FRANCE: Toward Twilight

A motorcade of eight cars crossed the Swiss frontier from the collapsing Third Reich. A very old Frenchman, wearing a black coat and a grey fedora, was the chief passenger. Beside him sat his worried wife. "Don't overdo it, Philippe!" she said. "Don't overdo it!" When a Swiss officer shook his bony hand, the old man's eyes watered. When Swiss girls gave him flowers and candy, his eyes watered again. His wife fretted: "Don't overdo it, Philippe!"

Henri Philippe Petain, Hero of Verdun, Marshal of France and Chief of State of Vichyfrance, was...

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