to "purge" all organs of state and civil society of those suspected of, or guilty of collaboration with the German occupiers. Escaping French authorities in 1946, Count de Bernonville sailed to New York City. According to Kevin Henley, professor of history at Collège de Maisonneuve in Montreal, the politically powerful Roman Catholic priest Lionel Groulx helped Count de Bernonville get into Quebec and established a new identity as Jacques Benoit. He was welcomed by a significant number of the Quebec nationalist elite, but in 1948, Canadian immigration authorities discovered his identity and instituted deportation proceedings. In an attempt to keep Count de Bernonville in Canada, 143 Quebec notables signed a 1950 petition defending him and stating that he should be allowed to stay. Signers included the secretary general of the Université de Montréal; Camillien Houde, mayor of the city of Montreal; plus Camille Laurin and Denis Lazure, two future cabinet ministers in the Parti Québécois government. Faced with a deportation order, Count de Bernonville fled again, going to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1954 the French government was advised of his location but, since Brazil had no extradition treaty with France, he escaped punishment. The Supreme Court of Brazil refused to extradite him in October 1957. Count de Bernonville remained in Brazil. He died in 1972, murdered by the son of his servant. Further reading The Bernonville Affair: A French War Criminal in Quebec After World War II – Yves Lavertu (1995) original French edition: L'affaire Bernonville: Le Québec face à Pétain et à la Collaboration (1948-1951) (1994). Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946-1956 - Howard Margolian (2000) See also Collaborationism Pursuit of Nazi collaborators References 1897 births 1972 deaths Counts of France Deaths from asphyxiation French collaborators with Nazi Germany French emigrants to Quebec French emigrants to Brazil French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II French nobility French people convicted of war crimes French people murdered abroad French police officers convicted of murder French prisoners sentenced to death Holocaust perpetrators in France Police officers from Paris People murdered in Brazil People sentenced to death in absentia Prisoners sentenced to death by France