The Sorrow and the Pity Page #16

no way we could bomb Berlin.

But the targets we were given

were often Belgium, Holland or France.

And that was really a cruel dilemma.

It was this preoccupation,

this haunting worry,

which led us to progressively specialize

in a type of bombing

which had the least hitches,

to use the term they employed then.

It was a type of hedgehopping.

We would bomb at very low altitudes,

which was much riskier,

but allowed us greater accuracy.

England victorious?

Half of its regular navy has sunk,

as has a third of its wartime navy.

England has lost Europe.

It is losing the very little influence

it had on the Soviets,

and it is losing its influence on lndia.

England has been defeated.

England's only way out

is to call in the Bolsheviks.

But as a Frenchman,

I'd be afraid they'd stab us in the back.

PRESIDENT LAVAL SPEAKS OU "IF GERMANY DOESN'T WIN,

BOLSHEVISM WILL"

My father-in-law's philosophy,

the one often shared with the family,

was that the only realistic solution

was for our country to gain time

while Germany got increasingly

involved in their war

against the Russians,

a war which, in his opinion,

would last for years,

and in so doing, we would allow France

to maintain its position in the world,

as well as its empire.

On April 21, 1942,

in an appeal to France, the head of

government stated to his listeners:

I have meditated on

what I am now saying in my village,

in the land of Auvergne

to which I remain very attached.

But the time spent in the privacy

of his own family was limited,

and as the clock struck 8:00,

he had to return to work.

He spent a few more moments

with the locals of the area

who come every morning to chat with him.

I truly believe that the majority

of Frenchmen today

realize that Pierre Laval

did all he could to defend them.

You've seen for yourself,

as you visited the village today,

and interviewed people

who saw Pierre Laval at work,

that not one single person

is willing to accuse Laval

of any outrageous crime.

-You knew my father-in-law well?

-Yes.

We knew each other quite well

during the period of 1936 to 1944.

The last time I saw him was on the eve

of his permanent move to Paris.

I never saw him again.

But in Vichy, I used to see him every day.

We would discuss our problems,

from mineral water to sawmills.

-Did you ever discuss politics?

-Never.

No, we never discussed politics.

Why did the whole of France

condemn him at that moment?

The whole of France didn't condemn him.

Certainly not.

Sometimes I'd visit him in the castle,

and appeal to him

on behalf of my prisoners.

Would you come here?

-Hello, sir.

-Hello.

These gentlemen are in Chteldon

making a film on the Occupation.

-How old were you when war began?

-Twenty five years old.

-What regiment were you in?

-The 28th Artillery Regiment.

-And what happened?

-We were taken prisoner on June 20.

And then, after some hard times,

as a favor from the President, Mr. Laval,

I had the privilege

of being repatriated to Chteldon.

And I thank both him and the Countess.

In what year did you return?

I returned on October 17, 1941.

It was certainly a big favor

as some had to stay until '45 or longer.

So it was lucky to be taken prisoner

if you were from Chteldon?

We were the privileged few.

Today, Ren Bousquet,

from the Ministry of the lnterior,

picked up the head of the government

in order to make full use

of the 20 minutes from Chteldon to Vichy.

The secretary general made his report,

and the man in charge knows

the decisions he must soon take.

I say that if the Germans

had only had their own Gestapo,

they couldn't have caused

half the harm they did.

Yes, they killed people in the street,

but it was the French police who helped.

If the French police had not helped

seek out the Communists,

not to mention all the other patriots,

the Germans would have made

a stab in the dark,

but they could never have hit as hard

as they hit the French Resistance.

Is that you?

Bring me the latest police reports.

It's now time for the daily meeting

of the head of state

and the head of government.

Every one of France's problems

is thoroughly and openly examined

by the two men.

Marshal Ptain didn't have

a thing in common with the President.

Ptain was a stickler for order.

Laval liked to improvise.

They were complete opposites

of one another.

They had nothing in common.

What inspired him to take Laval

a first time and then a second?

The first time, he didn't have much choice,

as it was basically Laval

who made Ptain head of state.

The second time, he was in what

you could call a rather tragic situation,

where the occupiers

basically forced him to choose Laval.

Marshal Ptain was surrounded by a legion

of right wing and far right wing influences,

whereas my father-in-law, I repeat,

was a man

who could be considered a centrist today.

Laval's policies were pro-German

because he believed in them.

Let me just quickly tell you

something Laval told me.

You, of course,

remember that horrible radio show

during which he declared,

"I hope Germany wins."

I was in Paris. The next day,

I met with my family in Auvergne.

I first stopped in Vichy

because I couldn't understand

how a Frenchman could say such a thing.

I saw Laval the next morning:

"Sir, I am appalled

by what you said yesterday."

"What did I say?"

"That you wanted Germany to win."

He added, "And after?

What did I add afterwards?"

"I was so aghast that I can't remember."

He said, "Win the war against Bolshevism."

I recently read an old issue

of Le Moniteur du Puy-de-Dme,

on which most of the front page

was dedicated to the words of Laval:

"I hope Germany wins."

There were several interpretations

of this statement,

and some people have said

that we must remember that he added,

"I hope they win as I'm involved

in the fight against Communism."

Yet not everyone in France

was Communist,

each one of us has their own ideas,

which is why we fought.

We can't be anti-Communist,

because we're not anti-anything.

It's the same thing as saying,

"And those freemasons,

"they must be sent to the camps."

Or, "So you're a Jew? All the Jews

must be burned in the gas chambers."

During the relatively long time

you spent in Clermont-Ferrand,

did you ever see or hear

of the persecutions that occurred?

No, I didn't see or hear

anything about them.

Are you denying that the Jews,

the Juden, were persecuted?

Do you mean the Jungen, the young,

or the Juden, the Jews?

The Juden.

I had no idea how many Jews

had infiltrated partisan ranks.

In any case, it wasn't the army's job

to take care of the Jews.

An extremely disturbing census was taken

of the Jews

who were either deported or arrested

in the various countries

occupied by Germany,

and, with the exception of France,

the statistics are terrifying.

Of all these Jews, in 1946,

only 5.8%%% survived.

Whereas, if you look at the statistics,

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