[HISTORICAL NOTE] In the wake of Paris’s liberation in August 1944, women accused of collaborating with the Nazi regime faced brutal and highly publicized forms of punishment, primarily the head-shaving ritual. Known as femmes tondues (“shaved women”), they became visible scapegoats for the national humiliation of the German occupation. The spectacle of public retribution was known as the épuration sauvage (wild purge), an act of mob justice that occurred outside of any formal legal process. Women were paraded through the streets, sometimes stripped or with swastikas painted on their bodies, while crowds physically and verbally assaulted them. The most common form of punishment was to have their heads forcibly shaved in front of jeering crowds. Many women were punished for “horizontal collaboration”, sexual or romantic relationships with German soldiers. There were also unofficial tribunals to judge accused men and women of collaboration.] A few years ago, I worked on a case involving an American and French company who were the victims of corporate espionage. In the process I met Rene, a French man who operated a security firm like mine. Over the moths were worked together to finally break the espionage ring for our client companies I got to know him. The case gave me an excuse to spend a lot of time in Paris. I was in Paris on August 9th, the anniversary of the Paris Liberation. Rene and I were drinking at one of his favorite sidewalks bars and talking about the Liberation of Paris. He told me that his grandfather was a Paris journalist who fled the Nazis but returned with the Free French forces that liberated Paris. His grandfather was there on the day and went to visit his parents who ran “Le Relais”, a small hotel is a quiet street in Montmartre. I asked many questions and Rene finally told me that shortly after the war his grandfather decided to create a journal about that day in Paris. He spoke to his own parents and others who lived nearby. He wanted to record the events of that day that took place in his parents hotel. He did write a lengthy report but had never published it. He feared it would reopen old wounds and his parents did not want to remember some of that day. He kept it put away from many years later he gave it to Rene’s father who years later had given it to him. He asked if I would like to see it, which I did. Rene gave me a small briefcase and inside was a stack of papers contained in a cardboard file. The papers contained information about one aspect of the collaborationists and the justice that some faced. Rene’s family’s hotel was the site of one such incident. I got Rene’s permission to use the journal if I protected those named in it. The story that follows is based on that journal. The names have been changed of all places and participants. It is a powerful and shocking story of betrayal and punishment.

LIBERATION DAY

The streets of Paris were filled with citizens celebrating the liberation of their city from the hated Germans. Free French forces tanks rolled down the boulevards and American troops arrived in jeeps and on foot. It was a joyous scene but there was a dark side that quickly arose. It was the collaborationists and what should be done about them. Many neighborhoods set up their own courts to try and punish them. Many men were simply shot out of anger. Many women were accused and they faced a different kind of justice.

The Hotel Le Relais was off the main streets of Montmartre but people were in the street outside of it as well. A small four story place of no great architectural interest, the aging hotel catered to salesmen and people who had business in Paris. Marie and Pierre had run it for many years and managed to keep it open and to survive during the German Occupation. It was also a meeting place for members of the local Resistance movement. In the small lobby there was a desk. Behind it were cubbyholes for the keys to the rooms. Marie took care of the front desk while Pierre did repairs and odd jobs.