Vichy France

By Robert O. Paxton,

Book cover of Vichy France

Book description

Robert O. Paxton's classic study of the aftermath of France's sudden collapse under Nazi invasion utilizes captured German archives and other contemporary materials to construct a strong and disturbing account of the Vichy period in France. With a new introduction and updated bibliography, Vichy France demonstrates that the collaborationist government…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Vichy France as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

In 1940, French democracy committed suicide. What came next is still under debate.

Published in 1972, this book revolutionized French history and shaped a generation of French citizens. Its assessment is more persuasive than ever. Read it if you haven't, re-read it if you have.

First published in 1972, this book significantly altered the views of French collaboration with the Nazi German occupiers during the Second World War. During the immediate postwar years, many in France maintained that the Vichy government of Marshal Philippe Pétain and its supporters had done everything possible to resist and subvert the German occupiers and that the Resistance and the Pétain government had been part of the same struggle, the “sword and shield” of France against the German occupiers. Writing at a time when most relevant French archives were closed to historians and using German archival material that was captured…

From Bertram's list on France in World War II.

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