ABSTRACT
In this topic it was Britain who could provide Europe with new cinematic images. Left alone to fight Germany in 1940, she began organizing contacts on the continent, and little by little the country was pervaded by the idea that there were, across the Channel, people who still resisted Nazism. American opinion was never very interested in the secret war; Hollywood dedicated a few uninspired films to it but never believed that the topic was likely to trigger enthusiasm among its clients. On the other hand, in Europe it was an evolving theme, a theme which gave rise to many different treatments. Britain started first because she was free to tackle the problem even during the hostilities,1 but the connections between what was featured in her studios and what was filmed later in other countries are often striking. This does not imply a direct influence, let alone an imitation. There was rather a community of concern, a similar way of looking at the question. In this respect, similarities as well as disparities have something to tell us about the re-construction of the recent past in post-war Europe.
