This book examines the effects of material distress on attitudes toward the Vichy government and on the treatment of outsiders in France during the Second World War. Fogg contends that the period’s severe material shortages and refugee situation fundamentally reshaped France’s social structure. Material conditions also created alliances and divisions within the French population that undermined the Vichy regime’s legitimacy. The book argues that shortages helped define the relationship between citizens and the state, created the very definition of who was an “insider” and an “outsider” in local communities, and shaped the manner in which native and refugee populations interacted. Fogg’s research reveals that French residents proved to be more pragmatic than ideological in their daily dealings with outsiders, with several surprising effects: natives welcomed “quintessential” outsiders who provided an economic advantage to local communities, while French “insiders” faced discrimination.
Contents
1. 'Life has never been so good': shortages, public opinion, and urban-rural interactions; 2. 'Where we are from, that is for pigs': Alsatian refugees; 3. 'They are undesirables': gypsies during World War II; 4. 'At any price': housing, the black market, and Jewish daily life; 5. 'The vast heart of mankind knows no boundaries': refuge in Jewish children's homes.
Prize Winner
Winner of the 2008 Missouri Conference on History Book Award given by the State Historical Society of Missouri
Reviews
“Social history at its best, this engaging study of daily life illuminates big political, economic and social issues. Fogg explores the complicated daily interactions of insiders and outsiders in the Limousin, a rural region in central France whose population expanded during the war to include Jewish refugees, Gypsies, refugees from war zones, and, as urban conditions worsened, city dwellers scouring the region to find food. Her insightful approach reveals how ordinary people’s struggle to survive shaped their relationship with the Vichy regime.” -Sarah Fishman, University of Houston
“Clearly written and persuasively argued, The Politics of Everyday Life in Vichy France offers an original and illuminating perspective on this much-studied era in French history. By focusing on two themes – the importance of material shortages and the intermingling of locals and ‘outsiders’ – Shannon Fogg demonstrates how the constant challenge to secure the basic necessities of life dominated many citizens’ experience of Vichy and the Occupation. This challenge, as much as ideological conviction, informed how and why the rural population of the Limousin chose either to empathize with or ostracize the many communities of refugees who found themselves in their midst. By juxtaposing the experiences of Jewish and Alsatian refugees, gypsies and city-dwellers who scoured the countryside to secure essential supplies, Fogg creates a nuanced and very human portrait of daily life in Vichy France.” -Martha Hanna, University of Colorado, Boulder
“An important work based on very extensive and careful research, this book explores questions of everyday survival in wartime France with great subtlety and sensitivity. It is a local study of the best kind. It has implications that extend far beyond the region studied – not least because of the attention given to ‘outsiders’ (refugees, Jews and nomads) for whom questions of day-to-day existence were particularly pressing. This is a book with implications for every aspect of wartime France and one that will be of interest to many scholars working on other countries too.” -Richard Vinen, King’s College, London
"The strength of Fogg's work..lies less in her statement of the main theme as in the delicacy and complexity of the variations she makes on it. And here, her careful and detailed archival research stands her in good stead." -Andrew Knapp, H-German
"By placing the principal analytical thrust of her discussion on the daily experience of shortages and economic hardship, Fogg has opened some important new avenues for discussion in this field." -Julian Wright, Times Literary Supplement
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