19 Facts About Joseph Darnand

Joseph Darnand was a French far-right political figure, Nazi collaborator and convicted war criminal during the Second World War.

Joseph Darnand was promoted to corporal in April 1917, sergeant on 1 June 1917 and to adjutant in 1918.

Joseph Darnand volunteered for a squadron that undertook dangerous missions.

Joseph Darnand ended his service in July 1921 as a sub-lieutenant.

Joseph Darnand worked as a cabinetmaker and later founded his own transportation company in Nice.

Between the wars, Joseph Darnand joined a number of far-right political, paramilitary organizations: l'Action Francaise in 1925, the Croix-de-Feu in 1928, La Cagoule and Jacques Doriot's French Popular Party in 1936.

Joseph Darnand formed his own Fascist outfit, the Chevaliers du Glaive ; in the 1930s he became prominent among La Cagoule, or the Cagoulards, a secret terrorist group that organised bombings and assassinations, and that stored arms in depots all over France.

At the beginning of World War II, Joseph Darnand volunteered to join the French Army and was commissioned as a lieutenant.

Joseph Darnand served in the Maginot Line and was decorated for bravery.

Joseph Darnand was captured in June 1940, but fled to Nice.

Joseph Darnand became a leading figure in the Vichy French organization Legion francaise des combattants and recruited troopers for the fight against "Bolshevism".

In 1941, Joseph Darnand was made a member of the National Council of Vichy France.

Joseph Darnand turned to Nazi Germany and was made an officer of the SS.

Joseph Darnand's turn to the SS was influenced by the fact that miliciens were being targeted for assassination by the Resistance but Vichy and Wehrmacht authorities refused to arm the Milice.

In joining the SS, Joseph Darnand took a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler, receiving a rank of Untersturmfuhrer in the Waffen SS in August 1943.

Joseph Darnand expanded the Milice and by 1944 it had over 35,000 members.

In early 1944, Vichy France announced a new law empowering Joseph Darnand "to create special courts martial to try on the spot" persons caught in violent acts against the state.

Joseph Darnand received a promotion to Sturmbannfuhrer on 1 November 1944.

Joseph Darnand was sentenced to death on 3 October 1945 and executed by firing squad on 10 October 1945 at the Fort de Chatillon in Paris.