French people of World War II

Edouard_Daladier

Édouard Daladier (French: [edwaʁ daladje]; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II.
Daladier was born in Carpentras and began his political career before World War I. During the war, he fought on the Western Front and was decorated for his service. After the war, he became a leading figure in the Radical Party and Prime Minister in 1933 and 1934. Daladier was Minister of Defence from 1936 to 1940 and Prime Minister again in 1938. As head of government, he expanded the French welfare state in 1939.
Along with Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, Daladier signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which gave Nazi Germany control over the Sudetenland. After Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War, France's failure to aid Finland against the Soviet Union's invasion during the Winter War led to Daladier's resignation on 21 March 1940 and his replacement by Paul Reynaud. Daladier remained Minister of Defence until 19 May, when Reynaud took over the portfolio personally after the French defeat at Sedan.
After the Fall of France, Daladier was tried for treason by the Vichy government during the Riom Trial and imprisoned first in Fort du Portalet, then in Buchenwald concentration camp, and finally in Itter Castle. After the Battle of Castle Itter, Daladier resumed his political career as a member of the French Chamber of Deputies from 1946 to 1958. He died in Paris in 1970.

Jean_de_Beaumont

Count Jean Bonnin de la Bonninière de Beaumont (13 January 1904 – 12 June 2002), known as Jean de Beaumont, was a French businessman, politician, journalist and sport shooter who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Georges_Gorse

Georges Gorse (15 February 1915 – 17 March 2002) was a French politician and diplomat.
Born in Cahors, he qualified in 1939 as a professor at the University of Cairo. During World War II he joined Charles de Gaulle and the Free French as Director of Information, served on the Provisional Consultative Assembly.
After the war he was elected to represent the Vendée in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1951, and then the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO) from 1951 onwards. In 1957, Guy Mollet made him an Ambassador to Algeria, then he was elected as Gaullist representative which he held from 1967 to 1997.During the events of May 1968, having attended a private political meeting as Minister of Information, he broke the news to the French media of de Gaulle's now notorious statement "reform yes, but 'chienlit, no".Gorse held a wide range of positions of state:

Under-secretary of State for Muslim Affairs 1946 to 1947
Under-secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1949 to 1950
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1961 to 1962
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1962
Minister for Co-operation, 1962
Ambassador to Algeria, 1963 to 1967
Minister of Labour, 1973 to 1974
Mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt, 1971 to 1991

Marcel_Petiot

Marcel André Henri Félix Petiot (17 January 1897 – 25 May 1946) was a French medical doctor and serial killer. He was convicted of multiple murders after the discovery of the remains of 23 people in the basement of his home in Paris during World War II. He is suspected of the murder of about 60 to 200 victims during his lifetime, although the true number remains unknown.Despite showing early signs of mental illness and criminal behaviour, Petiot served in the First World War, graduated from an accelerated medical program, and began a dubious medical career that included performing abortions and supplying narcotics. His political career was marked by scandal, theft, and corruption. During the Second World War, Petiot operated a fraudulent escape network, offering safe passage to those wanted by the Germans for a fee, only to murder them, steal their valuables, and dispose of their bodies. In total, he was suspected of around 60 murders, but the remains of only 23 victims were found in the basement of his Paris home. Captured in 1944, Petiot claimed to be a Resistance hero who killed only the enemies of France. He was convicted of 26 counts of murder and was executed by guillotine in 1946. His life and heinous crimes have been depicted in film and comic books.