French women suspected of having links to Germans had their hair publicly cut off

Between 1943 and 1946, more than 20,000 women from 15 to 60 years old in France were accused of collaborating with the German occupiers and were subjected to public humiliation. In the L'épuration sauvage campaign, 5,000 women were shot for their association with the Germans. Another 18,500 were deemed "nationally undeserving" and received prison sentences ranging from six months to a year. The trial was preceded by spontaneous civil executions in many French cities. Women suspected of having ties to the Germans were rounded up in the streets and squares and had their hair publicly cut off. Some were branded on the forehead.