Colonial Subjects and Citizens in the French Internal Resistance, 1940-1944 (original) (raw)

“All in the same boat”: Non-French women and resistance in France, 1940-1944

2010

Resistance in France during World War II has been the subject of much historiographical and popular interest. Few narratives, however, acknowledge the impact of the resistance work of non-French women, who often served in capacities beyond nurse and nurturer. Deeper research into the lives and experiences of foreign women in France who participated in resistance activities reveals much about Vichy's expectations of women's roles under their regime, as well as the limits of exclusive categories of resistance and nationality. In this thesis I explore the participation of non-French women in resistance activities in France by examining their involvement in the American Friends Service Committee, the Emergency Rescue Committee (or Centre Américain de Secours), and Special Operations Executive. The concepts of relief, rescue and recovery help frame the discussion of resistance inherent in the activities of these organizations. I also examine how these women understood or confronted gendered expectations of work, family and service through their resistance activities, and then recorded their experiences in memoirs, letters and oral histories prepared years after the end of the war. These sources offer the dilemmas of selective, subjective memory, as well as the opportunity to question the political tools that shape official history and the personal motivations that determine institutionalized memory.

Introduction – Beyond de Gaulle and beyond London: the French external resistance and its international networks

European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 2018

The aim of this special issue is to explore the history of the French external Resistance through its international networks. This introduction argues that we should think about the 'Resistance' as an international phenomenon, played out in a number of sites across the world, both within and beyond the Free French capital cities of London, Brazzaville-which declared its adhesion to Free France on 28 August 1940-and (later) Algiers. Our study takes into account official members of Free France, the French National Committee (September 1941-June 1943) and the French Committee of National Liberation (June 1943-June 1944), as well as 'unofficial' members of the Resistance who gravitated around Free France, such as members of the Free French committees scattered throughout the world. Studying the activities of these networks can offer historians a framework through which to reconsider the role of cultural propaganda as well as the tensions and antagonisms that traversed the external Resistance notably anti-Gaullism and anti-Semitism. By 'de-centering' the history of the External Resistance, we argue, we can better understand the multiplicity of exiles' identities that were shaped and transformed outside the metropolitan territory and had long lasting consequences in the postwar period. RÉSUMÉ L'objectif de ce numéro spécial est d'explorer l'histoire de la résistance extérieure française à travers l'étude de ses réseaux internationaux. L'introduction propose de penser la Résistance comme un phénomène international qui s'est déroulé dans une multitude de lieux à travers le globe, à la fois au sein des capitales Françaises Libres (Londres, Brazzaville-qui déclara son adhésion au mouvement le 28 Aout 1940, puis plus tard, Alger) et au-delà de ces villes. Notre étude comprend les membres officiels de la France Libre, du Comité National français (Septembre 1941-Juin 1943) et du Comité Français de Libération Nationale (Juin 1943-Juin 1944), ainsi que les membres 'officieux' de la résistance qui gravitèrent autour de la France Libre, tels que les individus appartenant aux comités de la France Libre qui virent le jour aux quatre coins de la planète après 1940. L'étude des activités de ces réseaux offre un cadre aux historien.nes pour repenser, entre autres, le rôle de la propagande culturelle ainsi que les tensions et antagonismes qui traversèrent la Résistance extérieure, en particulier les questions KEYWORDS

‘Beyond de Gaulle and Beyond London: The French External Resistance and its international networks’, European Review of History: Revue européenne d’histoire, co-written with Dr. Charlotte Faucher, submitted on 20 March 2017. (Forthcoming, April 2018).

The aim of this special issue is to explore the history of the French external Resistance through its international networks. This introduction argues that we should think about the ‘Resistance’ as an international phenomenon, played out in a number of sites across the world, both within and beyond the Free French capital cities of London, Brazzaville – which declared its adhesion to Free France on 28 August 1940 – and (later) Algiers. Our study takes into account offi cial members of Free France, the French National Committee (September 1941–June 1943) and the French Committee of National Liberation (June 1943–June 1944), as well as ‘unoffi cial’ members of the Resistance who gravitated around Free France, such as members of the Free French committees scattered throughout the world. Studying the activities of these networks can off er historians a framework through which to reconsider the role of cultural propaganda as well as the tensions and antagonisms that traversed the external Resistance notably anti-Gaullism and anti-Semitism. By ‘de-centering’ the history of the External Resistance, we argue, we can better understand the multiplicity of exiles’ identities that were shaped and transformed outside the metropolitan territory and had long lasting consequences in the post-war period.

Military Resistance in France: 1940-1944

2005

The French Resistance to German occupation during World War Two lacks a comprehensive study that evaluates how effective it was. This paper evaluates the military effectiveness of the French Resistance as a guerrilla movement, tracing it's development from it's origins in 1940 through the liberation of France in 1944.

Revisiting the historiography of the Resistance from the perspective of its local dynamics

Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe - HAL - SHS, 2022

Revisiting the histoRiogRaphy of the Resistance fRom the peRspective of its local dynamics Claire andrieu Recent years (2013-2019) have witnessed the publication of three academic syntheses regarding the resistance movement in france, as well as an historical dictionary of the Resistance (2006). 1 two of these books have been translated, one from english to french and the other vice versa. there are many reasons why historians have shown an interest in the Resistance but the recent revival is worth considering in its own right. This may in part simply reflect the evolution of the historiography. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, research in the field consisted mostly of conference proceedings, including monographs and edited volumes. 2 By the turn of the century, however, this had given way