Joseph Barthélemy (8 July 1874,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

– 14 May 1945) was a French jurist, politician and journalist. Initially a critic of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, he would go on to serve as a minister in the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

Early years

The son of Aimé Barthélemy, a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

mayor of

, Joseph Barthélemy followed the legal profession and rose to become professor of constitutional law at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

.P. Webster, ''Petain's Crime'', London: Pan Books, 2001, p. 122 As one of the leading French

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

intellectuals of the 1930s, Barthélemy was initially noted as a strong critic of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

, particularly the movement's

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Vichy France

Although Barthélemy was on the moderate

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

, he was attracted to

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...

because of the initial approval of the new regime that was shown by his mentor,

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

. Like his ally

Pierre-Étienne Flandin Pierre-Étienne Flandin (; 12 April 1889 – 13 June 1958) was a French conservative politician of the Third Republic, leader of the Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD), and Prime Minister of France from 8 November 1934 to 31 May 1935. A milit ...

, Barthélemy supported

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...

in relation to

and was also firmly

anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

, two factors that saw both men move towards

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...

. Active as a

Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Alliance (french: Alliance démocratique, AD), originally called Democratic Republican Alliance (, ARD), was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta such as Raymond Poincaré, who would be presiden ...

deputy before the war, he succeeded Raphaël Alibert as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in February 1941. In that role, he signed the 1941 law that brought in the ''section spéciale'', a supposedly-

counterterrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

measure that in fact gave the new bodies the power to impose life imprisonment and death sentences without the right of appeal. In his memoirs (written before the end of the war) Barthélemy would claim that he had signed the law only under pressure from Interior Minister

Pierre Pucheu Pierre Firmin Pucheu (27 June 1899 – 20 March 1944) was a French industrialist, fascist and member of the Vichy government. He became after his marriage the son-in-law of the Belgian architect Paul Saintenoy. Early years The son of a tailor fr ...

. Indeed, Barthélemy sought to portray Pucheu as a hardline

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

and a man with a taste for intrigue, conspiracy and violence. Barthélemy hoped to pass much of the blame for his own wartime record onto Pucheu. However, Barthélemy also endorsed anti-Semitic laws and later sought to justify his actions by claiming that

French Jews The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but persecution increased over time, including multiple exp ...

before the war had held a disproportionate amount of influence. Barthélemy's legal background saw him work closely with Xavier Vallat in framing laws against the Jews, notably the Second law on the status of Jews in 1941. Furthermore he was co-signatory of a highly restrictive law that prohibited sexual relations between an adult male and a male under the age of 21. This law was a strong departure from the French tradition that did not criminalize homosexual relations; it was only taken off the statute books in 1982.

Later years

In 1943, the Ministry of Justice passed to Maurice Gabolde, but Barthélemy retained a high profile by leading the proceedings against

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

in the infamous

Riom Trial The Riom Trial (french: Procès de Riom; 19 February 1942 – 21 May 1943) was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic (1870–1940) had been responsible for ...

. Barthélemy was arrested in October 1944 and imprisoned before he was transferred to hospital, where he died the following year.Curtis, ''Verdict on Vichy'', p. 355

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barthelemy, Joseph 1874 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Toulouse French Roman Catholics Republican and Social Action politicians Democratic Republican Alliance politicians French Ministers of Justice Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic People of Vichy France 20th-century French lawyers Academic staff of the University of Paris French collaborators with Nazi Germany Order of the Francisque recipients French politicians convicted of crimes Prisoners who died in French detention