Joseph Darnand
| Joseph Darnand | |
|---|---|
Joseph Darnand
|
|
| Born |
19 March 1897 Coligny, Ain, Rhône-Alpes, France |
| Died | 10 October 1945 (aged 48) Fort de Châtillon, Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 France (to 1940) Vichy France (1940-1943) Nazi Germany (1943-1945) |
| Service/branch |
 Schutzstaffel
|
| Years of service | 1916–1918 1919–1921 1939–1945 |
| Rank |
 SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) |
| Battles/wars |
World War I Franco-Turkish War World War II |
| Awards |
|
| Relations | Antoinette Foucachon (1899-1994; spouse) Jean-Philippe Darnand (son) |
Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a French soldier, leader of the Vichy French collaborators with Nazi Germany and a Waffen-SS officer.
Darnand was born at Coligny, Ain, Rhône-Alpes in France.
On 8 January 1916, he enlisted in the 35th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to corporal in April 1917, sergeant on 1 June 1917 and to adjutant (warrant officer) in 1918. Demobilised after the armistice, he again enlisted for two years in the army in September 1919. After a stint in the army of occupation in Germany, he participated in the campaign against the forces of Kemal Atatürk in Cilicia. He ended his service in July 1921 as a sub-lieutenant (second lieutenant). He worked as a cabinetmaker and later founded his own transportation company in Nice.
Between the wars, Darnand joined a number of right-wing political, paramilitary organizations: l'Action Française in 1925, the Croix-de-Feu in 1928, La Cagoule and Jacques Doriot's French Popular Party (PPF) in 1936. He formed his own Fascist outfit, the Chevaliers du Glaive (Knights of the Sword); in the 1930s he became prominent among La Cagoule, or the Cagoulards ("Hooded Men"), 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, Darnand volunteered to join the French army and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He served in the Maginot Line and was decorated for bravery. During the Phoney War he took part in several commando actions against German forces. He was captured in June 1940 but fled to Nice. He became a leading figure in the Vichy French organization Légion Francaise des combattants (French Legion of Veterans) and recruited troopers for the fight against Bolshevism.
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