Jacques de Bernonville

Jacques de Bernonville
de Bernonville in 1938
Born	(1897-12-20)20 December 1897 Paris, France
Died	26 April 1972(1972-04-26)(aged 74) Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
Cause of death	Murder by asphyxiation
Organization	Milice
Political party	Action Française

CountJacques Charles Noel Dugé de Bernonville(20 December 1897 – 26 April 1972) was a Frenchcollaborationistand senior police officer in theMiliceof theVichy regimein France. He was known to hunt down and executeresistance fightersduringWorld War II,as well as for his participation inantisemiticprograms, including the deportation ofFrench JewstoDrancyandextermination camps.After his escape from France, he was convicted in absentia of war crimes and sentenced to death.

He was aided in enteringQuebec,Canada in 1946 by leading Catholics of the province. In 1948, his true identity was discovered by immigration officials, who instituted deportation proceedings. De Bernonville fled toRio de Janeiro,Brazil,where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1957, theSupreme Court of Brazilrefused to approve an extradition order. He was murdered by asphyxiation in 1972 by his servant's son.

Early life and education

Count Jacques Dugé de Bernonville was born inParisto an aristocratic family and educated inJesuitschools. He became aligned with reactionary political groups.

Career

In 1938, he was imprisoned for several months, charged with having taken part in the conspiracy ofLa Cagoule,afar rightterroristgroup. He was released because of lack of proof.

Following the 1940defeat of FranceagainstNazi Germany,Jacques de Bernonville joined the Vichy government. In 1943 he was appointed as a commander of the collaborationist Milice, the Vichy police. Working in conjunction with the head of the MiliceJoseph Darnand,de Bernonville hunted down members of theFrench Resistance.They were almost always summarily executed.

As a right-hand man toKlaus Barbie(later convicted forcrimes against humanity), de Bernonville participated in the establishment and enforcement of the Vichy regime's program ofantisemiticpolicies. They carried out the deportation of thousands of French Jews, refugee Jews and other "undesirables" to theDrancy deportation campen route toAuschwitzand other Germanextermination camps.

Post-war escape to Canada

After theliberation of Franceby theAllied Forcesand theFrench Resistance,de Bernonville was charged first, by theDijonspecial tribunal, with endangering the safety of the State in 1946 and, second, in 1947, oftreasonby theToulouse"cour de justice". Found guilty and condemned to death, he fled the country. It is noteworthy that those tribunals were exceptional jurisdictions set up during the "Epuration"to" purge "all organs of state and civil society of those suspected of, or guilty ofcollaborationwith the German occupiers.

Escaping French authorities in 1946, Count de Bernonville sailed to New York City. According to Kevin Henley, professor of history atCollège de Maisonneuvein Montreal, the politically powerfulRoman CatholicpriestLionel Groulxhelped Count de Bernonville get into Quebec and established a new identity as Jacques Benoit.He was welcomed by a significant number of theQuebec nationalistelite, but in 1948, Canadian immigration authorities discovered his identity and instituted deportation proceedings. In an attempt to keep Count de Bernonville in Canada, 143 Quebec notables signed a 1950 petition defending him and stating that he should be allowed to stay.Signers included the secretary general of theUniversité de Montréal;Camillien Houde,mayor of the city ofMontreal;plusCamille LaurinandDenis Lazure,two future cabinet ministers in theParti Québécoisgovernment.

Faced with a deportation order, Count de Bernonville fled again, going toRio de Janeiro,Brazil.In 1954 the French government was advised of his location but, since Brazil had noextraditiontreaty with France, he escaped punishment. TheSupreme Court of Brazilrefused to extradite him in October 1957. Count de Bernonville remained in Brazil. He died in 1972, murdered by the son of his servant, who was drunk and high onhashish.

Further reading

• The Bernonville Affair: A French War Criminal in Quebec After World War II–Yves Lavertu(1995) original French edition:L'affaire Bernonville: Le Québec face à Pétain et à la Collaboration (1948-1951)(1994).
• Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946-1956-Howard Margolian(2000)

See also

• Collaborationism
• Pursuit of Nazi collaborators