Product Description

For the last fifty years, the German Occupation of France has been regarded as a period characterised by four things: cold, hunger, the absence of freedom and above all fear; a time when the indigenous population was cruelly and consistently oppressed by the army of occupation. The people of France were either bold members of the Resistance or craven collaborators. In this riveting and provocative study, Robert Gildea reveals a rather different story, a story which shows that the truth lies - as so often - somewhere in between.

'Excellent... a peculiarly rich book, enlightening about conscription, forced labour, the role of the Catholic Church, sex between German soldiers and French women ('horizontal collaboration') and much else' Frank McLynn, New Statesman

'Gildea's revisionist account is the most convincing and lucid that I have read. Rather as his Oxford colleague Roy Foster did for Irish history (when he rubbished the "400 years of national suffering" version that has had such disastrous consequences), Gildea has succeeded in giving us a startlingly original view of what we thought was a familiar period.' Patrick Marnham, Sunday Telegraph

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #649824 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

Review
'If there is one book on Vichy which people should read then this is surely it.' Michael Burleigh 'Excellent... a peculiarly rich book, enlightening about conscription, forced labour, the role of the Catholic Church, sex between German soldiers and French women ('horizontal collaboration') and much else' Frank McLynn, New Statesman 'Gildea's revisionist account is the most convincing and lucid that I have read. Rather as his Oxford colleague Roy Foster did for Irish history (when he rubbished the "400 years of national suffering" version that has had such disastrous consequences), Gildea has succeeded in giving us a startlingly original view of what we thought was a familiar period.' Patrick Marnham, Sunday Telegraph

Independent, September 2003
Magnificent, award-winning history of France from 1940 to 1945.

Times on Saturday, September 2003
It comes loaded with honours for its scholarship and its courageous revisionist approach to what we thought we knew.

Customer Reviews

A great insight into the French Occupation!
I bought this book to read on my return from a holiday in France as I wanted to know more about the country's past. To my mind it is a fairly academic text and it would probably be of value to history scholars as well as anyone else with an interest in WWII. As a lawyer with no knowledge of this period I found the book extremely thought provoking and I read a little each night over a two or three week period.

In particular, the book raises interesting issues regarding the constantly shifting balance of power which existed between German military personnel stationed in France and the local mayors and other French officials who were obliged to work together in the occupied zone. It also offers an interesting insight into the way in which many ordinary French people adapted and coped with life under the occupation. Professor Gildea demonstrates with reference to personal case histories that in many cases individuals cunningly managed to "work the system" to their own advantage and French officials often negotiated with the Germans. However, as the war continued and the German position weakened elsewhere in Europe delicate negotiations with the oppressor became more difficult.

The author has undertaken very detailed research and retrieved much fascinating information from diocesan and other archives as well as interviewing individuals with recollections of the era. This text has inspired me to read more about the Occupation and the Vichy regime and I would thoroughly recommend it to other readers.

Gildea comes up trumps again
First came "The Past in French History" - we all took off our chapeaux in respect. Then came "France since 1945" - no one has said so much in so few pages. And now we have "Marianne in Chains" - who would ever have thought the history of the Loire Valley could be so interesting? Well done, mate. You deserve a knighthood.