How do governments commemorate salient national figures with contested reputations? The case of Marshal Philippe Pétain, whose fame followed World War I (WWI), but was later stigmatized for having led the Nazi-affiliated Vichy regime during World War II (WWII), suggests that political leaders consider the interests of competing groups. In the case of Pétain, these include veterans’ organizations, Jewish heritage groups, leftists, and, eventually, the rightist National Front. State leaders attempt to reconcile these pressures in the hope of avoiding politically damaging conflicts. Successful commemorations reinforce the legitimacy of the State as the guardian of symbolic compatibility between visions of history and morality. Recognizing memorialization as political process, we describe how Presidents of France attempt to distinguish an honorable Pétain from a dishonorable one. We describe four strategies by which states address difficult reputations: erasing, selecting, reconciling, and differentiating. Competing groups may create ambiguous meanings, attacking the State, while keeping distant from those with difficult reputations.

政府如何纪念声誉卓著的重要民族人物？菲利普·佩坦元帅（PhilipsPétain）的案例在第一次世界大战（WWI）后成名，但后来因在第二次世界大战（WWII）期间领导纳粹所属的维希政权而受到侮辱，这表明政治领导人考虑了竞争集团的利益。以佩坦为例，这些组织包括退伍军人组织，犹太文化团体，左翼分子，以及最终的右翼民族阵线。各国领导人试图调和这些压力，以期避免造成政治破坏性的冲突。成功的纪念活动增强了国家作为历史和道德观念象征性兼容的守护者的合法性。认识到纪念是政治进程，我们描述了法国总统如何试图将光荣的佩丹与不光彩的佩丹区分开来。我们描述了州解决困难声誉所采用的四种策略：擦除，选择，调和和差异化。竞争集团可能会产生含混不清的含义，攻击国家，同时与声誉不佳的人保持距离。