World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1861, France accepted the existence of the Principality of Monaco. In exchange for the majority of its territory, France took on the responsibility of the defense of Monaco's remaining territory. In 1922, Louis II became the Prince of Monaco. While he was known to be strongly pro-French and had seen military service with Philippe Pétain, Louis II kept Monaco out of the war largely because the majority of the population of his principality was of Italian descent and was pro-Italy. In Nov 1942, Italian troops invaded the small neutral country and set up a puppet administration. When Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, German troops entered Monaco's borders. Monaco was home to about 300 Jews prior to the German occupation, and it was hosting a unknown number of Jewish refugees; some of them were deported to concentration camps. French troops returned to Monaco in late 1944.