The ''Milice française'' (''French Militia''), generally called simply ''Milice'', was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was Secretary General Joseph Darnand. It participated in summary executions, assassinations and helped round up the Jews and ''résistants'' in France for deportation. It was the successor to Joseph Darnand's ''Service d'ordre légionnaire'' (SOL) militia.

The Milice often resorted to torture to extract information or confessions from those they rounded up. They were often considered more dangerous to the French Resistance than the Gestapo and SS since they were Frenchmen who spoke the language, had a full knowledge of the towns and land, and knew people and informers.

Milice troops, known as ''miliciens,'' wore a blue uniform coat, a brown shirt and a wide blue beret. (During active paramilitary-style operations, a pre-war French Army helmet was used.) Its newspaper was ''Combats.'' (Not to be confused with the underground Resistance newspaper, ''Combat.'') It employed both full-timers and part-timers, as well as a youth wing. The Milice's armed forces were officially known as the ''Franc-Gardes''.

Membership

Early volunteers for the Milice included members of France's pre-war far right-wing parties, such as the Action Française, but also working-class men by then convinced of the blessings of Vichy's alliance with Nazi Germany.

In addition to ideology, incentives for joining the Milice included employment, regular pay and rations. (The latter became particularly important as the war went on and civilian rations dwindled steadily to almost starvation levels.) Some also joined because members of their families had been killed or injured in Allied bombing raids or had been threatened, extorted or attacked by French Resistance groups. Still others joined for less exalted reasons, such as petty criminals who were told their crimes would be overlooked if they joined the organization. Volunteers for the Milice were also exempt from being sent to Germany as forced labor.

History

By far the most prominent ''milicien'' to fall to the Resistance was Philippe Henriot, the Vichy regime's Minister of Information and Propaganda, who was known as "the French Goebbels." He and his wife were killed in their apartment in the Ministry of Information in the rue Solferino in the pre-dawn hours of June 28, 1944 by ''résistants'' dressed as ''miliciens.'' The Milice retaliated for these killings by murdering several well-known Anti-Nazi politicians and intellectuals, such as Victor Basch, as well as the prewar conservative leader Georges Mandel.

Confined initially to the former ''zone libre'' of France under the control of the Vichy regime (which moderated its actions and forbade some of its more radical aspirations), the radicalized Milice in January 1944 moved into what had been the ''zone occupée'' of France, including Paris. They established their headquarters in the old Communist Party headquarters at 44 rue Le Peletier as well as 61 rue Monceau, in a house formerly owned by the Menier family, makers of France's best-known chocolates. The Lycée Louis-Le-Grand was occupied as a barracks. An officer candidate school was established, likely with intentional irony, in the Auteuil synagogue.

Perhaps the largest and best-known operation by the Milice was its attempt in March 1944 to suppress the Resistance in the ''département'' of Haute-Savoie in the southeast of France near the Swiss border, the Battle of Glières. The efforts of the Milice proved insufficient, however, and German troops had to be called in to complete the operation. On Bastille Day (14 July) 1944, ''miliciens'' put down with great brutality a revolt among the prisoners at Paris' notorious Santé prison.

The precise legal standing of the Milice was never formalized. It operated parallel to, but separately from, the normal (Vichy) French police force. It was outside of (indeed, above) the law such as it existed at the time and its actions were never subject to judicial review or control.

In August 1944, rightly fearing he would be called to account for the operations of the Milice, Marshal Philippe Pétain made a clumsy effort to distance himself from the organization by writing a harsh letter rebuking Darnand for the organization's "excesses". Darnand sent back a sarcastic reply, telling Pétain that he ought to have voiced his objections sooner.

The actual strength of the organization is a matter of some debate, but was likely between 25,000-35,000 (including part-time members and non-combatants) by the time of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. It began melting away rapidly thereafter, however. Following the Liberation of France, those of its members who failed to complete their escape to Germany (where they were impressed into the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen-SS) or elsewhere abroad generally faced either being imprisoned for treason, executed following summary courts-martial, or were simply shot out of hand by vengeful ''résistants'' and enraged civilians.

An unknown number of ''miliciens'' managed to escape prison or execution, either by going underground or fleeing abroad. A tiny number were prosecuted later. The most notorious of these was Paul Touvier, the former commander of the Milice in Lyon. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the execution of seven Jews at Rillieux-la-Pape. He died in prison two years later.

In popular culture

French hard rock ensemble Trust had a hit named "Police Milice", where its frontman Bernard Bonvoisin compared modern day "cops" to the fascist lackeys of yore.

Officers of the Milice make appearances in Louis Malle's films ''Lacombe Lucien'' and ''Au revoir, les enfants''.

The 2003 drama ''The Statement'', directed by Norman Jewison and starring Michael Caine, was inspired by the story of Paul Touvier, a Vichy French police official, who was indicted after World War II for war crimes. The film was based on a 1996 novel by Brian Moore, with a screenplay written by Ronald Harwood. The film depicts members of the Milice participating in the arrest and execution of French Jews.

See also

References

Further reading

Category:Far-right politics in France Category:National security institutions Category:Political repression Category:Defunct law enforcement agencies of France Category:Military of Vichy France Category:French Nazi collaborators Category:Militias in Europe Category:1943 establishments Category:1944 disestablishments

Biography

When he was 19 he ran away from the army out of love for a girl. As a deserter, he was sentenced to three years prison on the island Goli otok, but as he told the military court they could not hold him for so long as he could survive, they raised his punishment to five and a half years. He survived as he was a good goalkeeper in the prison football team. Because of his nimbleness and speed, they called him "Black Panther". Soon he forced his way into the prison orchestra that played, among other things, jazz (mostly Louis Armstrong, Sinatra, and sometimes John Coltrane) with Spanish and Mexican pieces.

After Goli otok, his intensive music career began. He made his first record in 1964. He is believed to have composed 650 compositions.

In 2008, it was revealed that Bajramović was living impoverished in Niš with serious health complications and was no longer able to walk. The government of Serbia intervened to provide him with some funds, 10 000 euros. He died in Niš on June 8, 2008, from a heart attack.

Quotes

Andy Gill - The Independent, UK, February 15, 2002

References

External links

Category:1936 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:People from Niš Category:Romani musicians Category:Serbian Romani people

Goce Nikolovski or Гоце Николовски (1947 - 16 December 2006) was a famous Macedonian singer, known for his hit "Biser Balkanski" (Pearl Of The Balkans).

Nikolovski was born in Skopje, Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1947. His popularity peaked in 1990, when his song "Biser Balkanski" won 1st prize at the Folk Fest Valandovo 1990 Song Festival, an annual competition in which singers from the former Yugoslavia competed to find the best song.

The song became an instant classic in the Republic of Macedonia, even becoming somewhat of an anthem to a nation just starting off after its breakup from Yugoslavia. Nikolovski was also given the nickname "Biser Balkanski" following the song.

Throughout the 1990s, Nikolovski went on to release several other hits, but none would measure up to the success that he found with "Biser Balkanski". In 1992, Nikolovski took part in the Canberra '92 Festival, a concert similar to the annual Valandovo song festival, with the song "Od Majka Nema Pomila".

Nikolovski's popularity declined as time progressed, and by the turn of the century, has virtually disappeared from the public eye.

Death

Nikolovski was found with a wound to the head. His gun was found nearby, as well as a suicide note that was written to his family.

Police have ruled out any suspicious activity.

References

Category:1947 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Macedonian male singers Category:People from Skopje Category:Musicians who committed suicide Category:Suicides by firearm in the Republic of Macedonia