“Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order” by Robert Paxton, Book Review Example

Introduction

“Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order” by Robert Paxton is condemned to be extremely controversial. It discusses a complicated and dubious period in history – collaborationism during the World War II. France was split up into two parts, one of which was occupied by the German military and the other one remained under control of the Petain’s puppet government. French national idea largely relies on ideas that the collaboration was necessary and the Vichy regime only helped the Nazi when it was inevitable and for the greater good. This is supposed to discharge the regime and the people responsible for the oppressions present during the times when Petain was in power. It is also important for the European historians to demonstrate that the French people fought for their independence, stood for the democratic and republican state, tried to save as many people as possible from deportation to Germany and opposed the Nazi regime in every possible manner. This was the official version, acknowledged for years after the end of the World War II. Robert Paxton however is the first historian able to present an opposing point of view.

Thesis of the Book

In “Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order”, Robert Paxton unclothes the true nature of the Vichy’s regime and French collaborationism. The main point of the research is focused on the idea that French people were not really forced to collaborate to the extent they did. Germans certainly required some actions from the new puppet government concerning the military policy and racial issue, but the Vichy regime constantly did more than required, though the historians claimed the Vichy France actually sabotaged Hitler’s plans. Paxton, in fact, has actually performed a revolution of a sort, proving that the French resistance movement is far idealized: not only heroic pieces were present, but ugly facts of treachery and mendacity as well.

Thesis Justification

It hard to say whether Paxton entirely justifies his thesis. As it has been stated above, the idea is highly controversial and may be considered as an insult, especially by the French. He begins proving his idea by exploring the historical process of the Vichy regime foundation: in the first days of the German invasion it became clear that France could not oppose the Nazi forces, the government of the Third Republic panicked and decided to escape. The opinion over the further destiny of the country was undecided. A part of the government proposed to leave the occupied territory and continue fighting using the French fleet and the economic resources of the African colonies. Another part, headed by Marshall Petain supposed that the government had to share the destiny of the nation and remain on the European continent. The full powers were granted to Petain, who became the dictator of France. Immediately, he abolished the democratic rights and freedoms and tried to sign a peace treaty with Hitler. A puppet government was very convenient for the Germans: they did not have enough forces to control such a large territory and would rather grant such right to the local administration. Petain’s government was an ideal solution.

Paxton claims that (rather surprisingly) the Vichy regime was in fact almost entirely legal: Petain was granted his powers with only minor violations, and further elections in the Vichy France showed significant support to the collaborationist government. The book  “Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order” provides  a lot of historical facts that prove that the role of French resistance is often exaggerated, while the shame of the Vichy regime are underestimated. The main idea of the French historians lies on the assumptions that Petain and his government had no choice – they suppose that the presence of German troops on the French territory made it impossible to sabotage the orders of the Nazi. Paxton claims that this is not true, as only 70 000 German soldiers were constantly present on the territory controlled by the Vichy government, the average age of the troops was 48 years – not a great military presence, after all.

Petain constantly tried to demonstrate the country’s independence; his meeting with Hitler was supposed to demonstrate understanding and mutual cooperation between the two countries. Nazi propaganda widely used the picture of Petain and Hitler shaking hands to show unity and support towards Nazi ideals in the new Europe. A battalion of French SS was formed and fought at the Eastern front.

The most remarkable examples of collaborationism are related to the racial issues. French have always thought that there were too many Jews in their country. Some actually thought that the defeat in war was caused by the Jews. At first, Jewish people were incarcerated, later processed to the concentration camps on the French territory and deported to Germany. This was certainly a Nazi requirement, but little efforts were made to sabotage these actions. On the occupied territories, the Resistance movement tried to prevent the extermination of Jews, while on the Vichy territory French police captured the innocent people themselves. In fact, the Vichy government captured and incarcerated more Jews than was required by the Nazi government. Paxton demonstrates that the attempts made by Petain were aimed to integrate France into Hitler’s new world order. Most of the people, living on the Vichy territory supported German politics and actually wished the victory for Germany. Most of them only switched sides when the Nazi collapse was inevitable.

Evidence Analysis

The proof, provided by Robert Paxton seems to be more than sufficient. He used reliable historical sources as well as real evidence form the people. Facts and numbers provided are inferred from the archives and documents of that time. Paxton’s use of factual information and multiple examples leaves little space for doubt.

Methodology

Paxton uses a combination of facts and rather personalized judgments to prove his point of view. This makes the book easy and interesting to read, while it remains a relevant historical source. Some critics, however, argue that Paxton failed to keep impartial while analysis the Vichy regime. Author stresses the negative facts only and constantly proves that collaborationism is an ugly happening that is a great shame for the entire French nation. It may seem correct, as the Jews were well assimilated and integrated in the French society – it was extremely hard for the Germans to find them. However, due to the Vichy collaboration over 300 000 Jews were moved to Germany, a significant part of whom died.

Methodology used by the author is very persuasive – it presents the entirely new opinion over the process of World War II and occupation of France, as well as French resistance. The book is written in such an aggressive style, that a lot of critics actually ask Paxton why he hates France that much.

Overall, “Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order” is one of the basic books about the Vichy Regime, though it is somewhat one-sided and stresses the crimes of Petain and his government and odes not address the Resistance efforts much.

References

Robert Paxton. Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order Columbia University (New York, 1982)