Ordinary Workers, Vichy And The Holocaust: French Railwaymen And The Second World War (studies In The Social And Cultural History Of Modern Warfare)
by Ludivine Broch /
2016 / English / PDF
4.9 MB Download
Should French railwaymen during the Second World War be viewed as
great resisters or collaborators in genocide? Ludivine Broch
revisits histories of resistance, collaboration and deportation in
Vichy France through the prism of the French railwaymen - the
cheminots. De-sanctifying the idea of railwaymen as heroic
saboteurs, Broch reveals the daily life of these workers who
accommodated with the Vichy regime, cohabitated with the Germans
and stole from their employer. Moreover, by intertwining the
history of the working classes with Holocaust history, she
highlights unexpected histories under Vichy and sensitive memories
of the post-war period. Ultimately, this book bursts the myths of
cheminot resistance and collaboration in the Holocaust, and reveals
that there is more to their story than this. The cheminots fed both
the French nation and the German military apparatus, exemplifying
the complexities of personal, professional and political life under
occupation.
Should French railwaymen during the Second World War be viewed as
great resisters or collaborators in genocide? Ludivine Broch
revisits histories of resistance, collaboration and deportation in
Vichy France through the prism of the French railwaymen - the
cheminots. De-sanctifying the idea of railwaymen as heroic
saboteurs, Broch reveals the daily life of these workers who
accommodated with the Vichy regime, cohabitated with the Germans
and stole from their employer. Moreover, by intertwining the
history of the working classes with Holocaust history, she
highlights unexpected histories under Vichy and sensitive memories
of the post-war period. Ultimately, this book bursts the myths of
cheminot resistance and collaboration in the Holocaust, and reveals
that there is more to their story than this. The cheminots fed both
the French nation and the German military apparatus, exemplifying
the complexities of personal, professional and political life under
occupation.