Another film is Lacombe Lucien by Louis Malle in 1974.

This film shows how a great part of the French society here the French agricultural society through the character of Lacombe Lucien working in the German army. This film provoked many controversies. People being angry and not comfortable about this indictment. Here again, this film is in conflict with the idea that has society at this era about WW2.

The films represent a strong and powerful vector (accessible to a large public,..) that brought a questioning of the representations of the WW2 and also controversies.

Another vector of change in considering the representations of WW2 is the significant work of historians.

The Historians' work on these dark years (years of occupation and collaboration) is vital. Historians become to be more and more interested.

Importance of the American historian Paxton

In his book, he makes aware of the fact that the French Governement has deliberately collabored/worked with Germany and particularly in the deportation and extermination of the Jews and that he explained this collaboration for two reasons.

1) France wanted to guarantee its independence despite German invasion which is completely false because every sensible historian knows that after the armistice signed by Pétain (22/06/1940), France lost its entire independence.

2) Collaboration with Germany allowed France to benefit a importance role in Europe (in case of a German victory).

Therefore, with Paxton's book, the myth of broadsword and shield (stated by Aron) was collapsed. Paxton focuses about the great passivity/inaction of French people during the war ( passive collaboration). The representation of Pétain accepting/agreeing the armistice and the collaboration just to protect France and French people is destroyed. French Governement has deliberately worked with its former enemies and was not a victim, obliged to accept the collaboration. It was an active collaboration.

ACTIVE COLLABORATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND PASSIVE COLLABORATION FROM FRENCH SOCIETY (FRENCH PEOPLE). (eg: René Bousquet: General Secretary of Vichy police who set french police collaboration in the profiling, the arrest and the deportation of the Jews in France).

Paxton's work doesn't focus on Resistance as historians' ones at this era did but his work focuses on French COLLABORATION (a part that wanted to erase/forget French Governement by glorying instead RESISTANCE).

Paxton's work generates the interest of numerous/many historians on French collaboration/Vichy bringing a look with more lucidity on these years.

	Created by Angèle TENGO over 6 years ago

1) The construction of the Collective memory of resistance and occupation in France How the collective memory is built from 1944 to the end of the sixties?

Theme: Relationships between society and its past