- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226438931
- eISBN:
- 9780226438955
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226438955.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter examines the ambiguities of the secret service of Vichy France based on the memoirs of former members of the Vichy secret services and their veterans' association newsletter. The ...
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This chapter examines the ambiguities of the secret service of Vichy France based on the memoirs of former members of the Vichy secret services and their veterans' association newsletter. The analysis reveals that the Vichy secret services had a difficult relationship with the Vichy government and that the activities of the secret services were defined as a form of resistance. The findings also indicate that anti-German feelings were the motivating factor behind the behavior of the Vichy secret service.Less
This chapter examines the ambiguities of the secret service of Vichy France based on the memoirs of former members of the Vichy secret services and their veterans' association newsletter. The analysis reveals that the Vichy secret services had a difficult relationship with the Vichy government and that the activities of the secret services were defined as a form of resistance. The findings also indicate that anti-German feelings were the motivating factor behind the behavior of the Vichy secret service.
Barbara Will
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231152631
- eISBN:
- 9780231526418
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231152631.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
In 1941, the Jewish American writer and avant-garde icon Gertrude Stein embarked on one of the strangest intellectual projects of her life: translating for an American audience the speeches of ...
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In 1941, the Jewish American writer and avant-garde icon Gertrude Stein embarked on one of the strangest intellectual projects of her life: translating for an American audience the speeches of Marshal Philippe Pétain, head of state for the collaborationist Vichy government. From 1941 to 1943, Stein translated thirty-two of Pétain's speeches, in which he outlined the Vichy policy barring Jews and other “foreign elements” from the public sphere while calling for France to reconcile with Nazi occupiers. This book pursues troubling questions: Why and under what circumstances would Stein undertake this project? The answers lie in Stein's link to the man at the core of this controversy: Bernard Faÿ, Stein's apparent Vichy protector. Faÿ was director of the Bibliothèque Nationale during the Vichy regime and overseer of the repression of French freemasons. He convinced Pétain to keep Stein undisturbed during the war and, in turn, encouraged her to translate Pétain for American audiences. Yet Faÿ's protection was not coercive. Stein described the thinker as her chief intellectual companion during her final years. The text outlines the formative powers of this relationship, noting possible affinities between Stein and Faÿ's political and aesthetic ideals, especially their reflection in Stein's writing from the late 1920s to the 1940s.Less
In 1941, the Jewish American writer and avant-garde icon Gertrude Stein embarked on one of the strangest intellectual projects of her life: translating for an American audience the speeches of Marshal Philippe Pétain, head of state for the collaborationist Vichy government. From 1941 to 1943, Stein translated thirty-two of Pétain's speeches, in which he outlined the Vichy policy barring Jews and other “foreign elements” from the public sphere while calling for France to reconcile with Nazi occupiers. This book pursues troubling questions: Why and under what circumstances would Stein undertake this project? The answers lie in Stein's link to the man at the core of this controversy: Bernard Faÿ, Stein's apparent Vichy protector. Faÿ was director of the Bibliothèque Nationale during the Vichy regime and overseer of the repression of French freemasons. He convinced Pétain to keep Stein undisturbed during the war and, in turn, encouraged her to translate Pétain for American audiences. Yet Faÿ's protection was not coercive. Stein described the thinker as her chief intellectual companion during her final years. The text outlines the formative powers of this relationship, noting possible affinities between Stein and Faÿ's political and aesthetic ideals, especially their reflection in Stein's writing from the late 1920s to the 1940s.
Simon Kitson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226438931
- eISBN:
- 9780226438955
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226438955.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
From 1940 to 1942, French secret agents arrested more than two thousand spies working for the Germans and executed several dozen of them—all despite the Vichy government's declared collaboration with ...
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From 1940 to 1942, French secret agents arrested more than two thousand spies working for the Germans and executed several dozen of them—all despite the Vichy government's declared collaboration with the Third Reich. A previously untold chapter in the history of World War II, this duplicitous activity is the subject of this book, a chronicle of the Vichy regime's attempts to maintain sovereignty while supporting its Nazi occupiers. The author informs this story with findings from his investigation—the first by any historian—of thousands of Vichy documents seized in turn by the Nazis and the Soviets and returned to France only in the 1990s. His detective work uncovers a puzzling paradox: a French government that was hunting down left-wing activists and supporters of Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces was also working to undermine the influence of German spies who were pursuing the same Gaullists and resisters. In light of this apparent contradiction, the book does not deny that Vichy France was committed to assisting the Nazi cause, but illuminates the complex agendas that characterized the collaboration and shows how it was possible to be both anti-German and anti-Gaullist. Combining nuanced conclusions with dramatic accounts of the lives of spies on both sides, the book adds a new dimension to our understanding of the French predicament under German occupation and the shadowy world of World War II espionage.Less
From 1940 to 1942, French secret agents arrested more than two thousand spies working for the Germans and executed several dozen of them—all despite the Vichy government's declared collaboration with the Third Reich. A previously untold chapter in the history of World War II, this duplicitous activity is the subject of this book, a chronicle of the Vichy regime's attempts to maintain sovereignty while supporting its Nazi occupiers. The author informs this story with findings from his investigation—the first by any historian—of thousands of Vichy documents seized in turn by the Nazis and the Soviets and returned to France only in the 1990s. His detective work uncovers a puzzling paradox: a French government that was hunting down left-wing activists and supporters of Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces was also working to undermine the influence of German spies who were pursuing the same Gaullists and resisters. In light of this apparent contradiction, the book does not deny that Vichy France was committed to assisting the Nazi cause, but illuminates the complex agendas that characterized the collaboration and shows how it was possible to be both anti-German and anti-Gaullist. Combining nuanced conclusions with dramatic accounts of the lives of spies on both sides, the book adds a new dimension to our understanding of the French predicament under German occupation and the shadowy world of World War II espionage.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226473789
- eISBN:
- 9780226473802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226473802.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The Vichy government made a sensible decision in October 1940 imposing an almost complete absence of tourism due to gas rationing and its own restrictions on foreigners entering its territory; it ...
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The Vichy government made a sensible decision in October 1940 imposing an almost complete absence of tourism due to gas rationing and its own restrictions on foreigners entering its territory; it abolished the office of high commissioner of tourism. The U.S. government continued to deal with the collaborationist Vichy regime until early 1943 and worked to undermine General Charles de Gaulle and his Free French movement. American policy was based in part on the misguided notion that de Gaulle was a stalking horse for the Communists, but it was also grounded in two perceptions about the French that had arisen in America in the interwar period. The provisional French government also tried to smooth the way for GI tourists. It set up an agency on the avenue de l'Opéra to arrange sightseeing tours, get them tickets for the Folies Bergère, and provide them with addresses of restaurants.Less
The Vichy government made a sensible decision in October 1940 imposing an almost complete absence of tourism due to gas rationing and its own restrictions on foreigners entering its territory; it abolished the office of high commissioner of tourism. The U.S. government continued to deal with the collaborationist Vichy regime until early 1943 and worked to undermine General Charles de Gaulle and his Free French movement. American policy was based in part on the misguided notion that de Gaulle was a stalking horse for the Communists, but it was also grounded in two perceptions about the French that had arisen in America in the interwar period. The provisional French government also tried to smooth the way for GI tourists. It set up an agency on the avenue de l'Opéra to arrange sightseeing tours, get them tickets for the Folies Bergère, and provide them with addresses of restaurants.
Kirrily Freeman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804758895
- eISBN:
- 9780804779715
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804758895.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This book tells the story of French statues and monuments that were melted down and shipped to Nazi munitions factories during the Second World War. Beginning with the economic context that led to ...
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This book tells the story of French statues and monuments that were melted down and shipped to Nazi munitions factories during the Second World War. Beginning with the economic context that led to the destruction of public art, the book goes on to detail the process by which monuments were removed and destroyed and the metal sent to Germany for Hitler's war machine. The most remarkable part of the story is the reaction of the French public to the loss of its artwork. People protested all over France, and many communities took extraordinary measures to save their statues. This protest, and the way the collaborationist Vichy government handled it, sheds light on the complexities of life in wartime France.Less
This book tells the story of French statues and monuments that were melted down and shipped to Nazi munitions factories during the Second World War. Beginning with the economic context that led to the destruction of public art, the book goes on to detail the process by which monuments were removed and destroyed and the metal sent to Germany for Hitler's war machine. The most remarkable part of the story is the reaction of the French public to the loss of its artwork. People protested all over France, and many communities took extraordinary measures to save their statues. This protest, and the way the collaborationist Vichy government handled it, sheds light on the complexities of life in wartime France.
Claire Andrieu
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199333493
- eISBN:
- 9780190235628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199333493.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter focuses on the help extended to Jews and Allied soldiers and airmen parachuting into France during World War II, together with the social recognition that was bestowed upon them. It ...
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This chapter focuses on the help extended to Jews and Allied soldiers and airmen parachuting into France during World War II, together with the social recognition that was bestowed upon them. It highlights the question of risk taken by those who provided assistance and examines whether recognition was greater for, and whether it came earlier to, people who placed their own lives in danger. It also considers the help given to Jews and help given to Allied airmen as integral parts of civilian resistance. Finally, the chapter examines the repressive action taken by the Vichy government against the helpers of Jews and Allied soldiers.Less
This chapter focuses on the help extended to Jews and Allied soldiers and airmen parachuting into France during World War II, together with the social recognition that was bestowed upon them. It highlights the question of risk taken by those who provided assistance and examines whether recognition was greater for, and whether it came earlier to, people who placed their own lives in danger. It also considers the help given to Jews and help given to Allied airmen as integral parts of civilian resistance. Finally, the chapter examines the repressive action taken by the Vichy government against the helpers of Jews and Allied soldiers.
