As the Allied soldiers rampaged throughout occupied France in the aftermath of the Normandy landings, they came across a rather disturbing and shocking public spectacle which horrified them. In front of thousands of local people, groups of women were dragged by the French Resistance to public squares and they then had their hair cut off and were forcibly shaved.

The treatment was rough and hurt many of the women physically, too. And it also left them scarred for the rest of their lives. These women were accused of being traitors and having betrayed their nations. And with this, they were suspected of the crime of horizontal collaboration, having slept with the German soldiers and the enemy of the French.

The public punishment known as the ugly carnival was harrowing. And Allied soldiers who had witnessed death every day since landing in France were even sickened by the treatment of the women. But why did this happen? And why specifically were French women shaved? The punishment of head shaving was one which dated back to the medieval times in side of Europe.

 It was done to bring shame to people who had let down their communities. And it was also something which was targeted heavily upon women to bring them a significant degree of shame and torment. It was a revenge action, cutting the hair of a woman who had let their country down. And it was aimed at restricting the identity of the woman and just branding them as a traitor.

Along with the head shaving, some unfortunate women accused of sleeping with German soldiers during World War II and those who occupied the country were feathered and tarred. And many also had their bodies covered in Nazi symbols such as the swastika. The humiliation ritual was performed mostly by the French Resistance, those who had fought alongside the Allies to liberate their towns and cities.

There were many French people who were accused of collaboration with the German occupiers and also the collaborationist Vichy regime and many would find themselves shot by the French resistance firing squads. You might think that cutting the hair of these women was very little punishment compared to death, but as mentioned, many women were greatly affected by their treatment for the rest of their lives.

Much of this took place during the time known as the wild purge in which France had become rather lawless as the French government fought to take control of the nation. But the women, as mentioned, were mostly accused of sleeping with the German soldiers. Many of these women had actually fully consensual relationships with these men and some of them even genuinely supported Germany politically.

Some women fell in love with their occupiers, but others formed relationships out of survival instincts during wartime shortages. They realized that possibly their best chance of survival came if they tried to have a German boyfriend who could then share food with them. They may have also viewed these men as exotic, but there were some other women who had committed no crime at all.

One example was a female teacher who was forced to put up German soldiers in her home. She was then subjected to the ugly carnival being linked to being a collaborator and women who just spoke to German soldiers were later punished as were those who worked for the German authorities and also those who had children who been fathered by the Germans.

The ugly carnival was worse than just head shaving though. It represented an attack upon the dignity and beauty of the women and removing their hair made them a visible symbol of shame. The punishment permanently marked women as traitors in their local communities. They were forced to walk through the streets while crowds shouted insults, spat at them or threw objects.

 Some women inside of Paris were so badly injured that they were actually killed. The very public nature of the punishment was important. It allowed communities to display revenge after years of humiliation under German occupation. France’s big defeat in 1940 had deeply humiliated the country. During the occupation, people experienced fear, food shortages, arrests, executions, deportations, and constant German control.

When liberation came, many people wanted immediate revenge against those seen as collaborators. Women accused of relationships with Germans became easy or highly visible targets. And like many political or economic collaborators, they were often very vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. The punishment became emotional release for communities that had endured years of anger or frustration.

Some resistance groups carried out head shavings themselves. For resistance fighters, the punishments could serve as demonstrations of patriotism and authority after liberation. Public punishment also allowed resistance members to show that they had opposed the Germans during the occupation. In many towns, shaving ceremonies became symbolic acts meant to restore French honor and national pride, and the tricolor flag was often seen flying high at these ceremonies.

However, not all of the punishments were officially organized. Many were just spontaneous acts carried out by local crowds, and some women who just passed by were caught up in this. Historians frequently point out though that the punishments were heavily gendered. Men who collaborated politically, economically, or administratively with the Germans sometimes escaped public humiliation, especially if they had money or influence.

Women accused of sexual collaboration, however, were often targeted publicly and violently. Their bodies became symbolic representations of France itself. Many historians also argue that these punishments reflected wider attitudes about women and national honor. In this sense, the head shavings were not just about collaboration.

 They were also about controlling and punishing female sexuality. As mentioned, not every woman punished had genuinely collaborated. In the confusion following liberation, just rumors, jealousy, personal grudges, and revenge sometimes led to accusations. Some were denounced by neighbors or former partners.

 Others were targeted because they worked in places frequented by Germans like bars, or simply because, like we said, they’d been seen speaking to occupation troops, maybe even asking for help. Many women received no proper trial before being publicly humiliated. Things often became messy, and women were then haunted for the rest of their lives when they hadn’t actually done anything.

Photographs of shaved women became some of the most famous images of liberated France. Photographers such as Robert Capa captured scenes of women being marched through cities surrounded by crowds. One particular famous image shows a shaved woman carrying a baby fathered by a German soldier, while local people, even children, mock her.

These photographs became lasting symbols of both liberation and revenge. It was also distressing for battle-hardened soldiers who did witness this. One Allied soldier said, I quote, “I watched an open lorry drive past to the accompaniment of booze and catcalls from the French people with a dozen miserable women in the back, every hair on their heads shaved off.

 They were in tears, hanging their heads in shame.” While disgusted by this cruelty, I reflected that we British had not known invasion or occupation for some 900 years, so we were not the best judges. Another reported the French were rounding up collaborators, cutting their hair off and burning it in huge piles, which one could smell miles away.

Also, women collaborators were forced to run the gauntlet and were really beaten. Historians estimate that around 20,000 women may have had their heads shaved in post-liberation France. Today, many scholars view the punishments as a mixture of revenge, political theater, mob justice, sexism, and collective anger after years of occupation.

While some women had genuinely collaborated with the German occupiers, others were punished unfairly or without evidence. The head shavings remain one of the most controversial and disturbing symbols of the liberation of France after the Second World War. It was a rather wild and lawless time, and France, despite fighting for its liberation, was also in the midst of a civil war as the resistance fought against the collaborating Milice.

These actions also helped make the resistance seem much more fearsome and notorious. Thanks for watching. If you did find this video interesting, maybe click subscribe. Once again, thank you for giving me your time to watch one of these videos.