Jean Moulin is a universally recognized French hero, celebrated as the delegate of General de Gaulle to Nazi-occupied France in 1942-3 and founder of the National Resistance Council in May 1943. He is known for defiance of the German invaders in June 1940 and for his death in the hands of Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie in July 1943. This book is the fist fully documented account in English of his republican background, his resistance activities, and of his death and reputation.
Jean Moulin is a universally recognized French hero, celebrated as the delegate of General de Gaulle to Nazi-occupied France in 1942-43 and founder of the National Resistance Council in May 1943. He is known for defiance of the German invaders in June 1940 and for his death in the hands of Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie in July 1943. This book is the first fully-documented account in English of his republican background, his resistance activities, and his death and reputation.
The Resistance, 1940 illuminates the early phase of the French Resistance through first-hand accounts, describing how movements organized themselves in opposition to both German occupation and the collaborationist Vichy government. Translated and annotated by Charles Potter, these writings, composed by French men and women, reveal how the Resistance fighters experienced defeat and resurrection in the pivotal year of 1940. This primary source reader opens with “First Fight,” by Jean Moulin, which offers a vivid eyewitness recounting of the collapse of France, penned by arguably the greatest hero of the Resistance. This major historical document is supplemented by three additional accounts of subsequent events. “First Resistance,” by Germaine Tillion, who was arrested in 1942 and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp for the duration of the war, depicts the formation of the Groupe du Musée de l’Homme. “National Liberation,” by Henri Frenay, who originally supported the Vichy government but quickly became disillusioned, offers details on the planning of the vast resistance network later known as Combat. Finally, “We Were Terrorists,” by Jean Garcin, excerpts the memoir of a young Socialist in the southern zone who later headed resistance efforts in the city of Marseilles. Along with these annotated texts, Potter includes an informative introduction and contextualizes each source, positioning the documents within the timeline of events. Taken together, these four seminal accounts from four individual perspectives offer compelling evidence about how and when the French Resistance began.
A reference to the ideological, military, political, biographical, and social topics surrounding World War II, which is often considered the pivotal event of the twentieth century.
Adams examines the contributions of such major Français libres as René Cassin, Pierre Mendès France, and Jacques Soustelle and explores de Gaulle's troubled relations with Churchill and Roosevelt. The opportunity for Gaullists to offer full membership to the fourth religious family, Algeria's Muslim majority, following the liberation of French North Africa is also considered. In an epilogue, Adams reflects on the impact of Free France's political ecumenism in the postwar era.
With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.
Daily Life in Nazi-Occupied Europe provides readers with information about political and military affairs, economic life, religious life, intellectual life, and other aspects of daily life in those countries occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of 1940, the Nazis controlled most of Europe, and in 1941 they invaded the Soviet Union to complete their mission of domination. The pattern of human resistance to the occupation was equally widespread-in every country, at least a significant minority of the population fought for human dignity. Why did so many risk their lives and refuse to accept defeat? This book goes beyond the impact of the occupation on different European countries, examining that impact on individuals who, regardless of what country they lived in, faced a desperate search for food and the constant threat of death. This volume is intended to help readers to see the variety of struggles that contributed to the defeat of the oppressive occupation imposed by the Nazis. Readers will come away with an appreciation of the fact that there were as many types of daily lives as there were individuals under the occupation and that every person in the war had a unique experience.
In the 1970s news broke that former Nazis had escaped prosecution and were living the good life in the United States. Outrage swept the nation, and the public outcry put extreme pressure on the U.S. government to investigate these claims and to deport offenders. The subsequent creation of the Office of Special Investigations marked the official beginning of Nazi-hunting in the United States, but it was far from the end. Thirty years later, in November 2010, the New York Times obtained a copy of a confidential 2006 report by the Justice Department titled "The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust." The six-hundred-page report held shocking secrets regarding the government's botched attempts to hunt down and prosecute Nazis in the United States and its willingness to harbor and even employ these criminals after World War II. Drawing from this report as well as other sources, Spies, Lies, and Citizenship exposes scandalous new information about infamous Nazi perpetrators, including Andrija Artuković, Klaus Barbie, and Arthur Rudolph, who were sheltered and protected in the United States and beyond, and the ongoing attempts to bring the remaining Nazis, such as Josef Mengele, to justice.
The Second World War stands as the most devastating and destructive global conflict in human history. More than 60 nations representing 1.7 billion people or three quarters of the world’s population were consumed by its horror. Not surprisingly, therefore, World War II stands as a landmark episode in history education throughout the world and its prominent place in school history textbooks is almost guaranteed. As this book demonstrates, however, the stories that nations choose to tell their young about World War II do not represent a universally accepted “truth” about events during the war. Rather, wartime narratives contained in school textbooks typically are selected to instil in the young a sense of national pride, common identify, and shared collective memory. To understand this process War, Nation, Memory describes and evaluates school history textbooks from many nations deeply affected by World War II including China, France, Germany, Japan, USA, and the United Kingdom. It critically examines the very different and complex perspectives offered in many nations and analyses the ways in which textbooks commonly serve as instruments of socialisation and, in some cases, propaganda. Above all, War, Nation, Memory demonstrates that far from containing “neutral” knowledge, history textbooks prove fascinating cultural artefacts consciously shaped and legitimated by powerful ideological, cultural, and sociopolitical forces dominant in the present.
