Darnand was notorious for his organization of the Milice, the militarized police force of the Vichy Regime. Darnand was a collaborator by conviction rather than through convenience. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Vichy’s connection with the Nazis, went to Germany after the liberation of France in 1944 and took office in the puppet Sigmaringen ‘French Government.’ At the end of the war he was repatriated, tried and shot for treason. His persecution of opponents of Vichy and the excesses of his hated Milice undoubtedly justified his execution, but he regarded himself quite genuinely as a patriot.