Overview
- Description
- Consists of speeches, sentences, witness lists, reports, trial proceedings, telegrams, correspondence, interrogations, and a sentence ledger documenting the High Court of Justice, which was specifically created by decree of the French Ministry of Justice of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on November 18, 1944 to try persons who were a part of the government of Vichy from June 1940 to August 1944. Tried persons included the Chief of State, the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers, Resident Generals in the protectorates, Governor Generals, and High Commissioners. The original decree ("ordonnance") was modified by the laws of December 27, 1945, April 19, 1948, and March 3, 1954, and by the decree of January 2, 1959. There were 106 trials concerning 108 individuals between 1944 and 1949 and 8 between 1955 and 1960. The files vary in size from one thin folder to 9 boxes for Pierre Laval and 27 boxes for Maréchal Pétain. The collection includes also records of series W III, files missing from 3W.
- Alternate Title
- High Court of Justice
- Date
-
inclusive:
1914-1960
- Collection Creator
- France. Haute Cour de justice.
- Biography
-
The High Court of Justice was created by order of November 18, 1944 to judge persons who where a part of the goverment of Vichy from 1940-1944.,
The presidents of the High Court of Justice were successively: Paul Mongibeaux, Marcel Naegelen, who did not sit, Louis Noguères, Edouard Depreux, Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, Jacques Fourcade, Jean de Broglie, Andre Mignot and Jacques Lavigne.
The High Court judged 106 cases against 108 indicted between 1944, - it sat for the first time on December 11 of that year -, then in 1949, and eight times between 1955 and 1960.
- Reference
- The Journal Officiel published the entire proceedings of the Petain trial, and the USHMM Library has a copy.
Blanc (Brigitte), Rousso (Henry), Tourtier-Bonazzi (Chantal de), La Seconde guerre mondiale : guide des sources conservées en France 1939-1945, Paris, Archives nationales, 1994, 1217 p., index
Farcy (Jean-Claude), sous la direction de Philippe Vigier, Guide des archives judiciaires et pénitentiaires (1800-1958), Cnrs Éditions, 1992 ; consultable en ligne à l'adresse https://criminocorpus.org/IMG/pdf/Guide_complet.pdf
Jaffre (Yves-Frédéric), Les tribunaux d'exception 1940-1962, Les Nouvelles Éditions latines, 1963, 365 p.
Physical Details
- Extent
-
344,974 digital images.
- System of Arrangement
- The records are arranged in the following 10 groups:
1. 3W/l to 3/W27: general information about how the court was created, how it functioned, and its personnel
2. 3W/28: final speeches by the prosecution, sentences, and sequesters of property
3. 3W/29+3W/30: lists of witnesses
4. 3W/31-3W/43: stenographic reports of most sessions
5. 3W/44- 346: trial proceedings for most of the accused (see pdfs of the 11 volume finding aid)
6. 3W/347 - 357: the "Berlin archives" including telegrams and correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Reich and the German Embassy in Paris as well as correspondence from German authorities
7. 3W/358: reports and interrogations of Germans
8. 3W/359: miscellaneous documents
9. 3W/360: ledger recording the sentences and their applications
10. W III -missing files from 3W.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This material can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations. No other access restrictions apply to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- No document microfilmed shall be distributed on the Internet, World Wide Web or any other computer network accessible to the public without the express prior agreement of the Directorate of the French National Archives. Any commercial use of the reproduction of microfilmed documents require prior written consent of the Directorate of the French National Archives, and pay a fee for such use.
- Copyright Holder
- Archives nationales (France)
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- World War, 1939-1945--Collaborationists--France. Trials--France--20th century. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France.
- Geographic Name
- France--Politics and government--20th century. France--History--German occupation, 1940-1945. Vichy (France)--Politics and government. France--History--1945-1958.
- Personal Name
- Pétain, Philippe, 1856-1951. Laval, Pierre, 1883-1945.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Archives nationales (France)
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Source of acquisition is the French National Archives. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in November 2018.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:20:48
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn633376
Download & Licensing
- See Rights and Restrictions
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Requires Research Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
