ABSTRACT

Offering a fresh critical perspective on this momentous event, Andrew Shennan examines both the continuities and discontinuities that resulted from the events of 1940. The main focus is on the French experience of the war, but this experience is framed within the larger context of France's - and Europe's - protracted mid-twentieth century crisis. 

chapter |23 pages

Prologue

May—June 1940: fragments and impressions

part One|87 pages

The Politics of Defeat

chapter Chapter One|20 pages

Expectations

chapter Chapter Two|17 pages

Post-defeat politics: impotence and improvisation

chapter Chapter Three|23 pages

Vichy, resistance and the lessons of defeat

chapter Chapter Four|25 pages

1940 after Liberation

part Two|56 pages

The Defeat in History

chapter Chapter Five|20 pages

The short term: aftermath

chapter Chapter Six|21 pages

The medium term: transitions

chapter Chapter Seven|13 pages

The long term: legacies