After the Fall: German Policy in Occupied France, 1940-1944

ISBN-13: 9780199539321 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 304 str.

Thomas J. Laub

Opis

German policy in occupied France during the Second World War was in many ways a story of bitter internal conflict between the various German agencies in charge of the occupation. After the Fall provides a detailed analysis of the struggle between these different agencies, highlighting the significant differences in ideology, policy, and method between the army, the SS, and the diplomatic service, and the rivalries between them in their struggle for dominance. It also looks at what these battles implied for the direction of German policy in France, from the exploitation of the French economy and the suppression of resistance activity, to the attempt to carry out Nazi racial plans. In the process, it sheds much light on both the inner workings of the Nazi regime and on the decisions made by the French government during the course of the occupation.

Recenzje

Throughout the study, Laub carefully assesses the MbF's policies and actions against the evidence, concluding that while it was certainly complicit in the regime's worst crimes, important distinctions need to be made between and among the various institutions and organizations involved in the occupation. Laub's book will likely come to represent the new orthodoxy.

O autorze

Thomas J. Laub teaches history at James Madison University and is currently working on a study of the French army during the Algerian Civil War.