Well, when communists came to my country they organized a special jury called People's court. They sentenced to death almost 3000 people, most of them not collaborationists.
People's court is traditionally regarded as unnecessary cruel, even more when compared to other European courts that were established after the war.
Today I've watched an interview of one of the ex-communist high personas. He said the France murdered more than 20 000 people in its courts. Norway — 30 000, and so on, and so on.
I've never heard of such numbers nor done by Paris, neither by Oslo. Since communists here are unsactionated when speculating and changing history, I highly doubt that any of this is true.
But it is would be really interesting for me to have some more detailed information on how courts after the war dealt with death sentences for political reasons.
Thank you in advance.
Concerning France :
Just after the liberation of France, the country went through what we call l’Épuration (the Purification). This event is separated in two phases :
1- the wild purification (June 1944-October 1944) Before the installation of proper courts, people who collaborated (or just suspected) with the Nazis or Vichy (the French government collaborating with the Nazis), were shot, beaten to death, hanged without a proper trial. They were either killed by resistant, some acting as real war leader in their areas before a government representative would take office there, or they were killed by the crowd, a group of citizens. It’s difficult to know exactly how many collaborationists were killed during this wild purification, three studies (two from the Minister of Domestic Affairs and one from the Historian Institute of Present Time) claim around 10 000 victims of wild purification. The historian Robert Aron claim that it’s between 30 000 and 40 000, but his study is very controversial.
Just another point before going through the other part of the purification : Women and the purification. Women accused of having a relationship with a German soldier or even a child with them were severely mistreated. Humiliated, shaved and beaten by crowds. These women were not necessarily collaborating, most of them were just in love with a German, some were already living with a German and refused to leave their husband when the war broke out, some were just prostitute doing their job, some had to work for a German to survive and earn a bit of money. Around 20 000 women were victims of this treatment.
2- the second phase, the legal purification (From October 1944) : Seeing all the troubles that the wild purification led to, the French government rapidly took in charge the situation. Special courts are created to host collaborationists trials. First, every collaborationists or people suspected to have collaborated are interned in prisons or camps, mainly the ones used to intern Jews or resistants during the war. They will stay in these camps or prisons until the end of the war (the legal purification started in October 1944, prior to the end of the war in May 1945). The legal purification aims at anyone who has been collaborating, having totalitarian ideas, supporting Vichy or the Nazis. This will exclude them from certain profession, especially in the administration.
The legal purification is separated in three different courts : The High Court of Justice to judge politicians, military officers and everyone having a high rank in the country administration or military. The head of state of Vichy, Philippe Petain will be judge by this court for exemple. The court will see the trial of a total of 108 collaborationists. 8 of them were already dead, 3 will be released, 42 will be found not-guilty, 3 executed, 10 executed in absentia, 8 will be sent to forced labour, 14 will be sent to prison, 8 will lose their right to vote, be excluded from public jobs and direction of in companies (this is called la dégradation nationale)
The Court of Justice will judge collaborationists having committed crimes. On 55 331 people judged, 6 724 will be released, 767 will be executed, 3 910 will be executed in absentia, 13 339 will be sent to forced labour, 24 927 will be sent to prison and 3 578 will be having the Degradation nationale penalty.
Finally the Civil Chambers will judge collaborationists not having committed crimes, mainly to sanction them of Degradation Nationale. On 69 282 people judged, 22 637 will be released, 14 701 will have the Degradation Nationale for life, 31 944 will have it for a certain time.