| 108. "All French politicians are corrupt." That's as silly as saying that all American politicians get graft. Some French politicians are corrupt. So are some American politicians. Incidentally, the German propaganda line for French politics was, "All French politicians are corrupt." The Germans wanted the French people to lose confidence in their leaders, in their government, and - most of all - in democracy itself. The Germans ran a gigantic smear campaign before the war, during the war, and during the occupation. The only French politicians of importance whom the Germans did not smear were - Petain and Laval. They, said the Nazis, were not corrupt. Odd, isn't it? |