Armistice & After

Roles changed quickly in Europe last week. Patriots became traitors and exiles, exponents of recently suppressed ideologies became the men of the hour. France at war became France at peace, and conquerors became sightseers.

Foremost sightseer was a little man in a light brown duster who slipped practically unnoticed into the Hotel des Invalides in Paris. Adolf Hitler gazed down at the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, another "Little Corporal" whose star had soared to a zenith equaled only by his own before it sputtered and plunged.

Accompanied by a staff of art historians and architectural experts, the Fuehrer visited the Opera, strolled through the galleries of the half-emptied Louvre, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower where a swastika waved, toured Montmartre. It was all very interesting to a man who had never been outside Greater Germany (except for two State visits to Italy) before.

Small Pickings. In the South, a neglected Axis partner also visited France. Accompanied by Marshal Pietro Badoglio and a slew of Fascist bigwigs, Benito Mussolini slipped across the Franco-Italian frontier at Piccolo San Bernardo. His inspection was brief because few morsels had been dropped from the Nazi carving board for the eager Duce.

Mussolini had gained: 1) demilitarization of a 30-mile strip along the Franco-Italian frontier; 2) demilitarization of a strip 125 miles wide along the Libyan frontier; 3) demilitarization of the French Somaliland coast and full rights to the harbor of Djibouti and the Djibouti-Addis Ababa Railway; 4) demilitarization for the duration of the war of the French naval bases at Toulon, Bizerte, Oran and Ajaccio. Regarding the surrender and demobilization of the French Army, the Italian Armistice conformed to the German. No mention was made of Nice, Savoy or Corsica, for which Italians have long clamored. So humiliating to boastful Mussolini were the small favors allowed him that the Italian press played the Armistice down, featured the continuation of war against the British Empire, promised eventual spoils.

Aftermath of Defeat. For all but a few very old Frenchmen defeat was a new experience, and in a bewildered frame of mind they began to deal with today's problems while scarcely daring to think of tomorrow's. Paris-soir and a few other newspapers reappeared in abbreviated form, their editorials consisting of recriminations against the late leaders of France or don't-let-it-get-you-down advice and encouragement. German officials anxious to get refugees back home in time to take care of the harvest, organized transportation and even supplied vehicles. Young Nazi soldiers were so ultra polite that Parisians saw in their conduct an implied criticism of their own customary rudeness. French authorities ordered the destruction of abandoned pets to prevent hydrophobia. Food shortage became acute and decrees restricting the use of flour for pastry, and forbidding the serving of butter in restaurants were issued. Money was scarce as banks remained closed and there was talk of municipal scrip being issued. With over 1,200,000 persons jobless in the Paris area alone, and soldiers and refugees returning by the thousand, the economic situation threatened to become more alarming than the political.

Official France also struggled to adjust itself to defeat. Under the supervision of General Joseph Edouard Doumenc, new Minister for Reconstruction, the demobilization of 5,000,000 troops began. The Franco-German Armistice Commission started functioning in the quiet spa town of Wiesbaden, its first meeting marking the tenth anniversary of the departure of the French Army of Occupation from that city. Headed by General Charles Huntziger, who had signed both armistices, the French delegation met the Germans under General Heinrich von Stuelpnagel in the Nassauer Hof Hotel, which had served as French headquarters during their period of Rhineland occupation.

As the German Army moved into Bordeaux, the French Government left for Vichy, famed for its effervescent waters and Mme de Sevigne. The Government of Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, regarded by most Frenchmen as merely transitional, announced proceedings "in connection with intrigues of a number of French personalities who have gone abroad." The Government urged the U. S. "kindly to understand the immense grief of France," and officially asked Britain "not to allow London to become a hotbed of agitation for politicians and dissenters." But bitter Britain was in no mood to do anything for the peace-making Government of France.

In sight was a French National Socialist Government perhaps under the leadership or influence of the Duce's good friend, swarthy Pierre Laval, Petain's Vice Premier. No particular friend of Germany or admirer of Hitler, but no Popular Front man either, Laval was never sold on the war at any point and talked peace not only to Sumner Welles but, reportedly, to Mussolini. He is a smooth political operator and, as the one Frenchman best acquainted with the conquerors, perhaps the one Frenchman best equipped to get France the kindest treatment.

A Laval Government would have the support of Minister of the Interior Adrien Marquet and his Neo-Social Party ("Order, Authority, Nation"), noted Fascist Author Marcel Deat, and the French Social Party (ex-Croix de Feu) under Colonel Franc,ois de La Rocque. It would also find many friends among well-to-do Rightists who see Pierre Laval, for at least the immediate future, as a sort of receiver for a ruined company whose policies he had so long criticized.

Whether or not France was in for Laval or some French version of totalitarianism as a long-term proposition, Frenchmen realized last week that some kind of new order was necessary and that the destiny of the country depended on what order the Germans would countenance and how quickly it could be established. Hopefully the Petite Gironde wrote: "France must cast off political rottenness, administrative sloth and mediocrity, the dread of effort and the abuse of power. Instead she must seek in her age-old traditions submission and duty, patriotic abnegation, and heroic and persevering patience."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.