector in Chambéry, having retired after 19 years as a career soldier. Touvier's father was very conservative, an admirer of the monarchist and anti-parliamentarist Charles Maurras
and L'Action Française
.
Paul Touvier graduated from the Institute St. Francis de Sales
in Chambéry
at the age of 16. When he turned 21, his father got him a job as a clerk at the local railroad station, where he continued to work as World War II
began. Widowed on the eve of the war, he continued to reside in Chambéry. Touvier was mobilized for the war effort in 1939. After the Vichy government was created, Touvier and his family were firm supporters of Maréchal Petain
and both father and son joined the Vichy veterans' group when it was founded in 1941.
's 8th Infantry Division, Touvier fought the German Wehrmacht
until, following the bombing of Chateau-Thierry
, he deserted.
Touvier returned in 1940 to Chambéry
, which was then occupied by the Kingdom of Italy
. His life took a new course with the establishment of the Milice
. Touvier had become known for chasing girls and for involvement in the black market. Disgusted, his devoutly Catholic father persuaded him to join the Milice. Francois Touvier reportedly hoped that a little military discipline would, "make a man out of," his son.
Touvier was eventually appointed head of the intelligence department in the Chambéry
Milice under the direction of Klaus Barbie
and in January 1944 became second regional head.
, Touvier went into hiding and escaped the summary execution
dealt out to many suspected collaborators. On September 10, 1946, he was sentenced to death
in absentia
for treason
and collusion with the Nazis. In 1947, he was arrested for armed robbery in Paris
, but escaped.
. Following this, attorneys for Touvier filed an application for a pardon, requesting for the lifting of the life-time ban on leaving the country and the confiscation of goods linked to his death penalty. In 1971, French President Georges Pompidou
granted him the pardon. Pompidou's pardon caused a public outcry that escalated when it was revealed that most of the property Touvier claimed as his own had allegedly been property seized from deported Jews.
On July 3, 1973, a complaint against Touvier was filed in the Lyon
Court by Georges Glaeser, charging him with crimes against humanity. There was no statute of limitations against these charges. Glaeser explicitly accused Touvier of ordering the execution of seven Jewish hostages at Rillieux-la-Pape
, near Lyon, on 29 June 1944. This was in retaliation for the murder of Philippe Henriot
, the Vichy Government's Secretary of State for Information and Propaganda, the previous evening. After being indicted, Touvier disappeared again. Years of legal maneuvering ensued through his lawyers until a warrant
was issued for his arrest on November 27, 1981.
in Nice
. The SSPX stated at the time that Touvier had been allowed to live in the Priory
as "an act of charity to a homeless man."
After his arrest, further allegations appeared in print, stating that he had been aided for years by the Catholic Church hierarchy in Lyon and later by members of the Traditionalist Catholic
movement. He was defended by the monarchist lawyer Jacques Tremollet de Villers
, who later became president of the Traditionalist Catholic organization, La Cité Catholique.
In conjunction with the charges attached to the massacre at Rillieux-la-Pape, Touvier was also alleged to have played an important part in the execution of Victor Basch
, a prominent human rights
leader and his wife. Touvier was further accused of being involved in several deportations of other Jews. During the two years following Touvier's arrest, 20 additional allegations were made by the French media.
Paul Touvier was granted provisional release in July 1991, but his trial for complicity in crimes against humanity only began on March 17, 1994. He expressed remorse
for his actions, saying that he thought of the seven Jewish victims of Rillieux-la-Pape every day. A Traditionalist Catholic priest of the Society of Saint Pius X sat beside him at the defense table, acting as his spiritual advisor. On April 20, a nine-person jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment
. An appeal, in 1995, was rejected by the Court.
in Fresnes prison
, near Paris. A Tridentine
Requiem Mass was offered for the repose of his soul by Father Philippe Laguérie
at St Nicolas du Chardonnet, the Society of St. Pius X
chapel, in Paris
.
's 1995 book The Statement
is loosely based on Touvier's life story. It was later adapted into a 2003 film, also titled The Statement, directed by Norman Jewison
. Michael Caine
appeared as Pierre Brossard, a character inspired by Touvier.
The 1989 efforts by French authorities to find and arrest Touvier are documented in an episode of the History Television
series Nazi Hunters, first broadcast November 1st, 2010.
worked with Touvier. Touvier met Brel by reportedly approaching him in a restaurant and saying, "I am Paul Touvier, a condemned man." Brel's wife, however, said that they knew him only as "Paul Berthet", an alias he sometimes used, taking his wife's maiden name.
, Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit
(2003
) - ISBN 0-676-97579-8
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Nazi collaborator. In 1994, he was the first Frenchman convicted of crimes against humanity for his actions in Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
.
Early life
Paul Touvier was born in Saint-Vincent-sur-JabronSaint-Vincent-sur-Jabron
Saint-Vincent-sur-Jabron is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Alpes de Haute-Provence, in southeastern France. His family was devoutly Roman Catholic, lower-middle-class and extremely conservative. He was one of 11 children, the oldest of the five boys. He was an altar boy and spent one year in a seminary, intending to become a priest.
Touvier's mother, Eugenie, was an orphan who was raised by nuns. As an adult, she was very religious and went to mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
every day and died when Touvier was an adolescent. Touvier's father, François, was a tax collector in Chambéry, having retired after 19 years as a career soldier. Touvier's father was very conservative, an admirer of the monarchist and anti-parliamentarist Charles Maurras
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme...
and L'Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
.
Paul Touvier graduated from the Institute St. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
at the age of 16. When he turned 21, his father got him a job as a clerk at the local railroad station, where he continued to work as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began. Widowed on the eve of the war, he continued to reside in Chambéry. Touvier was mobilized for the war effort in 1939. After the Vichy government was created, Touvier and his family were firm supporters of Maréchal Petain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and both father and son joined the Vichy veterans' group when it was founded in 1941.
War years
Joining the French ArmyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
's 8th Infantry Division, Touvier fought the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
until, following the bombing of Chateau-Thierry
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...
, he deserted.
Touvier returned in 1940 to Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, which was then occupied by the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
. His life took a new course with the establishment of the Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
. Touvier had become known for chasing girls and for involvement in the black market. Disgusted, his devoutly Catholic father persuaded him to join the Milice. Francois Touvier reportedly hoped that a little military discipline would, "make a man out of," his son.
Touvier was eventually appointed head of the intelligence department in the Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
Milice under the direction of Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...
and in January 1944 became second regional head.
Post liberation
After the liberation of France by the Allied forcesAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, Touvier went into hiding and escaped the summary execution
Summary execution
A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
dealt out to many suspected collaborators. On September 10, 1946, he was sentenced to death
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and collusion with the Nazis. In 1947, he was arrested for armed robbery in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, but escaped.
Fugitive
By 1966, implementation of his death sentence was barred based on a 20-year statute of limitationsStatute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
. Following this, attorneys for Touvier filed an application for a pardon, requesting for the lifting of the life-time ban on leaving the country and the confiscation of goods linked to his death penalty. In 1971, French President Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
granted him the pardon. Pompidou's pardon caused a public outcry that escalated when it was revealed that most of the property Touvier claimed as his own had allegedly been property seized from deported Jews.
On July 3, 1973, a complaint against Touvier was filed in the Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
Court by Georges Glaeser, charging him with crimes against humanity. There was no statute of limitations against these charges. Glaeser explicitly accused Touvier of ordering the execution of seven Jewish hostages at Rillieux-la-Pape
Rillieux-la-Pape
Rillieux-la-Pape is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-External links:*...
, near Lyon, on 29 June 1944. This was in retaliation for the murder of Philippe Henriot
Philippe Henriot
Philippe Henriot was a French politician.Moving to the far right after beginnings in Roman Catholic conservatism in the Republican Federation, Henriot was elected to the Third Republic's Chamber of Deputies for the Gironde département in 1932 and 1936...
, the Vichy Government's Secretary of State for Information and Propaganda, the previous evening. After being indicted, Touvier disappeared again. Years of legal maneuvering ensued through his lawyers until a warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
was issued for his arrest on November 27, 1981.
Arrest and trial
On May 24, 1989, Touvier was arrested at the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) PrioryPriory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. The SSPX stated at the time that Touvier had been allowed to live in the Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
as "an act of charity to a homeless man."
After his arrest, further allegations appeared in print, stating that he had been aided for years by the Catholic Church hierarchy in Lyon and later by members of the Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
movement. He was defended by the monarchist lawyer Jacques Tremollet de Villers
Jacques Trémollet de Villers
Jacques Trémolet de Villers is a French writer, lawyer, president of the Catholic fundamentalist group La Cité Catholique since the 1980s and monarchist activist in the Restauration nationale movement....
, who later became president of the Traditionalist Catholic organization, La Cité Catholique.
In conjunction with the charges attached to the massacre at Rillieux-la-Pape, Touvier was also alleged to have played an important part in the execution of Victor Basch
Victor Basch
Basch Viktor Vilém, or Victor-Guillaume Basch was a French politician and professor of germanistics and philosophy at the Sorbonne descending vom Hungary...
, a prominent human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
leader and his wife. Touvier was further accused of being involved in several deportations of other Jews. During the two years following Touvier's arrest, 20 additional allegations were made by the French media.
Paul Touvier was granted provisional release in July 1991, but his trial for complicity in crimes against humanity only began on March 17, 1994. He expressed remorse
Remorse
Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment...
for his actions, saying that he thought of the seven Jewish victims of Rillieux-la-Pape every day. A Traditionalist Catholic priest of the Society of Saint Pius X sat beside him at the defense table, acting as his spiritual advisor. On April 20, a nine-person jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. An appeal, in 1995, was rejected by the Court.
Death
On July 17, 1996, Paul Touvier died of prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in Fresnes prison
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, near Paris. A Tridentine
Tridentine
The adjective Tridentine refers to any thing or person pertaining to the city of Trent, Italy .It is applied in particular to:*The Council of Trent, one of the ecumenical councils recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held in that city in the 16th century, and to the teachings emphasized by it...
Requiem Mass was offered for the repose of his soul by Father Philippe Laguérie
Philippe Laguérie
Philippe Laguérie is a French priest and a Traditionalist Catholic. He directs the Institut du Bon Pasteur, which upholds the Tridentine Mass.- Career :...
at St Nicolas du Chardonnet, the Society of St. Pius X
Society of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
chapel, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In popular culture
Irish-Canadian novelist Brian MooreBrian Moore (novelist)
Brian Moore was a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter who emigrated to Canada and later lived in the United States. He was acclaimed for the descriptions in his novels of life in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, in particular his explorations of the inter-communal divisions of The...
's 1995 book The Statement
The Statement (novel)
The Statement is a thriller novel by Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore. Set in the south of France and Paris in the early 1990s, The Statement is the tale of Pierre Brossard, a former officer in the pro-Fascist militia which served Vichy France, and a murderer of Jews.-Plot summary:Now...
is loosely based on Touvier's life story. It was later adapted into a 2003 film, also titled The Statement, directed by Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
. Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
appeared as Pierre Brossard, a character inspired by Touvier.
The 1989 efforts by French authorities to find and arrest Touvier are documented in an episode of the History Television
History Television
History Television is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that presents programming about history and some non-historical programming of military, science and technology interest. It is owned by Shaw Media. Its French language counterpart is Historia.The channel operates two...
series Nazi Hunters, first broadcast November 1st, 2010.
Brel connection
For several years, Belgian singer Jacques BrelJacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
worked with Touvier. Touvier met Brel by reportedly approaching him in a restaurant and saying, "I am Paul Touvier, a condemned man." Brel's wife, however, said that they knew him only as "Paul Berthet", an alias he sometimes used, taking his wife's maiden name.
External links
- Simon KitsonSimon KitsonSimon Kitson is a British historian.Kitson did his undergraduate studies at the University of Ulster and his post-graduate studies at the University of Sussex, under the supervision of Professor Roderick Kedward...
, "Bousquet, Touvier and Papon: Three Vichy personalities" University of Portsmouth French History Interview series - Resistance and Deportation History Centre
Resources
Brian BusbyBrian Busby
Brian John Busby is a Canadian literary historian and anthologist. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, he attended John Abbott College and Concordia University...
, Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
(2003
2003 in literature
The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
) - ISBN 0-676-97579-8