Jean Leguay (29 November 1909 – 2 July 1989) was the second-in-command of the French National Police during the Nazi

Occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. He was complicit in the 1942 roundup of Jews in Paris and their deportation from France to Nazi extermination camps, which resulted in the murders of thousands of people, both adults and children.

World War II

During

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 ...

, Leguay was second-in-command to

René Bousquet René Bousquet (; 11 May 1909 – 8 June 1993) was a high-ranking French political appointee who served as secretary general to the Vichy French police from May 1942 to 31 December 1943. For personal heroism, he had become a protégé of promine ...

, the general secretary of the National Police in Paris. Leguay participated in organising the

Vel' d'Hiv Roundup The Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup ( ; from french: Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv', an abbreviation of ) was a mass arrest of foreign Jewish families by French police and gendarmes at the behest of the German authorities, that took place in Paris on 16 and 17 July ...

(''Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv''), the

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. I ...

of more than 13,000 Jews on 16 and 17 July 1942 in Paris. They were deported to

extermination camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, where most were killed.

Postwar

After the war, Leguay became president of Warner-Lambert, Inc. of London, which is now merged with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...

. Later, he became president of Substantia Laboratories in Paris. In 1979, Leguay was charged with

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

for his role in the organisation of the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, the

of more than 13,000 Jews on 16 and 17 July 1942 in Paris.

Death

Leguay died of cancer in 1989, aged 79. The French judiciary officially stated after his death, that Leguay's involvement in crimes against humanity had been ascertained beyond doubt."Jean LEGUAY, délégué en zone occupée du Secrétaire Général de la Police René BOUSQUET, est décédé"
''L'Humanité'', accessed 28 May 2012.

References

External links

"Jean LEGUAY, délégué en zone occupée du Secrétaire Général de la Police René BOUSQUET, est décédé"
Humanité.fr; accessed 16 July 2018. 1909 births 1989 deaths French police chiefs French collaborators with Nazi Germany Holocaust perpetrators in France Deaths from cancer in France {{France-bio-stub