Maurice Papon was born on 3 September 1910 in Seine-et-Marne, France.
He was appointed as General Secretary for the prefecture of Gironde on 1 May 1942. The “Office for Jewish Questions” was among his responsibilities. He carried out this function until August 1944, when he was transferred to the French Home Office.
Ten convoys left Bordeaux for Drancy between June 1942 and August 1944. They were composed of Jewish people who would later be deported to Auschwitz. Some of these convoys were the result of mass arrests among the Jewish population, others were made up of people who had already been in detention in the camp of Merignac for offences such as crossing the demarcation line between occupied and free territory.
Papon’s contributions to the acts for which he was indicted occurred between 20 June 1942 and 16 May 1944. They concerned signatures on deportation orders. He regularly communicated with the SIPO (security police) when Jews, who had broken German laws, arrived at the camp of Merignac. The Trial Chamber of the Bordeaux Appeal Court stated in its decision rendered on 18 September 1996 that there were sufficient evidence against Maurice Papon of having committed the following acts between July 1942 and 13 May 1944 as crimes against humanity (cf. decision of 18 September 1996, under Links).
1)Complicity in arbitrary arrests by facilitating the operations necessary to do so. Papon knowingly provided help and assistance to the perpetrators of these crimes through his instructions or actions.
2) His instructions and personal involvement was also directed at minors of 15 years of age.
3) Complicity in illegal confinement . Papon knowingly provided the help and assistance necessary to do so. Such detentions often lasted more than one month.
4) These illegal confinements also concerned minors of 15 years.
5) Complicity in the attempt at illegal arrest of Michel Slitinsky on 20 October 1942 by providing the necessary help and assistance to do so.
6) Finally, complicity in premeditated murder by providing help and assistance necessary to the perpetrators to carry out these crimes.
These arbitrary arrests and illegal confinements inflicted upon adults and minors of 15 years, the attempted murder of Michel Slitinsky and other premeditated murders were all inhumane acts and persecutions committed as a part of a widespread or systematic attack carried out in the name of a State which practised a policy of ideological hegemony directed against a group of people chosen because of their belonging to a racial or religious group, and therefore amounted to crimes against humanity (cf. part 7 of the decision of 18. September 1996).
Legal action was first taken against Maurice Papon on 8 December 1981 in the name of a family of deportees who had died in Auschwitz.
