EAMON MAHERreviews The Resistance: The French Fight Against the NazisBy Matthew Cobb, Simon Schuster, £17.99, 403pp
MATTHEW COBB has filled a void by writing the first academic history of the Resistance in English.
His task was a daunting one. The occupation of France by the Nazi army, the installation of the puppet Vichy administration, the actions of the various branches of Resistance activity, often operating independently of each other, the role of the Free French under the control of Charles de Gaulle in dictating policy to those still opposing the Nazis on French soil – all these elements feed into the confusion and mythology surrounding the Resistance. Cobb manages to meld these disparate elements into a coherent and readable account – no mean feat.
In his introduction, Cobb asks us to imagine all the main public buildings in Paris draped with swastika flags and soldiers in grey-green uniforms marching on the streets and boulevards.
A once powerful nation had been brought to its knees by the Nazi war machine, but it was fanciful to think all French people would meekly accept occupation. So, while there was a period of initial calm, pockets of resistance began to emerge.
Differing ideologies and objectives characterised the approach of various groups. The Front National had communist leanings, whereas Henri Frenay’s Combat and Emmanuel d’Astier’s Libération were imbued with a slightly different ideology. Figures such as André Dewavrin (“Passy”), Pierre Brossolette (“Brumaire”) and Jean Moulin (“Max”, “Rex”) all developed their own strategies.
The civil servant Moulin was a vital link between London and the Resistance forces in France. He and many other leaders made regular visits by aircraft across the Channel to report to de Gaulle and British intelligence officials.
Communications were hindered because of faulty radio equipment and the constant risk of infiltration by spies, many of them double agents working for the British, German, communist or Vichy authorities.
Moulin’s main achievement was the establishment of the Conseil National de la Résistance, a centralised network of officials and bureaucrats whose role was to advise the Free French government of what would be needed to run the country after liberation.
Although not universally popular among the Resistance leaders, Moulin was passionately loyal to de Gaulle and to the cause of liberating France. Captured and tortured by the infamous Klaus Barbie in 1943, he died without revealing the vital information he possessed on Resistance activities.
De Gaulle was justifiably concerned with the difficulty of bringing the pockets of Resistance activity under central control after liberation. However, the résistants were generally composed of men and women whose main goal was to free France and restore national pride. Politics was not their primary concern.
It was dangerous to be a member of the Resistance, which may explain why less than 2 per cent of the French population – about 500,000 people – became involved in the movement. Of that number, 100,000 are thought to have died in combat or in the camps. It was also a hybrid organisation that took on distinct characteristics in different areas.
The Resistance created its own legends and heroes. One of its number, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, described it as “one of the greatest times to be alive”.
Cobb’s book makes the excitement and danger of the period palpable, and allows a greater understanding of what it must have been like to be involved in such a dramatic conflict.
Eamon Maher is director of the National Centre for Franco-Irish Studies at IT Tallaght. His latest co-edited book is
Issues of Globalisation and Secularisation in France and Ireland
(Peter Lang)