18. The Dark Years: Vichy France

France Since 1871 (HIST 276)
For decades after the end of World War II the question of French collaboration with the Nazis was obscured. One of the reasons for this was the desire of de Gaulle and others to downplay the central role of communists in resisting the occupation. In fact, many French civilians were involved to greater or lesser degrees in informing upon their fellows or otherwise furthering the interests of the German invaders. Under the Vichy regime, right-wing politics in France developed an ideological program founded upon an appeal to nationalism, the soil, and the rejection of perceived decadence.
00:00 - Chapter 1. The Outbreak of War: French and German Military Capacities
05:32 - Chapter 2. The Fall of France
09:02 - Chapter 3. Collaboration: Vichy France in Power
12:35 - Chapter 4. Gaps in National Memory: Problems in the History of Collaboration
21:16 - Chapter 5. The Collaborator Trials: The Vindication of History
33:20 - Chapter 6. The Character of the Collaborators: Identity and Motives
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Fall 2007.