High Court of Justice Haute Cour de justice (3W)

Identifier
irn633376
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2018.492.1
  • RG-43.167
Dates
1 Jan 1914 - 31 Dec 1960
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • French
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Web Source

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn633376

Extent and Medium

344,974 digital images,

Creator(s)

  • France. Haute Cour de justice.

Biographical History

The High Court of Justice was created by order of November 18, 1944 to judge persons who where a part of the goverment of Vichy from 1940-1944., The presidents of the High Court of Justice were successively: Paul Mongibeaux, Marcel Naegelen, who did not sit, Louis Noguères, Edouard Depreux, Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, Jacques Fourcade, Jean de Broglie, Andre Mignot and Jacques Lavigne. The High Court judged 106 cases against 108 indicted between 1944, - it sat for the first time on December 11 of that year -, then in 1949, and eight times between 1955 and 1960.

Archival History

Archives nationales (France)

Acquisition

Source of acquisition is the French National Archives. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in November 2018.

Scope and Content

Consists of speeches, sentences, witness lists, reports, trial proceedings, telegrams, correspondence, interrogations, and a sentence ledger documenting the High Court of Justice, which was specifically created by decree of the French Ministry of Justice of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on November 18, 1944 to try persons who were a part of the government of Vichy from June 1940 to August 1944. Tried persons included the Chief of State, the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers, Resident Generals in the protectorates, Governor Generals, and High Commissioners. The original decree ("ordonnance") was modified by the laws of December 27, 1945, April 19, 1948, and March 3, 1954, and by the decree of January 2, 1959. There were 106 trials concerning 108 individuals between 1944 and 1949 and 8 between 1955 and 1960. The files vary in size from one thin folder to 9 boxes for Pierre Laval and 27 boxes for Maréchal Pétain. The collection includes also records of series W III, files missing from 3W.

System of Arrangement

The records are arranged in the following 10 groups: 1. 3W/l to 3/W27: general information about how the court was created, how it functioned, and its personnel 2. 3W/28: final speeches by the prosecution, sentences, and sequesters of property 3. 3W/29+3W/30: lists of witnesses 4. 3W/31-3W/43: stenographic reports of most sessions 5. 3W/44- 346: trial proceedings for most of the accused (see pdfs of the 11 volume finding aid) 6. 3W/347 - 357: the "Berlin archives" including telegrams and correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Reich and the German Embassy in Paris as well as correspondence from German authorities 7. 3W/358: reports and interrogations of Germans 8. 3W/359: miscellaneous documents 9. 3W/360: ledger recording the sentences and their applications 10. W III -missing files from 3W.

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright Holder: Archives nationales (France)

People

  • Pétain, Philippe, 1856-1951.
  • Laval, Pierre, 1883-1945.

Subjects

  • Vichy (France)--Politics and government.
  • Trials--France--20th century.
  • France--Politics and government--20th century.
  • France--History--German occupation, 1940-1945.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Collaborationists--France.
  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--France.
  • France--History--1945-1958.

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.

Copies