Joseph Darnand

Joseph Darnand
Darnand c. 1943–1944
Born	(1897-03-19)19 March 1897 Coligny, Ain, Rhône-Alpes, French Third Republic
Died	10 October 1945(1945-10-10) (aged 48) Fort de Châtillon, Paris, French Provisional Government
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Buried	Batignolles Cemetery, Paris
Allegiance	France (1916–1940)  Vichy France (1940–1944)  Nazi Germany (1943–1945)
Service / branch	Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1916–1918 1919–1921 1939–1945
Rank	SS-Sturmbannführer (Major)
Battles / wars	World War I Franco-Turkish War World War II

Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a French far-right political figure, Nazi collaborator and convicted war criminal during the Second World War. A decorated veteran of the First World War and the Battle of France in 1940, he later pledged allegiance to Nazi Germany, joining the Waffen-SS on 8 August 1943.

Darnand was the de facto leader of the Milice française, a fascist paramilitary organisation established under the Vichy regime to combat the French Resistance, persecute Jews, and enforce forced labour drafts. On 1 January 1944, at the request of the German authorities, he was appointed Secretary General for Law and Order, before becoming Secretary of State for the Interior on 14 June 1944.

Following the liberation of France, he was arrested, tried for treason, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad on 10 October 1945.