Word: laval
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...Marshal Philippe Petain. Chief of State, had just returned from a tour of bombed French cities. Propped up by occasional doses of benzedrine, the old man spoke less of collaboration than of unity and nationalism. But, at invasion showdown, he called upon French men to obey the Nazis. Pierre Laval, hated alike by Petain and by anti-Nazi French men, echoed the Marshal's words: "France must be dignified and disciplined in attitude. . . . We are not in the war." It was not enough. More violent Nazi- philes, their bridges already burned behind them, moved to range Vichyfrance...
...cider-drinking oldster saying "We never thought you would come. I
was in bed with my wife when we heard the bombardment. I said to her,
we can die downstairs or we can die upstairs. We may just as well die
in bed!"
...turbines for ships are already under construction by Allis-Chalmers, Elliott, and De Laval. The ships will have no boilers, heavy condensers or feed-water problem, can thus probably carry about 10% more cargo than steamships...
...test came in 1942's late summer. Parliament's rump gathered in Châtelguyon's shabby Hotel Richelieu, heard Cabinet Chief Pierre Laval decree the legislature's virtual death. Edouard Herriot, with venerable Senate President Jules Jeannenez, broke silence. To Chief of State Pétain he sent a solemn, indignant protest: "You have substituted unlimited dictatorship for guarantees that all civilized nations grant. . . . It is impossible for liberty to die in the country of its birth...
...Pierre Laval sensed that brutal, stocky Joseph Darnand was seeking notoriety and power, thought he could use such a man. Laval sent Darnand to Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler, who received him magnificently. Since then, Darnand has nurtured his shock troopers, recently showed off their skill in thuggery to a group of Nazi experts visiting Vichy...