Under, Life, French, occupation, Unfree

The Unfree French: Life Under the Occupation

The swift and unexpected defeat of the French Army in 1940 shocked the nation. Two million soldiers were taken prisoner, six million civilians fled from the German army’s advance to join convoys of confused and terrified refugees, and only a few managed to escape the country. The vast majority of French people were condemned to years of subjugation under Nazi and Vichy rule. This compelling book investigates the impact of the occupation on the people of France and dispels any lingering notion that somehow, under the collaborating government of Marshal Pétain, life was quite tolerable for most French citizens.

Richard Vinen describes the inescapable fear and the moral quandaries that permeated life in German-controlled France. Focusing on the experiences of the least privileged, he shows how chronic shortages, desperate compromises, fear of displacement, racism, and sadistic violence defined their lives. Virtually all adult males festered in POW camps or were sent to work in the Reich. With numerous enthralling anecdotes and a variety of maps and evocative photographs, The Unfree French makes it possible for the first time to understand how average people in France really lived from 1940 to 1945, why their experiences differed from region to region and among various groups, and why they made the choices they did during the occupation.

List Price: $ 20.00



Price: $ 11.00



Switzerland Under Siege 1939-1945: A Neutral Nation's Struggle for Survival

• world war
• history
• switzerland
• 1939 to 1945

adhesive casebound; 24 pages of full-color maps and illustrations; 1,639 entry name and subject index.

In today's western world of comfort and safety, almost sixty years later few seem able to remember or understand what World War II felt like -- or what it was all about. Many Americans, protected by an ocean, are even less aware of European military history. Switzerland's place in that conflict has been shaped in the past decades by selective reporting and revisionist thinking. A comprehensive look has been long overdue.

Switzerland Under Siege 1939-1945 brings you the real story of Switzerland and World War II. In carefully written and edited studies of all aspects of neutrality in general and of Switzerland's neutrality in particular, you will learn about:

German and Italian invasion plans for Switzerland, and the Swiss Army's response - in dozens of color maps and illustrations.

Allied and Axis espionage in neutral Switzerland

The American bombings of Zurich, Basel, and Schaffhausen - errors or retaliation?

Myth vs. reality: the actual story of Jewish refugees and Swiss humanitarian efforts - not the front page sound bites.

Women's roles in war-time Switzerland

Daily life on a neutral's home front

Honor and morals in an immoral world

The major demands, and limited rewards, of true neutrality

Descendants and historians alike will find this an excellent and thought-provoking book, well written and well documented. We recommend it highly.









Price: $ 7.85

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