Publisher's Synopsis
This comprehensive reference work covers a range of topics - military, political, economic, social, painting, literature, music, cinema, dance, theatre, sports and daily life - related to France and her empire during World War II. Starting with the 1938 Munich Crisis and continuing through the 1940 defeat, Occupation, Vichy, Resistance, Liberation and the establishment of the post-Liberation Provisional Government, the work also addresses such legacies of the wartime experience as the role of former President Francois Mitterrand and the trial of former Vichy official Maurice Papon.;Designed to be a reference on France, the book's focus on Occupation, Vichy and the French resistance will familiarize the reader with recent historical interpretations of French life during a troubled and dramatic period. The work will also introduce the reader to many of the controversies concerning collaboration and resistance, which have stirred postwar French public discourse. The book is also a bibliographic guide.
