Collaboration and Resistance: Images of Life in Vichy France 1940-1944 [Hardcover]

Jean-Pierre Azema (Author), Yves Durand (Author), Denis Peschanski (Author), Dominique Veillon (Author), Pascal Ory (Author), Robert Frank (Author), Jacqueline Eichart (Author), Denis Marechal (Author), Lory Fankel (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

Through hundreds of photographs and documents never before or rarely seen, Collaboration and Resistance offers an unprecedented view of life in France during the German occupation in World War II. Plumbing an archival source that only recently has begun to yield its secrets, the authors have gathered an astonishing collection of photographs, posters, newspaper pages, and leaflets-most from the Vichy government's Office of Propaganda-covering every aspect of life under Vichy rule.

Commentaries by eight distinguished French historians squarely confront an uncomfortable time in their nation's past: the oppressive German presence, the Vichy government's uneasy alliance with both Germany and domestic ultraright-wing groups, and the heroic defiance of the Resistance. With its stunning graphic images, Collaboration and Resistance presents an incomparably vivid portrait of this important slice of history.

300 black-and-white photographs, 9 1/2 x 11"

JEAN-PIERRE AZMA, YVES DURAND, ROBERT FRANK, and PASCAL ORY teach at various universities in France; JACQUELINE EICHART created the photo archive of the French government's Documentation Franaise; DENIS MARCHAL is historic adviser to the Mmorial museum in Caen; DENIS PESCHANSKI and DOMINIQUE VEILLON are members of the Institut d'Histoire du Temps Prsent of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Despite a recent upsurge of revisionist works that detail the extent of French collaboration with the Nazis under the Vichy regime, the myth of a proud, defiant French people struggling to resist tyranny still has compelling power within France. Thus, this collection of photographs and the accompanying commentaries by eight prominent French historians is bound to reopen old wounds and shatter comfortable illusions on both sides of the left-right schism. The photographs, many of them previously unseen, hit with stunning impact. The casual, often comfortable relations between the French and their occupiers is unsettling, and the images of the quick resort to brutality by both the collaborationists and the resistance are shocking to view. The essays, each treating a specific aspect of life under the regime, are generally objective and they avoid sweeping generalizations about either side. This is a brilliant, powerful, and painful combination of visual images and the written word, which will cause many to rethink their assumptions about the period. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810941236
• ISBN-13: 978-0810941236
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Great pictures, terrible translation, July 16, 2010

By 

S. K. A. Kitson "Nomis_Nostik" (France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Collaboration and Resistance: Images of Life in Vichy France 1940-1944 (Hardcover)

I hate to say a book has 'great pictures' because it sounds like one is denigratiung the text. But here the original French text has been staggeringly badly translated. At times it makes no sense. The pictures, on the other hand, have obviously lost nothing in the translation process so the book still has value from that perspective. But I don't understand why no one at the publisher seems to have re-read the text to make sure that it is comprehensible. Shame.