PETAIN NOT HERO, HERMANNS ASSERTS

"Even in the last war, Marshal Petain was a great pessimist," stated William Hermanns, in a Current Events talk at New Lecture Hall yesterday afternoon. To illustrate his point, Hermanns read passages from books by Clemenceau and Foch which showed that Petain lacked self-confidence.

In 1940, Hermanns declared, Petain surrendered believing that French resistance was hopeless, and certain that England would immediately follow suit. In all his actions, he was backed trustfully by the people of France, blinded by the legend of his World War I prowess.

Hermanns placed some blame for the lack of insurrection against German domination in France upon the United States. He stated that if the United States had recognized De Gaulle, the people of France might have taken heart. "The Nazi Gestapo would not have had been able to become entrenched in time," he stated.