How did the Nazi bishop François Auvity get away with it so easily?

Why did Nazi Bishop François Auvity escape all punishment, both criminal and ecclesiastical, after the Liberation of France by the Allies, and how could his criminal role remain hushed up for EIGHTY long years ??

 

Since he does not appear here before your post I expect you have us at a disadvantage about his role(s). I did briefly look online and found very little, the latest being a LinkedIn post.

There are threads from memory on the post-war decisions not to proceed with suspected war criminals. IIRC there is a thread with a title similar to Collaborators and Resistance in France.

Perhaps you can enlighten us by providing links to reputable sources on him?

 

I knew nothing about the bishop. There’s a little bit on line; this short article for example: FRANCOIS AUVITY, THE NAZI BISHOP FROM GERMIGNY; and a Wikipedia entry, but in French and although I understand some French, it’s certainly not enough!
The Catholic church’s involvement with the Nazis has, as I understand it, been a source of considerable controversy, not least Pope Pius XII, but threading through the Vatican and its involvement in the ‘rat lines’, helping Nazis escape at the end of the war. That a French bishop got away with it doesn’t particularly surprise me - the tendrils of the Catholic Church reach far into the politics of many countries. I could start banging on about the perfidy of religious zealots of all models, their hypocrisy, etc, but I’ll avoid that!

 

Thank you very much for your answer, David. If I understand correctly, I posted in the wrong forum? Should I delete this thread and repost it elsewhere? Anyway, sure, I can provide you with quite a few links, but unfortunately, they're all in French. Reputable: here (by a French academic).

 

To sum it all up:

* Auvity used his position as a bishop to pressure his diocesans to report resistance fighters to the Kommandantur,
* Auvity used his position to force Catholics in his diocese to work as Hitler's slaves under the Compulsory Labor Service ("Service du Travail Obligatoire"),
* Auvity refused protection to the Jews of his diocese,
* Auvity encouraged the Gestapo to hunt down the resistance fighters,
* Auvity participated in the betrayal of the Parade resistance fighters who were massacred by the Wehrmacht,
* Auvity published a rag ("La Croix de la Lozère") that spoke of the Nazis as "ours" and the Allies as "the enemy",
* Auvity supported, encouraged, celebrated the creation and exactions of the Darnand Militia (la "Milice") which was made up of Gestapo auxiliaries.

 

How did he escape any sanction to enjoy a golden retirement in a villa in the French countryside, and endowed with a fat prebend allocated by Pius XII?? It's beyond me! No one ever held him accountable for his crimes. His criminal role was completely covered up for 80 years. Why?

 

I don’t think you’re in the wrong forum at all and I don’t get the impression that that is what David meant (but, excuse me, David, if I’ve misunderstood - and misrepresented your comment, David; I’m happy to be corrected!)

This is all very interesting. David did mention ‘reputable sources’. I can’t doubt the veracity of your statement, but - equally - I have no knowledge of this subject. Either way, I think the point is that, as accurate as your points may be (I really don’t know), what sources do you have? Where are you getting this information from? Like I say, I’m not doubting you, but I want to see some reputable source - as, I think, does David.
[EDIT: Sorry, I somehow missed the link you provide which gives the source (and that author does cite a number of references.]

 

For forum members who are interested in the matter, there is a similar thread (I assume from the thread creator Maquis). I find the answers interesting:
How did the Nazi bishop François Auvity get away with it so easily ?

 

So, same post on another forum, under a different alias. Interesting. I’m starting to wonder if Maquis is asking a rhetorical question, or on a crusade! Either way, the answers are interesting and - I think - sum up the position. Moreover, many collaborators ‘got away with it’ as did some out and out war criminals. Once such ‘criminals’ had got beyond the kangaroo courts, they’d be subject to a less reactionary legal system, presumably, with a requirement to present substantial evidence to convict. Much of what is listed here, at least, ‘encouraging’, ‘denying’, etc, while certainly not patriotic, does not necessarily amount to criminal traitorous acts does it? I am, to a degree, playing Devil’s Advcate, here, but my point is that, in a country keen to forget it’s relationship with the German occupiers, post-1945, perhaps it was a little unpalatable to go after Autivy and his ilk. Or, perhaps, what he did, amounts to no more criminal acts than many other authority figures in Vichy might have committed? Vichy was, essentially, neutral. Things do take on a different perspective, of course, after November 1942 when Vichy was occupied…or do they?

I’m not defending this guy, but I’m interested to know why Maquis is raising this one example.

In the conclusion to the article Maquis provides, the author says [Google Translate applied to the source document], ‘I have a hard time accepting the assertion that Auvity was a Nazi. That he acted very openly in the interests of the Nazi occupier is a fact which brooks no discussion. On the other hand, whether he was a Nazi himself, no. National Socialism, in fact, is a harsh doctrine that requires adherence, commitment, and risks. But Auvity was, positively, nothing. Just a regular bastard.’ He goes on to conclude, ‘We could also say, in other words, that Auvity is the “banality of evil”. However, as Hannah Arendt explained very well, the trivialization of evil is a necessary moment in the dialectic of evil which results in absolute evil. So it is good, even posthumously, to put Auvity on trial who voluntarily participated in this dialectic crushing human lives.’

I guess that’s what it’s about. I’m still interested to know why there’s the sudden interest in this clergyman after all these years.

 

Personally I don't mind this thread appearing here, but to be frank I have better things to read and ponder upon. The forum's focus is quite broad, though mainly British and Commonwealth. The man is dead.

 

Kew files on subject of above post, Hugh O'Flaherty, who was born on the 28th of February 1898, so Kew might dare to add information to the catalogue for file reference T 336/141/1 ( I've contacted Kew today )

WO 208/5451/84 War Office: Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence, and Directorate of Military Intelligence; Ministry of Defence, Defence Intelligence Staff : Files. AWARDS TO HELPERS OF BRITISH SERVICE PERSONNEL DURING THEIR ESCAPE AND EVASION. Awards to civilian helpers of British service personnel: Nos 238-828 (Described at item level). These... | Hugh J O'Flaherty. Date of birth: not specified. Place of birth: not specified. Nationality: Award... | Hugh J O'Flaherty. Date of birth: not specified. Place of birth: not specified. Nationality: Award or honour: CBE. | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 19/04/1945 19/04/1945 Former Reference Dep: M.I.9/19/BM/G.C.D 139, G.C.C 268

WO 208/5451/41 War Office: Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence, and Directorate of Military Intelligence; Ministry of Defence, Defence Intelligence Staff : Files. AWARDS TO HELPERS OF BRITISH SERVICE PERSONNEL DURING THEIR ESCAPE AND EVASION. Awards to civilian helpers of British service personnel: Nos 238-828 (Described at item level). These... | Hugh J O'Flaherty. Date of birth:. Place of birth: not specified. Nationality: Irish. Award or... | Hugh J O'Flaherty. Date of birth:. Place of birth: not specified. Nationality: Irish. Award or honour: C.B.E. | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 15/12/1944 15/12/1944 Former Reference Dep: M.I.9/19/BM/531

T 336/141/1 Treasury: Ceremonial Branch: Second World War Civil Defence Awards Files (GCD Series). Wartime Awards in Civil Defence: gazetted 24.4.1945. (Described at item level). | Treasury Case Number: Unspecified. Home Office Case Number: Unspecified. Forename: Right Reverend Monsignor Hugh J.... | Treasury Case Number: Unspecified. Home Office Case Number: Unspecified. Forename: Right Reverend Monsignor Hugh J. Surname: O'Flaherty. Age: Unspecified. Occupation: [Additional information regarding this case will be added to the catalogue when the case becomes over 100 years old. In cases when the date is not known, the latest date in the series (1946) will be used]. Award Granted: CBE. Grounds for Recommendation: [Additional information regarding this case will be added to the catalogue when the case becomes over 100 years old. In cases when the date is not known, the latest date in the series (1946) will be used]. | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/01/1945 31/12/1945