Book Review Petain, the Old Man of France, Reviewed by Vern Smith in the New York Worker PEOPLE'S BOOKSTORE @ LATEST PAMPHLETS ON CURRENT PROBLEMS ~ Os all of his 87 years, Petain has been one of the Third Repub- lie’s perfect minority by-products, an anti-Republican,” says the New Yorker’s Genet (Janet Flanner), in a pamphlet reprint of some of her articles under the general title: Petain, the Old Man. i of France. < The lady author is also one of Republican France’s minority by- products, an American Hoosier from Indianapolis who for 13 years convinced a rather sophisticated magazine public that she was one of the more Gallic type of French correspondents. @ PROGRESSIVE LITERATURE @ CHRISTMAS CARDS _ With a very neat turn of phrase and abundant knowledge of the facts, Miss Planner blisters M. Petain to a well-done French toast, all the time pouring around him the milk of human kind- ness and saying everything good that is possible to say about him. he trick is that if you are perfectly fair, and give Petain every benefit of every doubt, he emerges still a poseur, praised for vir- tues he never had, a Fascist, and inevitably eventually a traitor. 420 W. PENDER ST., VANCOUVER | It is important that the Americans know this because one of these days Petain, or those who were his accomplices and wish to shelter under his reputation as the “Hero of Verdun” will try Z i to say that Vichy was a patriotic trick, to fool the Germans. They: fe Meera eae neg ene ee pee = will be trying to fool the Americans and British, it is not likely DOMINION FURNITURE CHAIN they can hope to fool the French whose relatives Petain’s firing squads have executed. Petain’s whole life begins with the fact he was born in the Sec- ond Hmpire, of reactionary French kulak parentage. In the con- fusion after the defeat of France in 1871, he got into the “most privileged reactionary student body of the land,” that of the St. Cyxr Military Academy: “No one ever accused Petain of being brilliant,” said a military critic and it was not by any Napoleonic genius that Petain rose to the highest rank. He was 44 before he was a major, and already getting bald. After 36 years as an officer, Petain was still only a colonel. He had a good physique and simply outlived almost all of his rivals, thus becoming finally, by the aid of drugs that keep him awake at least during the forenoon, and by senior- ity a Marshal of France, and later the head of the “hotel govern- ment” of “old men at a health resort,” named, Vichy. But other old men did not betray France, and Petain showed in the last war which way he would go, if anyone had paid at- * tention. (But then the Democracies let Franco live, and went to Munich with Hitler, so perhaps it is no wonder they overlooked as dull a fascist as Petain). Petain indeed was commander at Verdun, but he did not say, “They shall not pass,’ Nivelle said that, and Nivelle was com- mander, supersedinge Petain, when the French won at Verdun. Petain opposed unified command—he always hated England. He sneered at Haig, one of the best Canadian generals. “There is a one who will be forced to capitulate in the open field within a fortnight, and we'll be lucky if we don’t have to do likewise.” That Was in March, 1918; in November, the Allies won the war. Petain was against the offensive that won; he was against every offen- sive, he was always for retreat. As Planner says, “He thought Victory was risky.” On June 4, five months before victory, Petain suggested aban- doning all northern France. Chesterfield Suites “Petain always has to be sustained and encouraged . . . has to be spurred,” Foch wrote of him in his history of the war. Petain argued to the British Chief of Staff that three. German divisions were as good as four French and many more British di- visions. “T suppose you think I can’t fight?” Petain snapped at Lloyd George once. “No,” said the British Prime Minister, “but I am certain that for some reason or other you won’t fight.” General Weygand watched the ceremony by which, after the war, Petain was made a Marshal, and said- “To think that we brought him here on the kicks we gave to his backside!” Special fame and pride have come to the DOMINION FURNITURE COMPANY for & the celebrated “Dominion Ff Chesterfield” — known from coast to coast as the finest chesiertield manufactured in Canada. Announcing Our 334 Between the wars Petain became friends with Franco, Goer- ing, and all reactionary Frenchmen. He began to write articles in Revue des Deux Mondes—pure fascism. He wanted more births, subjection of women, no more of this liberal education for children, smash the strikes, build a “militant youth movement” like the Hitler youth. He praised the Fascist Croix de Feu of Colonel Francois de la Rocque, because it would “preserve the family.” 33 years of skill stand behind every DOMINION suite — the name DOMINION is your complete guarantee. ITUR 3 Lhe “ World War II was too short, as far as France was concerned, for any military reputation to count—but Petain ought to get eredit for planning her defeat, for he was the man who arranged that France should not have much air force, or much tank force, ; or loyal officers in high places, or any other plan than the passive defense of the Maginot Line. As the last of the World War I gen- erals, Petain was in absolute command between the wars. The last part of the pamphlet is made up of Petain’s Fascist governmental decrees as the sick man of Vichy, and a seream-_- ingly funny account of the Riom trial, which disgusted the Nazis by turning out to be the trial of Petain himself, more than any- ee one else, though it was the intention to hang Blum, Gamelin and ; other “United Front?’ leaders for daring to “start the war against a Germany,” Old Man Petain balled up that one. Petain, when the Germans seemed to be winning, broadeast to the world that France must tie up with them, in fact he oe dered France to do so. : “It is I alone whom history will judge,” said Petain. Let us hope that after judgment comes execution. Ss