Philippe Pétain had quite a dichotomous reputation, going from one of France's military heroes to one of its most villainous personalities. A hero of World War I known as the “Savior of Verdun,” Pétain gradually and reluctantly assumed more powerful roles in the French government. As France's secretary of state, he urged appeasement of Germany and later signed the armistice that handed over control of much of the country to the Germans.

During the rest of the war, Pétain was the head of the Vichy government and provided much food, land, and war materiel to the Axis cause. His willingness to help the Nazi cause waned as the war went on, and he eventually lost his dictatorial powers as the Germans assumed greater control. Pétain was vilified for his actions by Charles de Gaulle and other leaders of the Free French.

After the war, Pétain was seized and named a traitor to his people. He was tried and convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death; De Gaulle commuted his sentence to life imprisonment because of Pétain's age, which was eighty-nine. He died in prison in 1951.