Liberation Revenge (1 Viewer)

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

Here’s a preview of some other new, upcoming figures that will follow on with the theme of “Normandy ‘44” that we’ve been showing you in recent days.

As the Allied Forces moved through Normandy liberating more towns and villages some of the local residents began to take the law into their own hands and mete out ‘summary justice’ to those they believed had collaborated with the hated ‘Boche’ in one way or another.

One particular aspect of this was the treatment of French women who had slept with the Germans or were suspected of informing and passing information to them.

Many of these unfortunate women and young girls had their hair shorn in public and then paraded through their towns and villages before having to flee into the countryside or find friends and relatives elsewhere who might shelter and protect them until the furore died down.

While this often cruel and arbitrary punishment caused a lot of pain and embarrassment virtually all of the female victims survived. It is estimated that at least 20,000 women suffered this public humiliation.

Male collaborators however faced a more lethal sentence... death! Thousands of Frenchmen who worked with the Germans or supplied them with information were shot by firing squad or executed by one or two gunmen. The death toll estimate for these Frenchmen was thought to be between 25,000 to 35,000, mostly members of the Vichy French Milice (militia).

Sincerely yours,
Andy

 

[wayne556517]

Great sets Andy will be getting these.

 

[villagehorse]

Can use all these civilians, but the guy with the sheers will be sabotaging some wiring or such, just my personal preference. Looking forward to getting started on this series. Appreciate the update. Robin.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Great scene Andy and must commend you for venturing into what some may feel is a 'touche' subject.

The true impact of German occupation on the civilian populations is often over-looked with much of the focus being centred around the holocaust.

I can't possible imagine the conditions civilians had to live under while occupied by the Germans, Italians and/or Japanese.

 

[arnhem44mad]

I see at least another 2 civilian figures there which are new!

Scott

 

[Horus]

This new series reminds me of the excellent BBC series "Secret Army" set in occupied Belgium !

Steve

 

[arnhem44mad]

I wish the FFI figures never had the French arm band as they could have been used for any resistance unit from any country without these. Holland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, even Germany had a resistance movement!

Scott

 

[Guest]

This new series reminds me of the excellent BBC series "Secret Army" set in occupied Belgium !

Steve

Me too, glad you put that and not Allo Allo.

 

[damian]

Well those ladies have always been very generous when it comes to bestowing their favours.

 

[King & Country]

I wish the FFI figures never had the French arm band as they could have been used for any resistance unit from any country without these. Holland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland, even Germany had a resistance movement!

Scott

Nothing to stop anyone painting over the FFI armband and then adding their own preference of national resistance movement.
My own preference is, of course, the FFI but feel free to make your own amendments.
Best wishes and ‘Bon Chance!’
Andy.

 

[arnhem44mad]

Nothing to stop anyone painting over the FFI armband and then adding their own preference of national resistance movement.
My own preference is, of course, the FFI but feel free to make your own amendments.
Best wishes and ‘Bon Chance!’
Andy.

Oe another option would be to sell them Arm handles and people could choose to adding they wish?

Scott

 

[Prodigal Son]

Hi Guys,

Here’s a preview of some other new, upcoming figures that will follow on with the theme of “Normandy ‘44” that we’ve been showing you in recent days.

As the Allied Forces moved through Normandy liberating more towns and villages some of the local residents began to take the law into their own hands and mete out ‘summary justice’ to those they believed had collaborated with the hated ‘Boche’ in one way or another.

One particular aspect of this was the treatment of French women who had slept with the Germans or were suspected of informing and passing information to them.

Many of these unfortunate women and young girls had their hair shorn in public and then paraded through their towns and villages before having to flee into the countryside or find friends and relatives elsewhere who might shelter and protect them until the furore died down.

While this often cruel and arbitrary punishment caused a lot of pain and embarrassment virtually all of the female victims survived. It is estimated that at least 20,000 women suffered this public humiliation.

Male collaborators however faced a more lethal sentence... death! Thousands of Frenchmen who worked with the Germans or supplied them with information were shot by firing squad or executed by one or two gunmen. The death toll estimate for these Frenchmen was thought to be between 25,000 to 35,000, mostly members of the Vichy French Milice (militia).

Sincerely yours,
Andy

View attachment 275107

View attachment 275108

Very effective and interesting looking sets these. Very impressed with recent announcements from King & Country.

 

[King & Country]

Oe another option would be to sell them Arm handles and people could choose to adding they wish?

Scott

What’s ‘Arm Handles’..?
ANDY.

 

[arnhem44mad]

What’s ‘Arm Handles’..?
ANDY.

Arm bands. Spelling mistake.

Scott

 

[King & Country]

Arm bands. Spelling mistake.

Scott

To be honest Scott, I kinda liked ‘Arm Handles’!
All the best,
Andy.

 

[arnhem44mad]

To be honest Scott, I kinda liked ‘Arm Handles’!
All the best,
Andy.

Or where we come from: Bingo Wings!

Scott

 

[Guest]

Interesting set of figures, certainly worth purchasing, I will be adding to my collection, as the resistance was one I thought was sorely missed, kudos for K & C adding to the previous Resistance fighters. These releases have a multitude of opportunities. The woman holding the baby reminds me of the scene in Band of Brothers when they are in Holland and she was thrown a rations pack. Think I would use them in this context.

The French called the women ‘Collabraeurs Horizons’ [Horizontal Collaborators].

The cutting of the hair has been said by sociologists and psychologists was a way of the men in the occupied countries getting the women back. The men felt emasculated as the invading force had taken their country and then their women, a female France or Denmark or Holland being ravaged by a male Germany. It was a constant reminder of their impotency against the might of the invader and they felt as a community cuckolded by their own women.

The number of women that had relations with German soldiers was higher than people think, Keith Lowe points out in his book that in Norway it was around 10% [in other places I have read as high as 20%] women between the age of 15 and 30 who had relationships with German soldiers. The overall numbers are in the hundreds of thousands, it is hard in today’s world to judge them, as there were many reasons why, some out of economic reasons, others for emotional or reasons of attraction and/or love, one thing that did come across was prostitutes were treated less harsh than other women. There was a poll in wartime Denmark where 51% of women found German men more attractive than Danish men.

The women had done nothing wrong legally and often argued that it was for love and love/sex was politicised, the communities knew they had to be punished. The cutting of the hair took away their femininity and it was a non-permanent act of violence that all could join in with sense of morality. Many were stripped naked [do not want that in a toy figure] and daubed with crosses, done in a very public manner in town squares to reclaim them as male property.

Many countries tried to prosecute the woman, but they had broken no law, in my research one of the women that stuck in my mind was French actress Arletty who was put in prison in 1945 for her relationship with a German Luftwaffe officer, at her trial she defended herself and has been quoted as saying "My Heart belongs to France, but my vagina is mine". However, I cannot confirm this, she was found guilt of treason. She carried on working and her final screen appearence was in the film The Longest Day.
The Longest Day scene: Jean a de longues moustaches - YouTube

This type of retribution was quite short lived, as the Allies realised that to function as a government social order had to be stable, particularly as they had not the manpower or time to manage the rear areas once the fighting had moved on.

The treatment of the offspring of the relationships was as we can imagine not great, for many decades and even up to the early 2000s. Denmark had around 6,000 children born, Holland has been quoted as high as 20,000, France close to 100,000, Norway around 10,000. In Norway the government offered the Australian government as many German fathered children for their adoption agency as they wanted. This was turned down, but only because of logistic reasons. A study in 2001 found that the majority of these children suffered throughout their lives, they were barred from certain universities, occupations and careers. Many were classed as mentally deficient, which went on their records and this affected them forever. With some being compensated in later life.

I cannot recommend more highly the Book Savage Continent – Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe. A very informative and interesting read which engages the reader about the end of the war, cover retribution, legacy and the unrest/civil wars after the end of WW2.

 

[Malhorne]

"My Heart belongs to France, but my vagina is mine" ahahah not exactly...
She saids : "Si mon cœur est français, mon cul, lui, est international !" (I'll let you translate).

And we called the women "Collaboratrices horizontales" in France.

But thank you, your message is very interesting and informative.

Interesting set of figures, certainly worth purchasing, I will be adding to my collection, as the resistance was one I thought was sorely missed, kudos for K & C adding to the previous Resistance fighters. These releases have a multitude of opportunities. The woman holding the baby reminds me of the scene in Band of Brothers when they are in Holland and she was thrown a rations pack. Think I would use them in this context.

The French called the women ‘Collabraeurs Horizons’ [Horizontal Collaborators].

The cutting of the hair has been said by sociologists and psychologists was a way of the men in the occupied countries getting the women back. The men felt emasculated as the invading force had taken their country and then their women, a female France or Denmark or Holland being ravaged by a male Germany. It was a constant reminder of their impotency against the might of the invader and they felt as a community cuckolded by their own women.

The number of women that had relations with German soldiers was higher than people think, Keith Lowe points out in his book that in Norway it was around 10% [in other places I have read as high as 20%] women between the age of 15 and 30 who had relationships with German soldiers. The overall numbers are in the hundreds of thousands, it is hard in today’s world to judge them, as there were many reasons why, some out of economic reasons, others for emotional or reasons of attraction and/or love, one thing that did come across was prostitutes were treated less harsh than other women. There was a poll in wartime Denmark where 51% of women found German men more attractive than Danish men.

The women had done nothing wrong legally and often argued that it was for love and love/sex was politicised, the communities knew they had to be punished. The cutting of the hair took away their femininity and it was a non-permanent act of violence that all could join in with sense of morality. Many were stripped naked [do not want that in a toy figure] and daubed with crosses, done in a very public manner in town squares to reclaim them as male property.

Many countries tried to prosecute the woman, but they had broken no law, in my research one of the women that stuck in my mind was French actress Arletty who was put in prison in 1945 for her relationship with a German Luftwaffe officer, at her trial she defended herself and has been quoted as saying "My Heart belongs to France, but my vagina is mine". However, I cannot confirm this, she was found guilt of treason. She carried on working and her final screen appearence was in the film The Longest Day.
The Longest Day scene: Jean a de longues moustaches - YouTube

This type of retribution was quite short lived, as the Allies realised that to function as a government social order had to be stable, particularly as they had not the manpower or time to manage the rear areas once the fighting had moved on.

The treatment of the offspring of the relationships was as we can imagine not great, for many decades and even up to the early 2000s. Denmark had around 6,000 children born, Holland has been quoted as high as 20,000, France close to 100,000, Norway around 10,000. In Norway the government offered the Australian government as many German fathered children for their adoption agency as they wanted. This was turned down, but only because of logistic reasons. A study in 2001 found that the majority of these children suffered throughout their lives, they were barred from certain universities, occupations and careers. Many were classed as mentally deficient, which went on their records and this affected them forever. With some being compensated in later life.

I cannot recommend more highly the Book Savage Continent – Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe. A very informative and interesting read which engages the reader about the end of the war, cover retribution, legacy and the unrest/civil wars after the end of WW2.

 

[Guest]

"My Heart belongs to France, but my vagina is mine" ahahah not exactly...
She saids : "Si mon cœur est français, mon cul, lui, est international !" (I'll let you translate).

And we called the women "Collaboratrices horizontales" in France.

But thank you, your message is very interesting and informative.

Thank you for reply, i could not confirm the quote i used, i have read it in a few text and she is quoted as saying it at her trial, but no official recording exists that i can find from the treason trial. Your quote i have seen, she said it in her memoirs, in an interview, about the wartime period, but i thought the quote i had seen, but not confirm, used at the trial was the most eye catching.

A French friend who worked at the Musee de la Cinematheque who is obsessed with French actresses from the 1930s to the 1970s sent me the information and also translated the 'Collaboratrices horizontales' incorrectly, i know when i ask him about it he will shug his shoulders and say 'pha'.
I think it was me, i just used a translation programme and sent it to him to confirm.

Thank you for the clarafication.

Recent interesting article which may interest you on the BBC website on Napoleon,

Napoleon's incendiary legacy divides France 200 years on - BBC News

 

[damian]

Personally I always thought it the height of hypocrisy for the French to take it out on those poor ladies of the demi monde.

They were just providing some brief moments of physical comfort to some lonely men.

A proud tradition in Parisian history.

There were far more sinister collaborators and enablers who got off scot free.