Joseph Barthélemy (8 July 1874 – 14 May 1945) was a French jurist, politician and journalist. Initially a critic of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

Early years

The son of Aimé Barthélemy, a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

mayor of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

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

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

.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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

, particularly the movement's

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

Vichy France

Although Barthélemy was on the moderate

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

, he was attracted to

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

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 organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...

. 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 1934 to 1935. A military pilot during ...

, Barthélemy supported

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

in relation to

and was also firmly

anticommunist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

, two factors that saw both men move towards

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th c ...

. Active as a

Democratic Republican Alliance The Democratic Alliance (, 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 president of the Council in the 1920s. ...

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 (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to com ...

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. After his marriage, he became the son-in-law of the Belgian architect Paul Saintenoy. Early years The son of a tailor ...

. Indeed, Barthélemy sought to portray Pucheu as a hardline

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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 of Jews, persecution increased over time, includ ...

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 and was not taken off the statute books until 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 of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

in the infamous Riom Trial. 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 Ministers of justice of France Government ministers of Vichy France Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Gers 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 Nazis who died in prison custody