Bernard Ménétrel (1906-1947) was a French physician and political advisor to Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He met with

Helmut Knochen Helmut Herbert Christian Heinrich Knochen (March 14, 1910 – April 4, 2003) was the senior commander of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst in Paris during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. He was se ...

and tried to negotiate with

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

on Pétain's behalf.

Early life

Bernard Ménétrel was born on 22 June 1906. His father, Louis, was the physician and personal friend of Philippe Pétain.Gabriel Grandjacques, ''La montagne-refuge: les juifs au pays du Mont-Blanc : Saint-Gervais, Megève-- 1940-1944'', Montmélian, France: La Fontaine de Siloë, 2007, p. 11

/ref>

Career

Like his father, Ménétrel became the physician and advisor to Marshal

.Olivier Wievorka
L'ordonnance de Pétain
''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'', February 21, 2002Daniel Bermond
Le Docteur Ménétrel
''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', February 1, 2002Marc Lambron
Le héraut de Pétain
''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...

'', January 18, 2002 In 1942 Ménétrel was named on a list of French collaborators with Germany to be killed during the war, or tried after it. According to renowned American political scientist

Raul Hilberg Raul Hilberg (June 2, 1926 – August 4, 2007) was a Jewish Austrian-born American political scientist and historian. He was widely considered to be the preeminent scholar on the Holocaust. Christopher R. Browning has called him the founding fath ...

in ''

The Destruction of the European Jews ''The Destruction of the European Jews'' is a 1961 book by historian Raul Hilberg. Hilberg revised his work in 1985, and it appeared in a new three-volume edition. It is largely held to be the first comprehensive historical study of the Holocau ...

'', on June 18, 1943, Ménétrel met

, the senior commander of the

Sicherheitspolizei The ''Sicherheitspolizei'' ( en, Security Police), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for security police. In the Nazi era, it referred to the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the ...

(Security Police) and

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

(Intelligence) in Paris.Raul Hilberg, ''La destruction des Juifs d'Europe'', Paris: Editions Gallimard, Folio/Histoire, 1991 p. 564 He told him Pétain agreed to keep French Jews from having access to good jobs. He added that he agreed with the Nazis' monstrous goal of ridding Europe of the Jews "forever". According to Annie Pétain, Philippe Pétain's wife, Ménétrel was one of the biggest

antisemite 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 ...

s in Pétain's inner circle.Alain Frèrejean, 'Bernard Ménétrel, le médecin, l'imminence grise et l'amuseur de Pétain', ', no 791, November 2012, pp. 108-112 In July 1942, Ménétrel and Paul Racine, Pétain's personal secretary, appreciated the "good work" that

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

was doing for the Vichy government. (Mitterrand later served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995). In 1944, Ménétrel was asked by Pétain to contact General

and attempt to negotiate with him, to no avail. Ménétrel made a point to portray Pétain as a weak man manipulated by

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...

.Michèle Cointet, ''Nouvelle histoire de Vichy'', Paris: Fayard 2011, pp. 121-122

Personal life

He was married to Aline Montcocol, the daughter of businessman

Célestin Montcocol Célestin Montcocol (26 June 1879 – 27 December 1981) was a French businessman. He built underground constructions and railroad tracks, including some of the Paris Métro. He is a co-founder of the Sainte-Maxime Golf Club. Early life Montcocol ...

. Philippe Pétain was his best man. They resided on the

Avenue Montaigne Avenue Montaigne () is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Origin of the name Avenue Montaigne was originally called the Allée des Veuves (widows' alley) because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed muc ...

in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

Death

He died on 31 March 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menetrel, Bernard 1906 births 1947 deaths 20th-century French physicians People of Vichy France French collaborators with Nazi Germany