Papon, Maurice
From Astro-Databank
| Name |
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| Birthname | Papon, Maurice Arthur Jean | ||
| born on | 3 September 1910 at 18:51 (= 6:51 PM ) | ||
| Place | Gretz-Armainvilliers, France, 48n44, 2e44 | ||
| Timezone | LMT m2e44 (is local mean time) | ||
| Data source |
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| Astrology data |   10°22'  10°39 Asc. 18°47'
|
Biography
French politician who actively consorted with the Nazis during WW II, sending Jews to the concentration work camps and to their death. Post-war, he once more resumed the pretence of a loyal Frenchman until his true role was revealed.
In 1931 Papon joined the staff of the Ministry of Aviation and in 1935, moved to the Interior Ministry. He was briefly a member of the Radical-Socialist Yout and edited the party newspaper le Jacobin. But he soon changed his political allegiance and joined the Gaullists. Papon married on 8/26/1932; three children.
In August 1939 he was called up for military service and from March to October 1940 he was confined to a military post in Syria. When he returned to France on 10/25/1940, he was offered a position at the Interior Ministry and took charge of the Gironde prefecture. In 1942 his special responsibilities for Jewish affairs brought him into regular contact with the SS.
On Papon's direct orders, between July 1942 and June 1944 nearly 1,600 Jews, including 130 children under 13, were rounded up and sent to the detention camps at Drancy, near Paris. These were the staging posts for deportation to the Nazi concentration camps. Only a handful of those ordered detained by Papon survived their ordeal.
In 1944, when it became clear that the tide of the war was turning against Germany, Papon began to pass information about the Nazis to the Resistance. After the war, he was decorated by General de Gaulle with the "Carte d'Ancien Combattant de la Resistance" and resumed his work as a public servant. He was Paris Chief of Police until 1968 and in 1970 he served as Budget Minister for President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
For 35 years, Papon served France as a patriot, until 1981, when documents were uncovered in the Bordeaux town hall implicating him with Nazi affairs. The newly surfaced papers included deportation orders personally signed by him.
From the start, the French establishment did everything possible to prevent a trial, fearing that it would further expose the relations that many of those in the ruling elite had enjoyed with the Nazi forces. Socialist Party leader François Mitterand had also served under Vichy. Although Papon was forced out of public office following the revelations, and was first charged in 1983, the evidence against him was thrown out of court on a legal technicality in 1987. It took until 1997 to finally bring him to trial.
The trial opened on 10/08/1997 at 2:00 PM MEDT, Bordeaux, France. Papon was found guilty on 4/01/1998 of ordering the deportation of Jews from occupied France to Nazi Germany, but not of complicity in their murder. He was the most senior Vichy official to stand trial for crimes against humanity. At the trial, Papon's defense was that he was "only following orders," and that he tried to save the deportees from the camps. He filed an appeal and eventually fled the country to be later arrested in Switzerland. On 10/22/1999, he was sent back to France to begin serving a ten-year prison term for crimes against humanity.
Apart the facts for which he was responsible during WW II, there was talk about his position as Chief of Police during the ‘’Paris battle’’ - in which 200 Algerians where slaughtered, on 10/17/1961. At the time and up to now nobody ever protested. And later, he was elected deputy and named minister.
Relationships
- opponent/rival/enemy relationship with Desclaux, Henri-Pierre (born 26 April 1939)
Events
- Work : New Job 1931 (Ministry of Aviation)
- Work : New Job 1935 (Interior of Ministry)
- Relationship : Marriage 26 August 1932
- Social : Joined group August 1939 (Called up for military duty)
- Work : New Job 25 October 1940 (Interior Ministry)
- Work : Begin Major Project July 1942 (Rounding up Jews for deportation, two years)
- Other Work 1944 (Changed sides, passed info to the Resistance)
- Work : Lose social status 1968 (Ended position as Chief of Police, Paris)
- Work : New Job 1970 (Budget Ministry)
- Social : Secrets revealed 1981 (Documents released implicating him in Nazi activity)
- Crime : Arrest 1983 (Charges first brough against him)
- Crime : Trial dates 1987 (Thrown out of court, legal technicality)
- Other Work 17 October 1961 (Responsible for slaughter of 200 Algerians)
- Crime : Trial dates 8 October 1997 at 2:00 PM in Bordeax, France (Trial opens on Nazi activity)
- Crime : Trial dates 1 April 1998 (Guilty verdict)
- Social : Institutionalized - prison, hospital 22 October 1999 (Returned to France for jail sentence)
Source Notes
Petitallot quotes B.C., Cadran No. 45, October 1997 (7:00 PM Paris time)
Categories
- Vocation : Politics : Government employee (Varying Ministerial positions)
- Vocation : Politics : Nazi party
- Vocation : Law : Police (Chief of Police)
- Family : Parenting : Kids 1-3 (Three)
- Family : Relationship : Marriage more than 15 Yrs (Since 1932)
- Passions : Criminal Perpetrator : Prison sentence (Ten year sentence)
- Lifestyle : Home : Expatriate (Fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution)
- Vocation : Writers : Publisher/ Editor (Newspaper editor)
- Vocation : Military : Military service (WW II)
- Notable : Awards : Medals (Military Honor)
- Traits : Personality : Changeable (Worked both sides to his advantage)
- Passions : Criminal Perpetrator : Homicide by order (Responsible for hundreds of deaths)
