During the night of 25 July 1941, assassins planted a time bomb in the bed of former French Interior Minister Marx Dormoy. The explosion on the morning of 26 July launched a two-year investigation that traced Dormoy's murder to the highest echelons of the Vichy regime. Dormoy, who had led a 1937 investigation into the "Cagoule," a violent ultra-right-wing terrorist organization, was the victim of a captivating revenge plot.
Based on the meticulous examination of thousands of documents, Assassination in Vichy tells the story of Dormoy's murder and of the investigation, led by courageous Police Superintendent Charles Chenevier, who persisted despite opposition from both Vichy and collaborationists in Paris. A book about France's deep political divisions, wartime choices, and post-war memory, Assassination in Vichy explores the impact of fascist extremism on France's history.
At the heart of this book lies the investigation of a true crime that was sensational in its day but overshadowed by the war. It is a microhistory that also tells a larger and more significant story about the development of far-right political movements, domestic terrorism, and the importance of courage.