Posted on

After VE Day

On 8 May 1945, the Germans surrendered unconditionally thus ending the war in Europe. This day became known as “Victory in Europe Day” or simply, “VE Day” (Russia, Belarus, Serbia, and Israel celebrate VE Day on 9 May). So, the war was over, and everyone went home to promptly forget the nightmare of the past six years. Right? Well, not everyone.

Displaced families. Photo by anonymous (c. 1945).
Displaced families. Photo by anonymous (c. 1945).

When major conflicts end (e.g., the American Civil War), the tendency is for the participants to return to their previous lives and take up where they had left off. It was normal for them to “forget” about the tragic experiences of whatever conflict they had been involved in. Most of us know about the men and women returning from the Pacific and European theaters after the end of World War II. They were our parents, grandparents, or other relatives and most of them never spoke about their experiences ever again ⏤ all they wanted to do was get an education, marry, and go on with their lives.

Well, not everyone could go home or forget.


Did You Know?

Did you know that in France, there is no official state “Victory in Europe Day” or even a Liberation Day? Officially, they call it Victoire 1945. Unlike other European countries which were liberated on a single day (e.g., Netherlands on 5 May 1945), France was liberated town-by-town. So, each town or city would likely celebrate its own Liberation Day corresponding to the date it was liberated.

The utter devastation in Europe (the Pacific Theater was no different) at the end of the war meant that tens of millions of people were displaced, facing extreme hunger, and likely looking for shelter and their relatives. These people, both German as well as the former oppressed, could not go home and forget about the war. For these unfortunate people, the aftermath of World War II horrors continued for years. It is a story that has never received much attention and so, we all believe the war ended on 8 May and that was that.


The War’s Toll

Nearly forty million people died during World War II. More than half were non-combatant fatalities. Six million Jews were exterminated. Soviet deaths ⏤ military and civilian ⏤ are estimated to be between twenty-five and twenty-seven million. American deaths in the combined war theaters totaled around 420,000.

Dresden “Trümmerfrau” (Rubble Woman or Brick Lady) clearing Dresden of the bricks after the end of the war. Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombing and a devastating firestorm. Photo by anonymous (c. 1948). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H26824/CC-BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Dresden “Trümmerfrau” (Rubble Woman or Brick Lady) clearing Dresden of the bricks after the end of the war. Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombing and a devastating firestorm. Photo by anonymous (c. 1948). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H26824/CC-BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

What we call “collateral damage” today was huge. Food sources were cut in half and wouldn’t recover for years.  Sixty percent of Yugoslavia’s roads were destroyed while the Netherlands lost the same percentage of its road, rail, and canal transport systems. Poland lost a third of its rail tracks and one-fifth of its roads while eighty-five percent of its rolling stock (i.e., trains) was destroyed. One fifth of all German living spaces were uninhabitable leaving twenty million of the country’s civilians homeless. The Soviet Union suffered the worse. Some seventy thousand villages, two thousand towns, and numerous cities were completely leveled. Thirty-two thousand factories were destroyed while forty thousand miles of rail track was decimated. Around twenty-five million Soviet citizens were without shelter.

Homeless

Millions of people were left homeless after the war. After returning to their cities, towns, and villages, they found utter destruction with nothing left. Adding to their misery, food was scarce and near starvation became a way of life. Families had been torn apart. It was thought that half of the European population was in transit at the end of the war.

Orphaned children. Photo by anonymous (c. 1945).
Orphaned children. Photo by anonymous (c. 1945).

Also returning home were the surviving victims of the Nazi concentration, extermination, and forced labor camps. Approximately two thousand French soldiers were captured during the Battle of France in 1940 and now, the POWs were released to find their way back to France. Everyone shared three things in common: finding shelter, food, and trying to locate their families.

Refugee camps were initially established by nationality. “Displaced persons,” including Jewish survivors, were placed in these camps but it became apparent very quickly that former inmates were being housed with their former torturers. It was not until the fall of 1945 that President Truman ordered General Eisenhower to create separate facilities for the Jews and increase their rations. A concerted effort was made to identify the leaders in the refugee camps who, as General Patton stated, looked at Jews as “lower than animals.” These segregated camps remained open for three to five years because countries would not offer asylum to the survivors. Read More After VE Day

Posted on

Les Bleus, Le Collabo et l’Exécution

A message from Stew: We’re one week away from the World Cup final. At this point, we know that France and Uruguay made it out of group play and into the knockout stage. Not too sure how far each country will go in 2018 but I thought I’d reprint this blog from 27 May 2017 to give you a historical perspective of the first World Cup game and one of Le Bleus’s finest French footballers albeit a terrible human being.

We’ve become immune to the stories we hear every day about professional athletes who get into trouble with the law. Their crimes range from acts of violence to murder and everything in-between.

Our story today is about one of these athletes. He was a French footballer. In other words, he played soccer. His saga starts with the first World Cup in 1930 and ends fourteen years later with his execution at the hands of the French Resistance. He was a well-known and vicious Nazi collabo (collaborationist).


Did You Know?

France has a very storied history behind its national football team (even though our blog today talks about a rather unscrupulous French footballer). France’s first international match was against Belgium on 1 May 1904 (a 3 to 3 draw). Its first World Cup appearance was in 1930 and the team has had fourteen subsequent appearances since then. Lucien Laurent became the first player to score in a World Cup (1930) however, France became the first team to not score in a World Cup match after losing 1−0 to Argentina in the same World Cup. Under its captain, Didier Deschamps (the current coach), Les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup defeating Brazil 3 to 0. One of the younger players, Zinedine Zidane, would help guide Les Bleus to victory in the 2000 Euro Cup. Zidane would captain the team that went to the finals in the 2006 World Cup only to lose to Italy on penalty kicks. One of the low points for the national team came at the 2010 World Cup when the team and its manager suffered a meltdown. Due to a disagreement with the manager, Raymond Domenech, the players boycotted training prior to the third game of the group stage. The team lost the third match and exited the tournament without advancing. Domenech was succeeded by Laurent Blanc who promptly suspended all twenty-three players (including the captain, Thierry Henry) for their next international match and disciplined five players deemed responsible for the boycott. Since then, Les Bleus have come back and today are ranked in the top ten of the FIFA world rankings.


Meet Our Villain

Alex Villaplane. Photo by anonymous (c. 1930).
Alex Villaplane. Photo by anonymous (c. 1930).

Alexandre Villaplane (1905–1944) was born in Algiers and between 1921 and 1935 played football (i.e., soccer) for various French club teams. Known for his vicious tackling and headers, Villaplane’s greatest achievement was on the pitch (i.e., field) playing for Les Bleus or, “The Blues.” The national team kit (i.e., uniform) was and remains red, white, and blue. Unfortunately, by 1944, Villaplane was wearing a different uniform and was better known for his cruelty, blackmail, and murders.

Official poster of the 1930 Football World Cup in Uruguay. Illustration by Guillermo Laborde (c. 1930). PD-70+ Wikimedia Commons.
Official poster of the 1930 Football World Cup in Uruguay. Illustration by Guillermo Laborde (c. 1930). PD-70+ Wikimedia Commons.

Learn more about the 1930 World Cup.

The first FIFA World Cup was played in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930 and consisted of thirteen teams including France and the United States (yep, you read this correctly and here’s the other shocker—the United States national team came in third).

Villaplane was named captain of the French National World Cup team. France was one of four teams in Group 1with Argentina, Chile, and Mexico rounding out the group. On 13 July 1930, Villaplane led the team to its only victory of the 1930 World Cup—a 4 to 1 score over Mexico. The next two games (against Argentina and Chile) were both 1 to 0 losses. Only Argentina broke out of the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage. Ultimately, Uruguay would beat Argentina in the finals with a score of 4 to 2. The World Cup was ultimately seen as the highlight of Villaplane’s football career. After this, his club career went into a downward spiral.

Football used in the 1930 World Cup final. Photo by Oldelpaso (July 2009). National Football Museum. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Football used in the 1930 World Cup final. Photo by Oldelpaso (July 2009). National Football Museum. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

French Football Clubs

After the World Cup, Villaplane went on to resume playing for his club. While players were not supposed to be paid, in reality the clubs paid each of them a salary. Prior to the World Cup, Villaplane had a reputation as a mercenary, moving between teams for the highest payment. Soon after returning to France from Uruguay, a playboy lifestyle replaced Villaplane’s attitude and enthusiasm towards the game. His club career took a U-turn and soon Villaplane would be shuffled off from team to team after managers got tired of dealing with him. Read More Les Bleus, Le Collabo et l’Exécution