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Pétain by Nicholas Atkin is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Pétain about?

Marshal Pétain remains one of the most divisive political figures in the history of modern France. Born into a peasant family in 1856, he became a soldier. His early military career was undistinguished, but at a critical moment in the First World War he was entrusted with the defence of Verdun. Holding the French lines, from February to December 1916, against a massive German onslaught in which over a million men died, he emerged — and not just in the patriotic rhetoric of the time — as the saviour of his country. He became the French commander-in-chief for the remainder of the war. Twenty-five years later, at another critical moment in France's history, he offered himself as prime minister, conceded an armistice to the invading Germans, and was appointed head of state of the collaborationist Vichy government (1940-44). Whatever Pétain's motives and expectations, the Vichy regime embarked on a series of repressive policies, culminating in the persecution of the Jews. After the Liberation, Pétain was arrested, tried for treason (1945) and condemned to death, though the sentence was commuted. He died in prison in 1951. A storm of controversy has obscured his reputation ever since. Wa

Who reads Pétain?

Author

Nicholas Atkin

Publisher

Routledge

Published

1997

Language

EN

ISBN

9781317897989

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

History, Biography, Memoir

Updated

2026-03-24