The battle for Madagascar was an important, but often overlooked battle during World War II. The island had fallen under control of the Nazi puppet government known as Vichy France. Under the colonial government, this island was going to be used not only to station Japanese vessels as a strategic advantage, but also for possible future concentration camps for Polish Jews, sent over by the Nazis. This was known as the Madagascar Plan. The main concern by the British was not just the issue of another concentration camp, but also to help the former prewar French government reclaim its colony. The British also wanted to use the positioning of the island, as a tool for invasion in order to later invade Burma, and take it back from the Japanese.
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First, it should be important to note that in “the past centuries Madagascar was sought as a prize by European nations, including England, both for its own wealth and also for its position on the trade routes to the east, but the attempts at colonization met with no lasting success.” One area that would become very important strategically was Diego Suarez. According to Karsten Friedrich, author of The Cruel Slaughter of Adolf Hitler, “ In the 1880s, the bay was coveted by France, which claimed it as a coaling station for steamships travelling to French possessions in the east; the colonization was formalized after the first Franco-Hova War when Queen Ranavalona III signed a treaty on 17 December 1885 giving France a protectorate over the bay and surrounding territory, as well as the islands of Nossi-Be and St. Marie de Madagascar. The colony’s administration was subsumed into that of Madagascar in …show more content…
This new regime, under Nazi control, put former French General Philippe Petain in charge and made him the puppet leader of the new government. As part of the Nazi control of France, the Vichy Government and the Nazis signed an armistice, which included multiple rules and regulations. These included the right of Germans to occupy France, the French armed forces was to be disbanded, flights over France were prohibited, and all former French colonies fell under the control of the Nazis. Many French Jews were rounded up as part of Hitler’s Final Solution in order to exterminate Jewish populations. Also, many of the French held colonies fell under Nazi control during this period, including
First, it should be important to note that in “the past centuries Madagascar was sought as a prize by European nations, including England, both for its own wealth and also for its position on the trade routes to the east, but the attempts at colonization met with no lasting success.” One area that would become very important strategically was Diego Suarez. According to Karsten Friedrich, author of The Cruel Slaughter of Adolf Hitler, “ In the 1880s, the bay was coveted by France, which claimed it as a coaling station for steamships travelling to French possessions in the east; the colonization was formalized after the first Franco-Hova War when Queen Ranavalona III signed a treaty on 17 December 1885 giving France a protectorate over the bay and surrounding territory, as well as the islands of Nossi-Be and St. Marie de Madagascar. The colony’s administration was subsumed into that of Madagascar in …show more content…
This new regime, under Nazi control, put former French General Philippe Petain in charge and made him the puppet leader of the new government. As part of the Nazi control of France, the Vichy Government and the Nazis signed an armistice, which included multiple rules and regulations. These included the right of Germans to occupy France, the French armed forces was to be disbanded, flights over France were prohibited, and all former French colonies fell under the control of the Nazis. Many French Jews were rounded up as part of Hitler’s Final Solution in order to exterminate Jewish populations. Also, many of the French held colonies fell under Nazi control during this period, including