Language:
English
Year of publication:
1999
Titel der Quelle:
History and Memory; Studies in Representation of the Past
Angaben zur Quelle:
11,1 (1999) 41-76
Keywords:
Papon, Maurice,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
War crime trials
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Abstract:
Papon, a former functionary in the Vichy regime, responsible for the deportation of ca. 1,600 Jews from Bordeaux, and the last living symbol of collaborationism in France, was convicted of complicity in crimes against humanity at his trial held in Bordeaux in 1997-98. Examines problems with which the French judicial system had to deal during this trial. French legislation does not enable the conviction of a person who acted due to career interests rather than ideological motives. A crucial question was whether and to what extent Papon knew of the fate awaiting those whom he deported. The historians called upon as witnesses were unable to assess, unambiguously, the measure of knowledge possessed by a Vichy functionary, nor could they assess to what extent Papon represented the typical Vichy functionary. Current historiography of the Vichy period tends to depict the Vichy official as simply an obedient executor. The Papon case shows the discrepancy between historical and judicial knowledge, and between those and collective memory.
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