Sigmaringen enclave in the context of "Vichy government"

A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually plan to one day return to their native country and regain formal power. A government in exile differs from a rump state in the sense that the latter controls at least part of its remaining territory. For example, during World War I, nearly all of Belgium was occupied by Germany, but Belgium and its allies held on to a small slice in the country's west. A government in exile, in contrast, has lost all its territory. However, in practice, the distinction may be unclear; in the above example, the Belgian government at Sainte-Adresse was located in French territory and acted as a government in exile for most practical purposes. Governments-in-exile and associated organisations employ strategies such as investigative reporting and diaspora mobilisation to sustain political visibility, engage supporters, and address ethical and operational challenges.

Governments in exile tend to occur during wartime occupation or in the aftermath of a civil war, revolution, or military coup. For example, during German expansion and advance in World War II, some European governments sought refuge in the United Kingdom, rather than face destruction at the hands of Nazi Germany. On the other hand, the Provisional Government of Free India proclaimed by Subhas Chandra Bose sought to use support from the invading Japanese to gain control of the country from what it viewed as British occupiers, and in the final year of WWII, after Nazi Germany was driven out of France, it maintained the remnants of the Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government as a French government in exile at the Sigmaringen enclave.

Sigmaringen Castle (German: Schloss Sigmaringen) was the princely castle and seat of government for the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Situated in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, this castle dominates the skyline of the town of Sigmaringen. The castle was rebuilt following a fire in 1893, and only the towers of the earlier medieval fortress remain. Schloss Sigmaringen was a family estate of the Swabian Hohenzollern family, a cadet branch of the Hohenzollern family, from which the German Emperors and kings of Prussia came. During the closing months of World War II, Schloss Sigmaringen was briefly the seat of the Vichy French Government after France was liberated by the Allies. The castle and museums may be visited throughout the year, but only on guided tours. It is still owned by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, although they no longer reside there.

Marcel Déat (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl dea]; 7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing Neosocialists out of the SFIO in 1933. During the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, he founded the collaborationist National Popular Rally (RNP). In 1944, he became Minister of Labour and National Solidarity in Pierre Laval's government in Vichy, before escaping to the Sigmaringen enclave along with Vichy officials after the Allied landings in Normandy. Condemned in absentia for collaborationism, he died while still in hiding in Italy.