Abstract
When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, Britain and France declared war. The Communists were excluded from the Assembly almost immediately because Russia was allied with Germany. Their exclusion meant the final collapse of the ‘Popular Front’ coalition that had become increasingly divided over relations with Hitler’s Germany. The defeat of France within six weeks in May–June 1940 led to the resignation of Prime Minister Reynaud. He was replaced by 84-year-old Marshall Pétain, hero of the First World War. On 10 July 1940 the Third Republic was formally dissolved when the Deputies voted to extend ‘full powers’ to Pétain and establish a new constitution.1 Pétain declared himself ‘leader (chef) of the French State’, rather than President of the French Republic, signifying the change of regime. ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ was replaced by ‘Work, Family, Fatherland.’ This government made its headquarters in the town of Vichy, in the centre of France, and became known as the Vichy government.
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Suggestions for Further Reading
Duchen, C. Women’s Rights and Women’s Lives in France 1944–1968 (London and New York: Routledge, 1994).
Fishman, S. We Will Wait: Wives of French Prisoners of War, 1940–1945 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991).
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Marrus, M. R. and R. O. Paxton, Vichy France and the Jews (New York: Basic Books, 1981).
Muel-Dreyfus, F. Vichy and the Eternal Feminine: A Contribution to a Political Sociology of Gender, trans. K. A. Johnson (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2001).
Paxton, R. O. Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order 1940–1944, reprint of 1982 edn (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001).
Pollard, M. Reign of Virtue: Mobilizing Gender in Vichy France (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).
Sweets, J. F. ‘Hold that Pendulum! Redefining Fascism, Collaborationism and Resistance in France’, French Historical Studies 15 (1987–1988), 731–58.
Weitz, M. C. Sisters in the Resistance: How Women Fought to Free France, 1940–1945 (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995).
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© 2004 Susan K. Foley
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Foley, S.K. (2004). Vichy France: Reviving the ‘Natural Woman’, 1940–1944. In: Women in France since 1789. European Studies Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-80214-8_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-80214-8_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
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