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Paris hardly skipped a beat during Nazi occupation

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Louis-Ferdinand Celine, regarded as one of the greatest French writers of the 20th century, had fled to Denmark amid accusations of treason but was later granted amnesty. He returned to France and was back in business with his old publisher.

This is somewhat misleading, as things did not go so smoothly for Celine. First, he would have likely been executed in the immediate aftermath of WWII if he hadn't fled France when he did. As it were, his apartment was ransacked, everything, including irreplaceable literary works, was stolen or destroyed. Celine spent time in prison in Denmark during his long, uncomfortable exile. The French convicted him in absentia and they formally seized half his assets. When he returned to France, Celine did return to his old publishing company and publish 6 or 7 more books during the remaining decade of his life, but his old publisher, Robert Denoel, had been assassinated back in 1945.

As for the show "going on," it certainly did. France had it soft during the occupation and the leftist resistance was rather pathetic. But after the war, the resistance would avenge their impotence with such courageous acts as shaving the heads and shaming silly French girls who had dated German soldiers and making up tall tails about how valiant they were under the boot of the Gestapo.

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As a culture France unifies itself like few others can. Right now the people of France are fighting "austerity" and winning that battle. These people are a lesson in unification for others to take note.

=the people of France are in control of their Government and not the other way around like in the US/Japan etc. =You would never see a situation like Okinawa take place in France.

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Some writers with Fascist leanings applauded the 1940 outcome and collaborated with the Nazis.

Many French people applauded the Nazi "occupation". The "liberation" from the Nazis was one of the darkest periods in the history of France. The darkest was probably the French Revolution.

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Many French people applauded the Nazi "occupation".

I am not sure about many. However, one can sadly be assured that those same people applauded the Nazis putting all those Jews in concentration camps. However, you can't completely blame the French as fear makes those same many do crazy things.

The "liberation" from the Nazis was one of the darkest periods in the history of France.

Yes. As dark as the sun on a sweltering day in the desert.

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I am not sure about many.

I am sure. They lined the streets to applaud them. And when Hitler toured Paris, he did so with little protection.

However, one can sadly be assured that those same people applauded the Nazis putting all those Jews in concentration camps.

How are the concentration camps relevant? WWII was much more than just about the "holocaust".

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I am sure. They lined the streets to applaud them.

Pretending to be happy about something is not the same thing as being happy about it. Also, you must have looked at very different pictures than the rest of the world. Hilter was very well protected when he toured Paris.

How are the concentration camps relevant?

When talking about Nazi Occupation, they are always relevant. Have a hit a sore spot?

WWII was much more than just about the "holocaust".

The Holocaust (no quotes needed, thank you) was exactly about the Nazi Occupation of Europe.

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I never said WWII was about the Holocaust. I said the Holocaust was about the Nazi Occupation of Europe. I am sorry if this conflicts with what seems to be your need to defend the Nazi Occupation of Europe.

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Thanks, thetruthhurts, for insightful comments. Reading you was a relief after reading that

France had it soft during the occupation and the leftist resistance was rather pathetic

according to Bebert61 (whose nickname makes me feel sorry for him).

France never had it soft, and if you want a modest example just think about the thousands queuing up for food in Paris, the thousands who could not enjoy the dubious joys of black market, or obtain special favors from the occupation authorities etc.

I am afraid the account given here of Mr Riding's book puts too much emphasis on the ones who collaborated or just passively accepted a sad state of things. I do believe, with him, that some "leniency" on the side of the occupiers and the Vichy regime was essentially a political posture, and I am all the more sorry to realize that many did not have the wisdom to see it and to avoid the trap.

Further, I am a bit tired of seeing again and again the same old stories about the "unfortunate" Céline, about Piaf and Chevalier. It is so easy, and it is so easy for Bebert61 to moan about the hardships Céline had to put up with. The phenomenon of collaboration of the intellectuals was much more diffuse and deserves deeper analysis ; Jean Cocteau used to throw lavish parties in his villa of Maisons-Laffitte, to which German officers were invited...

And will a commentator of Mr Riding tell us whether space has been devoted to those who took to arms and physically fought totalitarism and terror ? What about a few words for instance about the ever modest movie actor Jean Gabin who came back to his homeland risking death in a tank, and never ever made a fuss about it ?

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sabiwabi at 11:47 PM JST - 30th October

Many French people applauded the Nazi "occupation". The "liberation" from the Nazis was one of the darkest periods in the history of France. The darkest was probably the French Revolution.

What are you talking about ? These pictures of French people applauding soldiers where shoot after the war. People applauded the Allies, not the nazis. When Hitler came in Paris, he found nobody to aplaude him. The streets were totally empty.

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Bebert61 at 10:35 AM JST - 30th October

France had it soft during the occupation and the leftist resistance was rather pathetic. But after the war, the resistance would avenge their impotence with such courageous acts as shaving the heads and shaming silly French girls who had dated German soldiers and making up tall tails about how valiant they were under the boot of the Gestapo.

Excuse me ? French had it soft during the Occupation ? Tell that to my family. They almost starved of hunger and some died shot.

Girls who dated German were shaved by the crowd, not by the Resistance. Guys who collaborated were also hanged in the street at the same time. Petain himself was judged then hanged for treason.

The Resistance during the war made a brillant job, destroyed German infrastructures, hide many Jews. Many French resistants died tortured by the Nazis. You'll find no such things like the French Resistance movement in Europe at that time.

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Yumimoto,

Although you are conceptually right, you allow yourself to be carried away, and your description of what happened on and after liberation day is a bit too simplistic. But details would be too long to give, and I just want to correct a significant mistake : Pétain was judged and degraded and sentenced to death by firesquad, the sentence was then commuted into lifelong detention by general de Gaulle who was chief of the post-war provisional government. This for basically two reasons : marshal Pétain was already very old, 89 years old, and senile and no longer mentally fit for capital punishment to be of any significance to him (maybe) ; and also Pétain still had with many middle-aged or old French the glorious image of the military commander who reversed catastrophic situations during WW1 and so to speak saved his country. He lived until he was 96 in confinement in a military fortress off the western coast of France.

The Resistance spirit and personal involvement of some was also existent (to a different degree and with different modalities) in many countries that suffered under the nazi tyranny : Italy, Greece, Spaniards came to France for fighting with us, Armenians did it too, etc etc. Do not forget also that inside Germany there were some very brave opponents, some of whom tried to eliminate physically Hitler. Has Japan ever had actual resistance from the inside to the tragic military regime that led it to its devastation ? I think not.

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How are the concentration camps relevant? WWII was much more than just about the "holocaust".

Unless, of course, you were one of the 6 million put in hard labor or the gas chamber.

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"Jean Cocteau used to throw lavish parties in his villa of Maisons-Laffitte, to which German officers were invited..."

Oh no! Not lavish parties! And, oh, no! Some women actually dated and slept with Germans? If those are collaboration, I suggest rounding up all the people who sold or gave Germans food and drink and shooting them in head. I assure you those actions got the German occupation along one heck of a lot more than parties and dates.

In particular with the women, if they were not allowed to date Germans then brave Frenchmen should have been there to prevent it, not run for their lives, leaving the women to fend for themselves, then come back and shave their heads for being women in occupied lands with not much choice of anything. You think pretty young women surrounded by enemy troops can just say "no" and go home?

Anyway, it was both the crowds and the Resistance that called dating "collaboration" and shaved women's heads. The real shame was of the shaver rather than the shavee. Those very people utterly failed to keep the Germans out of France in the first place, then expect women to show valor! What a crock!

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Yeah, cuz the people of Okinawa sure are mature..more like babies. Sorry don't see the connection here.

France did have it easy during the occupation, more thanks to its size and quick surrender than anything else. I guess most people didn't have a chance to see the hundreds of miles barbed wires, bunkers, and artillery lining their long coastline. Or the executions, or the planned bombing of every landmark including the Eiffel Tower (which were saved only by the disobedience of Nazi officers under penalty of death ironically). Yeah, I guess everything was fine and peachy for people who kept a low profile and supported the Nazis.

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