During World War 2, in which country did the organisation known as the Milice operate?

The Milice was a paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy French regime, with German aid, to help fight against the French Resistance during World War 2. It was first deployed in unoccupied (Vichy) France but was later used in German-occupied France where it supported the Nazi government in Paris. The Milice was the Vichy régime's most extreme manifestation of fascism.

Milice members frequently used torture to extract information or confessions from those whom they interrogated. The French Resistance considered the Milice more dangerous than the Gestapo or SS because its staff were native Frenchmen who understood local dialects fluently, had extensive knowledge of the towns and countryside, and knew local people and informants. Early Milice volunteers included members of France's pre-war far-right parties. In addition to ideology, incentives for joining the Milice included employment, regular pay and rations. Some joined because members of their families had been killed or injured in Allied bombing raids or had been threatened by French Resistance groups.

The power of the Milice collapsed after the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944. Milice members knew that they could not openly stay in France: many fled to Franco’s Spain or to Nazi Germany where they joined the Waffen-SS. Those who stayed in France and were caught were given short shrift – many had the most basic of trials before being hanged or shot.