On November 8, 1989, the Berlin Wall was precipitously torn down, leading to a wave of joy that washed over all the countries in the Soviet bloc. The fossil Communist regimes fell one after the other. The question of a “purge” was raised quickly and emphatically in Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and the former East Germany – no longer after the manner of the Stalinist purges. It resembled more a stage and an important factor in the establishment of new democracies founded on respect for a government of laws.

By comparing the present with the past, and since the present sometimes induces us to reread history, this significant event is a good occasion to revisit the case of the purge in France, which followed the end of the German Occupation and accompanied the restoration of the Republic. The literature on this topic is certainly abundant and it would be wrong to claim that this event is not well known. Nevertheless, it would be useful to reconsider the case of the purge and the role it played in the immediate postwar period. One of the most intensely studied aspects, the statistical totals, is worth revaluing today, since historians have perhaps relied too heavily on Peter Novick's pioneer work, which appeared in 1968.

The present chapter, which originated from a comparative history of the purges in Europe at the end of World War II, has a triple purpose: to offer an internal critique of the statistical, especially legal sources for the purge; to restart research on the issue by pointing out certain important gaps; and finally, to encourage more extensive reflection on the social, cultural, and political phenomena that constitute a purge when it occurs during a democratic transition.