- Summary
- "Thousands of Frenchmen volunteered to provide military help to the Nazis during World War II, fighting in such places as Belorussia, Galicia, Pomerania, and Berlin. Utilizing these soldiers' memoirs, The French who fought for Hitler examines how these volunteers describe their exploits on the battlefield, their relations to civilian populations in occupied territories, and their sexual prowess. It also discusses how the volunteers account for their controversial decisions to enlist, to fight to the end, and finally to testify. Coining the concepts of "outcast memory" and "unlikeable vanquished," Philippe Carrard characterizes the type of bitter, unrepentant memory at work in the volunteers' recollections and situates it on the map of France's collective memory. In the process, he contributes to the ongoing conversation about memory, asking whether all testimonies are fit to be given and preserved, and how we should deal with life narratives that uphold positions now viewed as unacceptable"--Provided by publisher.
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Carrard, Philippe.
- Published
- Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010
- Locale
- France
Germany
- Contents
-
Backgrounds
From the Légion des volontaires français to the Division Charlemagne
The historians' take
Authenticity
Verifications and guarantees
The Sajer case
Internet debates
Veracity
The French in Berlin
Possibly too much
As good in bed as on the battlefield
Possibly too little
Textualization
Total recall
Perspectives
Frameworks
The enemy demonized
Frenchness
The lens of culture
Bearing witness
Enlisting
Fighting to the end
Speaking up
From the outcasts' point of view
Vanquished
Rejected
Unrepentant
Appendix A: Biographical notices
Appendix B: Maps.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-249) and index.
Backgrounds -- From the Légion des volontaires français to the Division Charlemagne -- The historians' take -- Authenticity -- Verifications and guarantees -- The Sajer case -- Internet debates -- Veracity -- The French in Berlin -- Possibly too much -- As good in bed as on the battlefield -- Possibly too little -- Textualization -- Total recall -- Perspectives -- Frameworks -- The enemy demonized -- Frenchness -- The lens of culture -- Bearing witness -- Enlisting -- Fighting to the end -- Speaking up -- From the outcasts' point of view -- Vanquished -- Rejected -- Unrepentant -- Appendix A: Biographical notices -- Appendix B: Maps.
