France

"In this study of Occupied France, Julian Jackson examines French experiences of occupation during the 'Dark Years' of 1940-1944. Pulling together previously separate histories of occupation, resistance, and collaboration, he presents a definitive history of the period. The book ranges from the politics of Marshal Petain's regime to the experiences of the ordinary French people, from surrender in 1940 to the purges of liberation. The author restores the organized Resistance to a more central role than has been customary in recent years and presents a social history of the resistance which takes in the roles of foreigners, women, Jews, and peasants. He uncovers the long term roots of the Vichy regime in political and social conflict and cultural crisis stretching back to the Great War and concludes by tracing the lasting legacy and memory of occupation since 1945"--Jacket.