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Introduction: Historians and the Occupation

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the period between 1940 and 1944 known as the ‘Dark Years’. It presents five short ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the period between 1940 and 1944 known as the ‘Dark Years’. It presents five short quotations that illustrate the ambiguities of the period. It then looks at the writings of Charles Péguy whose name was both invoked by resisters opposed to Vichy’s anti-Semitic laws as well as by Vichy himself. The chapter then reviews studies on Vichy from 1945 to the 1990s.Less

The National Revolution

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter discusses the National Revolution, which defined itself first and foremost in opposition to liberal individualism that uprooted ... More

This chapter discusses the National Revolution, which defined itself first and foremost in opposition to liberal individualism that uprooted people from the ‘natural’ communities of family, workplace, and region. It discusses the doctrine and inspiration behind the National Revolution, and how it conflicted with education, and social and economic policy.Less

Propaganda, Policing, and Administration

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter examines propaganda, policing, and administration, and the ways in which the Vichy regime tried to mobilize support. Vichy set ... More

This chapter examines propaganda, policing, and administration, and the ways in which the Vichy regime tried to mobilize support. Vichy set about implementing its National Revolution against a background of penury and fragmentation, characterized by France’s geographical fragmentation into zones and exacerbated by constant changes in the rules.Less

Defamation, Discrimination, and Despoliation

Thomas J. Laub

in After the Fall: German Policy in Occupied France, 1940-1944

At the start of the Occupation, both French and German agencies accepted the fundamental legitimacy of the so‐called Jewish Question (Judenfrage) and adopted anti‐Semitic policies of defamation, ... More

At the start of the Occupation, both French and German agencies accepted the fundamental legitimacy of the so‐called Jewish Question (Judenfrage) and adopted anti‐Semitic policies of defamation, discrimination, and despoliation with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Perceiving Jews as a security threat, the military administration evicted Jews from a security zone along the Channel coast and played a major role in the ‘Aryanization’ of the French economy, but the MBF condemned ‘Aryanization’ on legal grounds and did not believe that Jews stood behind all resistance activity. The Vichy regime defamed and discriminated against Jews on its own accord, created the General Commissariat for Jewish Affairs to despoil Jews, and ordered French police to incarcerate specific categories of Jews, but Pierre Laval objected to the arrest of assimilated French Jews because the roundups undermined support for his government. The SS and German embassy in Paris both championed the entire defamation, discrimination, despoliation, and deportation process, but they lacked the manpower and a legal mandate to act on their own before the summer of 1942. As the fortunes of war turned against the Reich, Hitler championed increasingly ruthless anti‐Semitic measures that culminated in the Final Solution.Less

The Defeat of French manhood and the Vichy imagination

Joan Tumblety

in Remaking the Male Body: Masculinity and the uses of Physical Culture in Interwar and Vichy France

This chapter outlines how responses to the catastrophic military collapse of 1940 cast it as proof of French physical failure, and considers how the Vichy regime, which invested more resources in ... More

This chapter outlines how responses to the catastrophic military collapse of 1940 cast it as proof of French physical failure, and considers how the Vichy regime, which invested more resources in sport and physical education than even the Popular Front, sought masculine renewal as part of its anti-republican reordering of French society. It also traces the fortunes of the protagonists examined across the book, showing how the physician-culturists of the 1920s and 1930s often brought their expertise to roles in Vichy administration, if not policy-making. The chapter argues that the regime's sustained engagement with the desire to rebuild French men in the wake of defeat shows — although not nearly so much as previously in the eugenicist language of the ‘regeneration of the race’ — not only a further instance of the political uses of male athleticism, but the purchase of interwar notions of the merits of ‘rational’ physical exercise.Less

Reconstructing Mankind

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter examines the Vichy regime’s policy towards women and the young. The ‘reconstruction of mankind’ began with women and the young. In ... More

This chapter examines the Vichy regime’s policy towards women and the young. The ‘reconstruction of mankind’ began with women and the young. In the language of Vichy, the ‘young’ meant boys and young men; ‘women’ meant mothers. Boys were to be brought up to become the virile elite of the new France; women to become their mothers, wives, and helpmates.Less

Vichy, the Resistance, and Free France

Eric Jabbari

in Pierre Laroque and the Welfare State in Post-war France

Despite his misgivings, Laroque contributed to the elaboration of the policies of the ministry of labour during the early months of the Vichy Regime. During this time, he helped draft the legislation ... More

Despite his misgivings, Laroque contributed to the elaboration of the policies of the ministry of labour during the early months of the Vichy Regime. During this time, he helped draft the legislation which introduced the comités d’organisation, and was implicated in aborted attempts to implement corporatist policies and reform the social insurance system. Dismissed from the civil service because of his Jewish origins, he moved to Lyon, were he bacme involved in the activities of the Resistance. By the spring of 1943, he found himself assigned to the headquarters of the Free French movement in London, and he soon became involved in preparing the administrative personnel which would be entrusted with the direction of public services in the liberated areas of France. It was only in the autumn of 1944 that he returned to civilian life, and it was during this time that he was appointed director general of social insurance by the minister of labour.Less

Vichy and the Jews

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter looks at the experience of the Jews, examining how their fate was bound up in the interaction between the policies of the Germans, ... More

This chapter looks at the experience of the Jews, examining how their fate was bound up in the interaction between the policies of the Germans, the policies of the Vichy regime, and the responses of French civil society. During the first two years of Occupation, the prevailing sentiment towards the Jews ranged from indifference to hostility. The first Jewish Statute aroused little interest. People had more pressing concerns on their minds. The events of the summer of 1942 transformed French responses to the plight of the Jews. In Paris in July, and then in the South in August, people were shocked by the horrifying scenes of screaming children being arrested with their parents or being forcibly separated from them. By the end of the year, however, the outrage had died down. The open protests may not have lasted, but they gave way to active solidarity and the development of an infrastructure to aid the Jews.Less

Public Opinion, Vichy, and the Germans

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter looks at the responses of the population towards both Vichy and the German occupier. It focuses on the period up to the end of 1942 ... More

This chapter looks at the responses of the population towards both Vichy and the German occupier. It focuses on the period up to the end of 1942 but not beyond. This is because once the organized Resistance became a more important presence in 1943, people found themselves reacting not simply to the Germans and to Vichy but also to the Resistance.Less

Collaboration

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter discusses the realities of collaboration between France and Germany from 1940–1944. It identifies three different motives behind ... More

This chapter discusses the realities of collaboration between France and Germany from 1940–1944. It identifies three different motives behind voluntary collaboration. First, there was what might be called the politico-administrative motive which aimed to protect French sovereignty. The second motive behind collaboration might be described as politico-diplomatic: to prepare a favourable outcome for France in the peace treaty which was believed to be imminent. The third motive was the need to alleviate the impact of the Armistice on daily life in France.Less

Epilogue: From Vichy to the Fifth Republic: Decline or Transformation?

Avner Ben-Amos

in Funerals, Politics, and Memory in Modern France, 1789–1996

The demise of the Third Republic could have also signaled the end of the tradition of republican state funerals. The Vichy regime tried to establish its own festive and commemorative tradition, while ... More

The demise of the Third Republic could have also signaled the end of the tradition of republican state funerals. The Vichy regime tried to establish its own festive and commemorative tradition, while the values of French society during the Fourth and the Fifth Republics have manifestly undergone many changes. Third Republic state funerals were informed by an educational vision whose main components were secularism, patriotism, and republicanism; none of them have continued after 1944 to occupy the same central place as before the war. Since the republican regimes were no longer threatened by the Church, the militant anticlericalism that characterized some of the major state funerals of the Third Republic almost disappeared. This chapter examines state funerals during the Vichy Regime, the Fourth Republic, and the Fifth Republic, first under Charles de Gaulle and then Francois Mitterrand.Less

Stein’s War: “Having Faith” in Pétain (1940–1944)

Barbara Will

in Unlikely Collaboration: Gertrude Stein, Bernard Faÿ, and the Vichy Dilemma

This chapter focuses on the unique wartime experience of Stein, an experience that was spent apart from Bernard Faÿ and that would ultimately distance her from Faÿ. With the French–German armistice ... More

This chapter focuses on the unique wartime experience of Stein, an experience that was spent apart from Bernard Faÿ and that would ultimately distance her from Faÿ. With the French–German armistice in June 1940, the Stein–Faÿ collaboration of the 1930s—an intellectual, artistic, and emotional collaboration characterized by genuine affection and mutual political conviction, as well as desire, ambition, and egoism—was transformed into a collaboration of each with the Vichy regime. During this period, Stein and Faÿ had little contact with each other; after World War II they would never see each other again. Yet this experience was in fact marked by the invisible hand of Bernard Faÿ.Less

Lawyers during the Vichy Regime: Exclusion in the Law

Julie Fette

in Exclusions: Practicing Prejudice in French Law and Medicine, 1920-1945

This chapter focuses on the Vichy regime's National Revolution, which blamed communists, foreigners, Freemasons, and Jews for the collapse of the Third Republic following the German invasion in 1940. ... More

This chapter focuses on the Vichy regime's National Revolution, which blamed communists, foreigners, Freemasons, and Jews for the collapse of the Third Republic following the German invasion in 1940. It discusses the new Vichy regime's initiatives that imposed its view of French nationality as a status that could be granted and taken away. It also considers how the interwar mobilization of lawyers and physicians against foreigners and naturalized citizens was sustained under the new regime, highlights the place of anti-Semitism in the regime's exclusionary policies, and analyzes the role played by the law bars in the implementation of the decree eliminating Jews from the legal profession. Finally, it describes the lawyers' use of their intellectual expertise and social inflence to legitimize anti-Semitic measures affecting all of French society during the Vichy regime.Less

A Socialist in Vichy

Emanuel Rota

in A Pact with Vichy: Angelo Tasca from Italian Socialism to French Collaboration

On the night of September 3, 1944, Angelo Tasca was arrested by French soldiers and sent to the military prison in Clermont-Ferrand. While in jail, Tasca changed his public persona to distance ... More

On the night of September 3, 1944, Angelo Tasca was arrested by French soldiers and sent to the military prison in Clermont-Ferrand. While in jail, Tasca changed his public persona to distance himself from the Vichy regime under Marshal Philippe Pétain. His alternative assessment of the situation in France after it was invaded by Germany was extremely complicated. He believed that French nationalism should unite right and left in order to end the social and political conflicts in France. He expected Italy to be of servitude to Germany if the latter won the war. Once he realized that the war was over for the French, Tasca hoped that a revolt would defeat Germany and fascism. His full support for the creation of the Vichy regime enabled him to play an active role in Vichy politics beginning in the summer of 1940. From the second half of 1942 until his arrest in 1944, Tasca served as director of the Vichy’s research bureau under the secretary general for propaganda.Less

Epilogue: Remembering the Occupation

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter focuses on the long battle to claim the inheritance of the Resistance, a battle which was itself only the beginning of a longer war ... More

This chapter focuses on the long battle to claim the inheritance of the Resistance, a battle which was itself only the beginning of a longer war of memory over the Occupation. It argues that the recent seemingly endless stream of pseudo-revelations about Moulin and the Resistance may be symptomatic of nothing more profound than a predilection for conspiracy theories and a media-generated obsession with historical scoops. Historians alone will never be able to resolve these quarrels of memory which are, at their most fundamental level, debates about national identity. Clearly any attempt to build an identity around the idea that Vichy was not France will be doomed to failure.Less

The Debacle

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter restores the notion of discontinuity by examining the impact of the defeat of May 1940. Without defeat there would have been no Vichy ... More

This chapter restores the notion of discontinuity by examining the impact of the defeat of May 1940. Without defeat there would have been no Vichy regime, but without the trends examined in the previous chapters, the Vichy regime would not have taken the form that it did.Less

Cultural Affairs under Vichy

in Defending National Treasures: French Art and Heritage Under Vichy

This chapter provides an overview of the arts administration under the Occupation. The Germans deliberately gave French authorities significant latitude in cultural affairs during the Occupation. ... More

This chapter provides an overview of the arts administration under the Occupation. The Germans deliberately gave French authorities significant latitude in cultural affairs during the Occupation. Hitler believed that cultural activities would distract the French people from the difficulties of everyday life and help placate urban populations. Similarly, Propaganda Minister Paul Joseph Goebbels believed it was in the German interest for the arts and cultural life to flourish, particularly in the French capital. Vichy leaders pursued ambitious domestic reforms under the illusion that the government had maintained full sovereignty. A traditionalist reform program, dubbed the National Revolution, was designed to renovate the French nation in the wake of defeat, under the strong leadership of an authoritarian regime. In the end, however, the combined impact of German restrictions, logistical difficulties, and a lack of time and resources hindered the implementation of some reform measures, while others had profound, lasting, and at times devastating consequences.Less

Intellectuals, Artists, and Entertainers

Julian Jackson

in France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944

This chapter focuses on the responses of artists and intellectuals to the Vichy regime. The prestige attaching to intellectuals in France invested ... More

This chapter focuses on the responses of artists and intellectuals to the Vichy regime. The prestige attaching to intellectuals in France invested their actions with huge significance. The trials of intellectuals at the Liberation attracted as much publicity as those of Pétain and Laval: they were punished more for who they were than what they had done. The surest way to avoid compromising oneself was to go abroad. A considerable number of French artists and intellectuals chose exile. These include the film directors Jean Renoir, René Clair, Julien Duvivier, and Max Ophuls; the actors and actresses Michèle Morgan, Jean Gabin, Louis Jouvet, Françoise Rosay, and Jean-Pierre Aumont; the artists Marc Chagall, Tanguy, Man Ray, Amédée Ozenfant, Jacques Lipchitz, and Fernand Léger; the writers André Breton, Saint–John Perse, Georges Bernanos, Julien Green, Jules Romains, André Maurois, Antoine de Saint–Exupéry, and Jacques Maritain. For those who stayed in France, their post-war reputations have often been based more on rumour and innuendo than a balanced assessment of their conduct during the Occupation.Less

Saharan Battlegrounds: From the Vichy Regime to a Postwar World

Sarah Abrevaya Stein

in Saharan Jews and the Fate of French Algeria

The Vichy regime (1940-1944) imposed racist restrictions upon Jews and Muslims in Algeria. This legislation was extended to the Algerian Sahara, but southern Algerian Jews were not sent to labor ... More

The Vichy regime (1940-1944) imposed racist restrictions upon Jews and Muslims in Algeria. This legislation was extended to the Algerian Sahara, but southern Algerian Jews were not sent to labor camps as were Jews in northern Algeria and, when they violated “Aryanization” decrees, they faced relatively light punishment. Some Jews from northern Algeria even attempted to relocate to Algeria’s south during the war. After the Second World War, Jews in southern Algeria experienced the kind of existential horror that northern Algerian Jews experienced during the Vichy years. The Fourth Republic re-extended citizenship to Algerian Jews in 1943, emphasizing that southern Jews remained beholden to civil status laws. France also initiated a series of administrative and electoral reforms imagined by French legislators to democratize the rule of law in Algeria, reconstituting the departments of northern Algeria and the Sahara as an administrative whole. In the Mzab, these developments sparked reactions across the political spectrum; as elsewhere, politics were radicalizing, presaging the Algerian war of independence (1954-1962). Evincing no evident support for Mzabi exceptionalism, Algerian nationalism, or communism, southern Jews occupying an uneasy place in this evolving political landscape. Jewish emigration escalated, while the Mzabi Jewish community captivated various global Jewish philanthropies.Less