France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944 - Hardcover

Jackson, Julian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198207069 ISBN 13: 9780198207061

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

This is the first comprehensive study of the German occupation of France between 1940 and 1944. The author examines the nature and extent of collaboration and resistance, different experiences of Occupation, the persecution of the Jews, intellectual and cultural life under Occupation, and the purge trials that followed. He concludes by tracing the legacy and memory of the Occupation since 1945. Taking in ordinary peoples' experiences, this volume uncovers the conflicting memories of occupation which ensure that even today France continues to debate the legacy of the Vichy years.

About this title

About the Author:

Julian Jackson is a Professor of History at the University of Wales, Swansea.

From Publishers Weekly:

eople from other Allied countries joke that, according to the French, every one of them participated in the resistance to German occupation during WWII. Jackson, a professor of history at the University of Wales-Swansea, spares no one in exploring not only the events of wartime France, but also developments in historical perspectives on the collaborationist Vichy regime and the Resistance. Moreover, he looks forward to future revelations. Between these endpoints lies a convoluted landscape bearing little resemblance to the usual simplistic pictures. Jackson's excellent study is timely those who remember the occupation will not be around us much longer. It has been a generation since the last general history of occupied France, and during that time, scholars have done much research on which Jackson draws. Beginning his history with the formation of the politics and society of the Third Republic, he exposes France's past in all its contradictions and complexities: the Resistance forces' diverse membership, including women, Jews, farm workers and foreigners; the latent forces in French government and culture that allowed for an easy transition to the Vichy government; Marshal P‚tain's increasing popularity while support for Vichy flagged. In liberated Paris, de Gaulle alleged that the French Republic "never ceased to exist" during occupation. "According to this reinterpretation," writes Jackson, "most of the horrors inflicted on France had been the work of the Germans alone." This insightful, thoroughly researched book will be of interest to scholars and general readers, who will come away with a profound understanding of a crucial time in French history. Jackson does readers a service, for at least another generation. 3 maps.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0198207069
• ISBN 13: 9780198207061
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 688