User talk:Mase02

Stuart Smith

Review of Article “Vichy France”

In describing various aspects of the rule of France during World War II/German occupation, the author of this article argues that the French Republic was partly to blame for the criminal acts perpetrated by the so-called Vichy Regime. This argument is based on the implicit (albeit obvious) assumption that the current, official French interpretation of this period – which attributes responsibility entirely to traitorous and foreign influences – is flawed. The author attempts to demonstrate that elements of the war-time French population not only supported but willingly participated in some of the pro-Nazi/anti-Semitic actions of the Vichy government. This point is argued quite effectively. The author points to the creation of fascist-leaning, paramilitary organizations (for policing/enforcement purposes), the implementation of overtly anti-Semitic legislation, and the often active participation in pro-Nazi activities on the part of some French citizens. Furthermore, all these things occurred almost immediately (if not, in fact, immediately) after the establishment of the Vichy state, which illuminates the existence of French Republic constituents with political/ideological leanings that were at least sympathetic to fascism. Some critics, the author states, have claimed the actions of the Vichy Regime, along with some French citizens, went beyond the expectations of the Nazis. Emphasized is one of the paramilitary organizations, the S.O.L., as this group became an independent, unapologetically pro-Nazi policing body in 1943 (it was renamed the French Militia). Headed by Joseph Darnand, who was under an oath of loyalty to Hitler, this group hunted down Jews and French resistors and assisted the Germans in shipping them to concentration camps. Such activity, conducted independently from the Vichy Regime, certainly bolsters the author’s contention that not only the “traitorous” government was responsible for criminal behavior in France during German occupation. One point of weakness in this article is the lack of evidence for the claim that Pétain’s rule was very authoritarian. The only strong substantiation of this assertion is the aforementioned legislation against Jews, along with the subsequent Vichy policy toward Jews, which involved allegedly willful cooperation with the Nazis in transporting them to concentration camps (this was carried out by the Vichy Regime itself as well as the French Militia). The author briefly mentions “measures [taken] against (Pétain’s) real or supposed opponents,” but the nature of such measures is not revealed. Moreover, the paramilitaries are said to have been created in order to enforce the mandates of the regime, yet the author describes these organizations in a manner that suggests they were relatively independent (i.e., the role of the Vichy government in the formation of these organizations is ambiguous, if present at all). The authoritarian quality of the Vichy Regime would support an explanation of France’s actions during the war as the result of a select group being influenced by the Germans. The author’s downplaying of this aspect of the story is probably deliberate, then, as the central claim is that pro-Nazi activity during the war had more of a “grass-roots” quality than the modern French state is willing to acknowledge. Despite these discrepancies, the author appears to utilize an extensive array of sources. Twelve separate texts (certainly plentiful for an article of this length) are listed in the bibliography, and they all appear to be relevant/pertinent to the topic and/or the author’s interpretation. The article is also well-written; it is concise, logically organized, and easy to understand, without being exceedingly dull. Finally, one element of the discussion that seems to be absent is the response of ordinary citizens in France to the questionable actions of the Vichy government. I would have liked to have learned more about the resistance movement – how widespread it was, to what extremes resistors went in their efforts, etc.