In 1940, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain became prime minister of the Vichy government in France. Vichy, France, Marshal Philippe Petain (L) greets Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1940.

On this date in history: In 1883, the New York Giants had the first Ladies' Day baseball game. In 1909, President William Howard Taft, in a message to Congress, recommended the adoption of a ...

In 1940, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain became prime minister of the Vichy government in France. In 1963, the Soviet Union put the first woman into space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

In 1940, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain became prime minister of the Vichy government in France. In 1963, the Soviet Union put the first woman into space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

In Paris, leftists and Gaullists broke up a meeting of followers of former Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain who were campaigning for his release.

Marshal Henri Philippe Petain bleated foul blow and declared the hopes of France were with the defending forces. The German counter to the invasion did not come at once.

Capitulation of the French Government under Premier Henri Philippe Petain to Germany brings the threat of Nazi domination to the great bulwark of democracy in Western ...

My Jewish family was sheltered in a Christian village in Nazi-occupied France. Now I am a naturalized American citizen, but can I count on similar courage and good will from my neighbors?

Sarkozy is only the second former French leader to have the Legion of Honour medal taken away - the first was infamous Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain.

Sarkozy becomes the second former head of state to be stripped of the Legion of Honor - France's highest distinction - after Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain, who was convicted in 1945 for treason.