Introduction

The French military experience in the Second World War was unique even in an era of exceptional events. A defeated France, divided in half, was further overrun by two opposing armies and eventually returned to battle alongside its original allies. France's ignominious defeat in June 1940 was totally unexpected by its allies and was enormously difficult for the French people to accept. Even today, political and private behavior are strongly influenced by the events of 1940–5, which Frenchmen have never accepted the way other defeated European peoples have. Divided into two hostile camps, Gaullist and Vichyite, they have found discussion of the Second World War easier to avoid than it was for others, who have spoken openly to their children about the dark side of their Nazi heritage. In the American experience, only the Civil War caused equivalent physical damage and left behind a similar trail of emotional wounds which took generations to heal.

It was only in 1969 with the premiere of a documentary film about the German occupation, Le Chagrin et la pitié, that the French public began to discuss the war more openly. At the same time, a number of books on this period appeared, many written by non-French historians, which helped pave the way to a more open discussion of this difficult period. Today there are many gaps in the study about the French participation in this war, and many of the best books already on the shelf are still published by scholars from other lands.