October 15 - Pierre Laval is Executed

This Day in History: 15 October 2020

 

15 October 1945

 

75 years ago, today, the leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, Pierre Laval, was executed by the firing squad for treason against France. Laval had originally been a deputy and senator of pacifist tendencies but shifted to the right in in the 1930s when he was acting as minister of foreign affairs. He had delayed the Soviet-Franco pact of 1935 due to his anti-communist views and wanted to align France instead with Fascist Italy. In 1940, with the German invasion, he used his influence to force an armistice. In the new Vichy state, Laval was dismissed as the minister of state after negotiating privately with Germany.

 

By 1942, Laval won the trust of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. As the premier of Vichy France, Laval collaborated with the Nazi programs of oppression and genocide, transforming into Hitler's puppet. After France was liberated by the Allies, he was forced to flee east for German protection. Once Germany was defeated in May 1945, he fled to many countries but finally surrendered to American authorities in late July. Laval was convicted of treason by the High Court of Justice and condemned to death. He attempted suicide by poison but was nursed back to health for his execution.

 

Want to find out more about Pierre Laval? Click here for more information, or here for a video about his execution.

The Duke of Northumberland

John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, was executed for treason on Tower Hill on August 22nd 1553.  His crime?  Backing the wrong candidate for the throne, Lady Jane Grey.  History has portrayed him as a scheming politician out for himself, but is this really what we should remember or did he achieve anything of note as effective ruler of England under the minority of Edward VI?  What's  your view?

The Most Famous Impostor

A family marches down to the basement of a grand house with dread on their faces. In this basement, a man, his wife and their five children (four daughters and one son) were shot along with their servants. In case you have not guessed by now, I am referring to the execution of the Romanov family. On the 17th July 1918, Tsar Nicolas II, Tsarina Alexandra and their children: Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna, Alexei Nikolaevich and Anastasia Nikolaevna were shot by communist revolutionaries.

However, almost five years after this tragic event, there was a ray of light through the clouds. A woman, under the name of Anna Anderson, revealed herself as the daughter of the Tsar- Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Alas, this was not actually the case, after relatively recent research and discoveries, Anna Anderson was uncovered as a fake- the most famous impostor.

Anna Anderson, born on the 16 December 1896 under the name Franziska Schanzkowska, was a mentally ill Polish factory worker. After a suicide attempt in the 1920, she was put in an asylum in Berlin where she refused to give her name. Then, during March 1922, it was claimed in the press that Anderson was the Duchess of Russia, Anastasia. Although this was contested by the majority of Anastasia’s family, Anna Anderson gained much support and spent the rest of her life moving between Germany and the USA staying in many nursing homes and asylums. She married a professor of history from Virginia, called Jack Manahan during 1968. Then, Anna Anderson stayed in the America until 1984 when she died of pneumonia.

It was only in 2007 that it was confirmed that all four daughters of Tsar Nicolas II had been shot on the 17th July 1918. While the bodies of the Tsar, Tsarina and three of the daughters were found in 1991 and had their identities certified, the bodies of Alexei and the final daughter were found in 2007 thus ruling out all possibility of Anna Anderson being the Duchess of Russia.

Thus, the trickery of Anna Anderson was discovered and finally put to rest after many decades of speculation and uncertainty.

By JG