in Weird, WWII

Shocking Photos Depict How French Women Were Punished In France For Collaborating With Nazis

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At the end of World War II, French people accused some women for being collaborative with the occupying Germans were punished with humiliating acts, such as their heads where shaved in public and they were beaten. Some women were marched through the streets and shamed. The humiliating scenes often took place in front of jeering crowds as you can see in the photographs below.

A lot of committees, Resistance cells and French intellectuals protested against these public shaving because they were also punishing women, who did simple jobs like cooking, laundry, cleaning or other housemaid jobs for the Germans staying there. Some of these women had to pay the rent and food themselves to survive during wartime. Unfortunately, the resistance cells and committees only managed to keep these public shaving low in few regions of France.

#1 French female collaborator punished by having her head shaved to publicly mark her, 1944.

French female collaborator punished by having her head shaved to publicly mark her, 1944.

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#2 Civilians and members of the French resistance lead a female collaborator through the streets of Rennes after her head was shaven and covered with iodine. August 06, 1944.

Civilians and members of the French resistance lead a female collaborator through the streets of Rennes after her head was shaven and covered with iodine. August 06, 1944.

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#3 Two women, partially stripped, their heads shaved and with swastikas painted on their faces, are marched barefoot down the streets of Paris, to shame and humiliate them for collaborating with the Germans during the Second World War. August 27, 1944.

Two women, partially stripped, their heads shaved and with swastikas painted on their faces, are marched barefoot down the streets of Paris, to shame and humiliate them for collaborating with the Germans during the Second World War. August 27, 1944.

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#4 A sobbing French woman with a swastika smeared on her face is paraded through the streets with civilians and a soldier.

A sobbing French woman with a swastika smeared on her face is paraded through the streets with civilians and a soldier.

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#5 A French woman collaborator and her baby, whose father is German, tries to return to her home followed by a throng of taunting townspeople after having her head shaven following the capture of Chartres by the Allies, August 1944. It appears that she is passing some women who suffered a similar fate.

A French woman collaborator and her baby, whose father is German, tries to return to her home followed by a throng of taunting townspeople after having her head shaven following the capture of Chartres by the Allies, August 1944. It appears that she is passing some women who suffered a similar fate.

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#6 Two French patriots restrain a woman while another crops her hair after she has been accused of collaborating with the Germans during the occupation. January 01, 1945.

Two French patriots restrain a woman while another crops her hair after she has been accused of collaborating with the Germans during the occupation. January 01, 1945.

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#7 A group of Frenchwomen, who had been accused of collaborating with the Germans, stripped down to their underwear, some with heads shaved, as part of their public humiliation.

A group of Frenchwomen, who had been accused of collaborating with the Germans, stripped down to their underwear, some with heads shaved, as part of their public humiliation.

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#8 Throughout France, from 1943 to the beginning of 1946, about 20,000 women of all ages and all professions who were accused of having collaborated with the occupying Germans had their heads shaved.

Throughout France, from 1943 to the beginning of 1946, about 20,000 women of all ages and all professions who were accused of having collaborated with the occupying Germans had their heads shaved.

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#9 A French woman with a bloody face is forced to look at the camera while French soldiers do nothing.

A French woman with a bloody face is forced to look at the camera while French soldiers do nothing.

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#10 A young woman has her hair cropped by French patriots who accuse her of collaborating with the Germans during the occupation. January 01, 1945.

A young woman has her hair cropped by French patriots who accuse her of collaborating with the Germans during the occupation. January 01, 1945.

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#11 Soldiers cutting the hair of a collaborator on Bastille Day. August 12, 1944.

Soldiers cutting the hair of a collaborator on Bastille Day. August 12, 1944.

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#12 A Frenchwoman collaborator and her baby with her mother followed by a throng of taunting townspeople in August 1944.

A Frenchwoman collaborator and her baby with her mother followed by a throng of taunting townspeople in August 1944.

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#13 A woman who collaborated with the Nazis has her hair cut as a sign of public disgust.

A woman who collaborated with the Nazis has her hair cut as a sign of public disgust.

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#14 A woman, with her baby whose father is German, and her mother are jeered and humiliated by crowds in Chartres after having their heads shaved as punishment for collaborating with the German troops, 1944.

A woman, with her baby whose father is German, and her mother are jeered and humiliated by crowds in Chartres after having their heads shaved as punishment for collaborating with the German troops, 1944.

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#15 A crowd jeers as a woman’s head is shaved during the liberation of Marseilles.

A crowd jeers as a woman’s head is shaved during the liberation of Marseilles.

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#16 A French woman accused of sleeping with Germans is attacked and her head has been shaved by her neighbors in a village near Marseilles.

A French woman accused of sleeping with Germans is attacked and her head has been shaved by her neighbors in a village near Marseilles.

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#17 Women with their tops torn off and swastikas scrawled with tar on their faces are paraded through the streets of Paris. Many other women were dragged through the streets naked.

Women with their tops torn off and swastikas scrawled with tar on their faces are paraded through the streets of Paris. Many other women were dragged through the streets naked.

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#18 A teenager is brutalized by a mob incited by communist ‘partisans’. Note she is being ‘painted’ by a French ‘artist’ at the bottom of the screen.

A teenager is brutalized by a mob incited by communist 'partisans'. Note she is being 'painted' by a French 'artist' at the bottom of the screen.

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#19 These two abused girls are little more than children!

These two abused girls are little more than children!

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#20 Brutalized women, their heads shaved, are loaded into the back of a truck. The ‘man’ behind them is holding a sign that says ‘collaborators’, but who is the real collaborator?

Brutalized women, their heads shaved, are loaded into the back of a truck. The 'man' behind them is holding a sign that says 'collaborators', but who is the real collaborator?

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251 Comments

  5. They were collaborating? Fine, I have no sympathy for Nazis. Is this article trying to get me to feel sympathy for Nazis?

    No, they often weren’t actually collaborating, they were often coerced. These things were wrongly conflated.

    Then the headline shouldn’t try and conflate the things, either. Again: Is it trying to get me to feel sympathy for Nazis?

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