To What Extent Has The Narrative Of The French Resistance Been

Revised Post World War II?

The French ResistanceResistance was an underground resistanceResistance movement

spanning from 1940-1944; their main purpose being opposition to the German occupation of
France. In the years following the Second World WarWorld War II (WWII), the narrative of
the French ResistanceResistance has been revised to a great extent to suit the purposes of a
post-occupation French consciousness, national ideology and the erasure of minority groups
involved in resistanceResistance efforts. Following WWII, the resistanceResistance was
greatly exaggerated and concentrated upon to hide national shame of the war years.
Additionally, rewriting the resistanceResistance story allowed the French to tie the movement
into, and further support, national ideology. Finally, the contributions of French
ResistanceResistance members that were not Caucasian French-born men did not fit into the
vision of a post-WWII France went unrecognised and purposely omitted for decades. The
French Resistance has been manipulated, weaponised and modified to fit the agendas of
politicians and France since the end of WWII.

In the years following WWII, due to national embarrassment at the Vichy collaboration with
Germany, the French ResistanceResistance was strongly emphasised, and recharacterized, to
paint the French population in a more positive and patriotic light. European Hhistory
Pprofessor, Gordon, suggests that the Vichy collaboration and events of WWII severely
damaged French self-confidence and national consciousness (pg. 500, Gordon, 1995).
Following WWII, the French desperately tried to distance themselves from the Vichy
government due to national shame.). In the same article Gordon also implies correlation
between the rise in resistance-based studies and public damnation of the Vichy
government. Similarly, historical author, Gildea, confirms that idea that emphasis was
placed upon the French Resistance to counter public shame, stating, “To deal with the trauma
of defeat, occupation and civil war, the French developed a central myth of the French
Resistance.” This allowed for the narrative of the French Resistance to undergo large rewrites
as a Showing that a reconstructed history of the French ResistanceResistance was central to
French post-WWII recovery. . Furthermore, as the historical narrative of WWII changed to
centre around the Holocaust, so did the narrative of the French ResistanceResistance.
Overtime, the history of the Holocaust has become distorted to place the blame upon the Nazi
occupiers rather than the actions of French government. Gildea supports this notion, stating,
“The story [of the Resistance]… was now replaced by that of a mass of generous souls…
who had found safe hiding places or escape routes for Jews persecuted during the German
occupation.” (Gildea, 2015). Displaying that the actions of Resistance members have been
changed to portray a narrative of the French population being actively anti-holocaust.
However, the idea of a sympathetic France standing with the persecuted Jewish is disproved
by the 77,000 Jews deported from France that perished in concentration camps and killing
centres (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Concluding, that in the years following
France has attempted to appear sympathetic during war-time to the Jewish plight, and erase
their collaboration guilt, by rewriting the history of the Resistance. Furthermore, the scale of
the Resistance was greatly over-exaggerated. In 1945, the Ministry of Veterans declared that
the Resistance was composed of approximately 400,000 members. However, when
interviewed, a Resistance member stated that he believed there only to be 45,000 real
resisters (Wright, 1962), displaying, that to eradicate guilt surrounding Vichy collaboration
and Nazi sympathisers, the size of the Resistance was overvalued. Overall, the actions of the
French Resistance have been largely revised to absolve the French of their remorse over the
Vichy collaboration and role in the Holocaust. Though, the narrative would also be used to
promote national ideologies.

The years of Vichy collaboration significantly weakened not only the French consciousness,
but the very ideologies they believed their nation to be built upon. Political scientist, William
Safran, suggests that the French Republic built its national identity upon the shared values of
liberty, equality and fraternity, values that were thrown into question with the Vichy
collaboration (Safran, 1991). He continues on to state, “…After World War II… Frenchness
came to be equated with the heroism - real or pretended - of the Resistance…” (Safran,
1991). Affirming not only the exaggerated nature of retellings of the Resistance, but that it
was also changed to fit into pre-established national ideology. In addition, Resistance
mythologies developed to liken it to one of the most significant moments in the French
Republic’s history, the French Revolution. Historian, Wright, communicates, "“There is a
widespread legend that it was the common people who resisted, while the old elites of
bourgeois society rallied en masse to the Vichy standard.” (Wright, 1962). Showing that the
narrative of the Resistance fighting against German occupation was changed to parallel that
of the lower-class revolting against the French aristocracy. Finally, in his inauguration speech
in 2007, French president Sarkozy made reference to Resistance fighters, announcing, “They
said ‘no’. ‘No’ to subjugation, ‘no’ to dishonour, ‘no’ to what belittles human beings, and this
‘no’ continues to be heard after their deaths because it is the eternal cry of human freedom
against enslavement.” (Gildea, 2015). Illustrating that the revision of the French Resistance to
align with national ideology has had a long lasting impact that continues to remain at the
forefront of the public’s minds, and be used politically today. Overall, the narrative of the
Resistance has been altered in post-war years to support French national ideology. However,
not only was national ideology promoted, but the Resistance story also changed to represent
political and social values of the time.

To modify the narrative of the Resistance into one that fit the political climate of the time, the
efforts of marginalised groups or opposing political parties were erased. Military historian,
Showalter, indicates that in post-WWII France Resistance mythologies were used to further
the politics of the Fourth Republic (Showalter, 2000). The politicalised nature of the
Resistance story is visible in portrayals of varying communities involved within the
Resistance. Gildea states that, “De Gaulle’s Resistance myth was military, national and
male.”, displaying the exclusion of members that did not fit his vision from history (Gildea,
2015). This is corroborated by a propaganda video from the time, displaying the battle for
Paris towards the end of the war. Every featured Resistance fighter is presumably a French
male, despite multiple women and people of colour being present in the background
(ZenosWarbirds, 2014). Proving, that the narrative of the French Resistance was edited to
exclude groups that did not fit the political climate of the time. Though not suffering from the
same societal treatments, the contributions of socialists and communists were erased in De
Gaulle’s government in the years following WWII. In an interview, Resistance member
Vincent Pascucci, recounts how his involvement in the Communist party lead him to join the
Resistance, as it was mostly being run under a relatively centralised communist leadership
(Pascucci, 2016). However, despite large communist involvement in the Resistance, their
efforts were eventually erased. French academic, Douzou states, “Gaullist memory eventually
triumphed over its communist counterpart.” (Douzou, 2019), showing that due to a lack of
political power, a communist perspective of the Resistance was ignored. Therefore, the
efforts of social or political minority groups were removed by De Gaulle’s government
following WWII.

Fighters in the shadows, brave men.

Thus, it is evident that over time the narrative of the French resistanceResistance has been
dramatically altered. This is due to the recontextualisation of the Resistance following the
recontextualising national shame brought by thefollowing Vichy years and supported by lack
of information. Furthermore, the ideological values of freedom, Resistance and rejection of
tyranny that personified by the Resistance supported French patriotism. Finally, efforts from
parties and people that did not fit the revised narrative of the Resistance were erased for
decades. The story of the French Resistance has been greatly altered over time, but it
continues to represent a France that would not bow to the Nazi’s will, whether or not that
France truly existed.
The narrative of the French Resistance being a few brave men supported by the whole of
France is supported by film of the Liberation of Paris, using propagandistic techniques to
highlight the bravery of the minority, but retain majority support.

1. The Vichy Syndrome – national shame, remaining divisions

2. Fighters in the shadows
3. A Perilous History
4. Battle For Paris