Fighters in the shadows : a new history of the French Resistance

"The story of the French Resistance is central to French identity, but it is a story built on myths. 'La Résistance française" was not simply a national effort to free the country from German occupation, but a national drama around which wider conflicts were played out. Part of a Europe-wide, anti-fascist struggle, it included Spanish republicans, Italian and even German anti-Nazis. A 'war within the war' against the Holocaust brought in Jewish resisters and Christian rescuers. It was a colonial war for the French Empire in Africa and the Near East that set de Gaulle's Free French against the forces of Vichy. Divided over communism and the roles of the USA and USSR, the Resistance within France was divided between those on the far right and the far left, fighting for very different visions of the world. Robert Gildea returns to the testimonies of the resisters themselves, asking who they were, what they believed in and what compelled them to take the terrible risks they did. He brings to the fore stories of women resisters, who history has neglected"-- Includes bibliographical references (pages 548-570) and index. xiv, 593 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 24 cm