Modern France
Dr. Schneider

Paper Assignment: The nature of France under Vichy

The period 1940-1944 is one of the most controversial in French history. A government was established after a disastrous defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany. The Germans occupied the northern half of the country, and a capital was established at the spa resort town of Vichy in the center of the country to govern both the unoccupied and occupied zones.

Much was written about the Vichy regime at the time, and in the past 15 years historians have examined the period in great detail. The purpose of this assignment is for students to find and analyze documents from that time period and draw some conclusions about the nature of the Vichy regime. This might include books and articles written in English by defenders and critics of the regime, or a series of newspaper articles about an important development. Several eye-witness accounts were published from 1940-1944, as well as some reminiscences and memoirs in the years immediately following the end of the war.

The paper must be based on at least 3 sources from the period. (Click here for some examples and suggestions on how to find primary sources.)For background, students should read the chapter of the Popkin book (pp. 230-38), plus the readings from Robert Paxton on Vichy France available on electronic reserve at the library (see course web page).

The paper should include a brief description of the sources, what light they shed on the question of the nature of the Vichy regime, and a critical analysis of the value of the sources, in other words, their bias and/or reliability.

Papers should be 6-8 pages in length. At least a report is due in class on Nov. 10, and papers must be handed in by Dec. 13. A list of sources to be used should be handed in on Monday October 27.