Gabi+Aufdencamp



**Historical Investigation:** To what extent did the French Resistance contribute to the success of the liberation of France from Nazi-German forces during World War II? Gabi Aufdencamp IB History Y1   Words: 1,976        **A. Plan of Investigation**  German-Nazi forces unexpectedly invaded France on June 20, 1940 throwing the country into mayhem until the eventual liberation of France on August 25th, 1944. This historical investigation will look at the impact that various resistance movements had on the liberation of France. This question will be answered by utilizing books written by members of the French Resistance movements such as Raymond Aubrac, various internet articles and online database references. The investigation will look at what the many different roles and actions of the French Resistance movements and how they played a role in riding France of German-Nazi influence.  **B. Summary of Evidence**  The Germans invaded France on June 20, 1940, this invasion came as a surprise to many French citizens who were under the impression that the Maginot Line would keep any foreign influence out of France. Yet, the Germans under Hitler’s Nazi command prevailed and staged a blitzkrieg to gain control of France. [1] The Germans then split France into two ‘zones of occupation’. There was the northern ‘zone’, otherwise known as the ‘occupied zone’, which was governed by Nazi Germans, and the southern ‘zone’ which was called Vichy France and was controlled by Marshall Pétain who collaborated actively with the Germans and ruled with hints of fascism[2].  The earliest forms of resistance were simple but set the stage for larger forms of resistance, which would soon develop. Examples of early methods of resistance were things such as; peaceful incorporation with German soldiers, pretending not to understand the German soldiers, giving them wrong directions as well as graffiti which became very popular. It was common for people to spray paint the saying “Vive la France!!” which represented their pride for their country. [3] Students in Paris also held a demonstration at the Arc de Triomphe in November of 1940 protesting the occupation of France. The first organized resistance groups made various safe routes and secret escape routes between France and places like Spain, England and Sweden. These routes allowed soldiers in hiding to escape and bring with them information from inside occupied France.  The most notable leader of the French Resistance movement was Charles DeGaulle. He was the one of the first people to publicly denounce the Vichy government publicly. DeGaulle ran things in exile in England and directed resistance via the BBC radio. His government was called the “Free French” movement. DeGaulle was to take all the different resistance movements throughout France and organize them into one group known as the Central Bureau of Information and Action (BCRA) [4]. The BCRA was able to supply military information to the Allies and sent agent to occupied France secretly via plane, boat and submarine. The organization was also responsible for training resistance members, sabotaging military target and rescuing important civilians from the Nazis. [5]  When the time came for liberation, the Resistance became very mobile and active. They did everything from sabotage enemy phone lines and send classified information to the allies to actually liberate small towns throughout France. [6] Paris was liberated after strikes broke out in August, the Resistance quickly put up barricades in which they fought for the city. Eventually on the 25th, the Germans surrendered and DeGaulle marched down the Champs Elysées to celebrate his victory. The fight continued throughout France, and as the Allies fought to gain freedom for France, so did the Resistance. France was eventually rid of German influence and liberated due to the aid and sacrifice the Resistance provided as well as the battles the Allies fought throughout the country. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**C. Evaluation of Sources** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Aubrac, Raymond. The French Resistance: 1940-44. Paris: Hazan, 1997. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">This book was written by Raymond Aubrac who is a french engineer and was a member of the French Resistance and joined the movement in 1940. He was the deputy to the head of the secret army and was arrested several times and escaped. He is one of the last survivors of the Caluire meeting. The book includes a short summary of the French Resistance movement. It is mostly comprised of photographs of the resistance movement and documents relating to it. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not only does this book include fabulous photos of the Resistance, it also features an informative introduction that outlines the movement. The beginning of the book explains the roots of the Resistance and how it began. It explains that people started resisting German occupation and Vichy government in small ways which grew into bigger and much more profound movements of resistance. This book also speaks in detail about a protest held by students on the Champs Elysées who carried fishing poles with them that read “De Gaulle”. The book also introduces the question that the Resistance faced as they grew larger and stronger, which was “should they attack German soldiers directly?” Aubrac’s book also discusses the underground ‘networks’ which were created by the Resistance, and their role in supplying the British with information about the German armies during a time where censorship was prevalent in France. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Clandestine Press is also addressed which was the underground newspaper. The clandestine press recruited members and fed the peoples thirst for information during a time of darkness, the printers who agreed lend the use of their printers ran huge, but great risks. 1942 was the year in which the consolidation of many smaller movements began and was lead by Jean Moulin. Once these movements were consolidated it was easier to get things done. But, groups such as the Maquis faced issues when many young people came and wanted to join the resistance but there was not much food or shelter to supply them with. To solve this problem counter fit operations began and forged papers for many young men and women involved. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">This book vastly covers the Resistance movement and its history, I still have a few more sections to read on the liberation of France and what impact that had on the movement. There’s information on not only the roots of the movement but also their accomplishments as well as wonderful pictures. The only limitation is that a personal account of the resistance would have been nice. A man who was a member of the Resistance wrote the book and it would have been nice if he had written a personal account of the movement so that the reader could have a primary source of a personal account of events instead of just an overview of what happened. While the information is very good, the book is also short. It’s made up primarily of pictures and only has about 40 pages of actual information. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Green, Robert. "Vive la France": The French Resistance during World War II.** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**N.p.: A First Book, 1969. Print.**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Robert Green wrote this book in 1969. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Boston University and has written many biographies of important figures of the ancient world. This book provides a very good general overview the French Resistance movement’s history. It also provides information on the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. This book provides information on the state of France before the Germans invaded; it explains how the French did not expect the invasion because they relied on the Maginot Line to keep the Germans and other foreign invaders out of the country. When this failed and the Germans took Paris, all the French people were astonished and panicked at the same time. France was in a state of chaos. The book discusses how the French people started to subtly resist the German soldiers who occupied the country. People resisted the Germans in simple ways such as peaceful in cooperation, giving German soldiers false directions and pretending not to understand the Germans. Many French people also started to spray paint graffiti all over the nation with sayings such as “Vive la France!” The book chronicles how the French formed resistance movements all over the south of France and what role they played in the war. It also explains that the resistance movements aided the allies in the war by secretly providing them with inside information on what was happening in Vichy France. The book also gives a good explanation of what Charles De Gaulle’s role was in the movement and how he basically created his own form of French government while he was in exile. The limitation of this book is the fact that it is written as a children's book. While it provides very good, detailed information, it leads me to wonder if the author left any information out that they didn’t see fit for children. It also spends a lot of time discussing the actual occupation of France during World War II as opposed to discussing more in depth about the resistance movements and their impact on the war. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**D. Analysis** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The French Resistance boosted the moral of the French people. The resitance brought the people into the war, it gave them something to fight for. The earliest forms of resistance such as graffiti and propaganda played huge roles in the success of the French Resistance. Symbols such as the Cross of Lorraine, “became a symbol of resistance to Nazi and Vichy authority”[7]. The Cross of Lorraine was commonly spray painted and flown on flags throughout France. Symbols such as this one, raised awarness of the cause and let the Nazi’s know that their prescene would not be tolerated in France. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The safe routes which were created by the resistance also helped Jewish people who lived in fear of being sent ot Nazi concentration camps safely escape the countrry[8] to freedom. These safe routes could also be used to sneek high ranking resistance officials and army officials out of the country who were facing persecution from German-Nazi forces. Once the French Resistance joied forces with the Allies, victory was on the horizon. The allies were able to help “Resistance smuggle important strategic information out of the county”[9]. The paths of communication were now open, and valubale information could more easily flow from one group to the other. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The resistance did more than just spray paint building and send information to outside countries. They worked inside the country as well As the war progressed and the Nazi’s gained complete control of France, the work of the resistance members became more violent and directly impactful. The Resistance took advantage of tehir direct contact with enemey forces and blew up telephone lines, derailed supply trains and destyored German ammunition. This effectivley set back the German’s and made their mission in France much harder than it needed to be. The successes of the Resistance also came with losses. The consequences of being caght by Germans were grim. They could include anything from severe tourtue in an attempt to get i <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">nformation out of the prisoner to being pubicaly hung[10]. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**E.** **Conclusion** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The French Resistance proved the strength of the people during World War II. Though their military achivements were seemingly small, the impact they had on the people was mesmerizing. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The morale of the French people was saved by the Resistance. The movement gave them something to commit to, and pour their hearts into. Without the resistance, the fate of France could have been much different. The people of France took destiny into their own hands and fought for their freedom. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**F. List of Sources** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Albert, Pierre. “The Journalism of the French Resistance: An Underground War of Words.” //Freedom Forum//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.freedomforum.org/‌publications/‌msj/‌courage.summer2000/‌y08.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aubrac, Raymond. //The French Resistance: 1940-44//. Paris: Hazan, 1997. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Green, Robert. //“Vive la France”: The French Resistance during World War II//. N.p.: A First Book, 1969. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moorehead, Caroline. “The Brave Women of the French Resistance .” Interview by Jennifer Hunter. //TheStar.com//. N.p., 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. <http://www.thestar.com/‌news/‌insight/‌article/‌1081900--the-brave-women-of-the-resistance>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Trueman, Chris. “The French Resistance.” //History Learning Site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/‌french_resistance.htm>.

[1] Green, Robert. "Vive la France": The French Resistance during World War II. N.p.: A First Book, 1969. Print. [2] Aubrac, Raymond. The French Resistance: 1940-44. Paris: Hazan, 1997. Print. [3] Green [4] Aubrac [5] Ibid. [6] Ibid. [7] Green [8] Ibid. [9] Ibid. [10] Aubrac.

**Annotated Bibliography****Topic:** The French Resistance**Question:** How did the French Resistance Movements impact the outcome of World War II? Albert, Pierre. "The Journalism of the French Resistance: An Underground War of Words." //Freedom Forum//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/msj/ courage.summer2000/y08.html>.
 * Source 1**
 * MLA Citation:**

**Origin:** This web page was written by Pierre Albert who is a professor emeritus of the Institut français de presse at the Université de Paris-2, he is a leading historian of the French Press and has written several books on the subject. The essay was translated into English by Claude-Jean Bertrand

**Purpose:** This essay discusses in depth the history of the journalism/press in France while under German occupation and how information was illegally spread.

**Value:** This essay provided a comprehensive background on the history of journalism during the French Resistance. When the Germans invaded France and took over, they also took control of the press to prevent attempts at rebellion or resistance. They put Vichy and Nazi propaganda in all the newspaper, which still legally existed. Journalists did not know if they should betray their beliefs and the French people and write for the Nazi propagandists or refuse to and risk looking suspicious. Once underground publications began to pop up they would hand write things like handbills and then anonymously distribute them amongst the people and ask that those who read them copied them and distributed them among their friends and colleagues. Once resistance members got their hands on printing presses, they would do things like re-write a Nazi controlled paper and subtly change the information within to reflect their cause and replace the Nazi papers at the newsstands with theirs resistance papers. The people who distributed the papers risked execution if caught. Papers were distributed in Universities amongst students who would spread the information within. These illegal publications were one of the only links to the outside world they had during this dark time.

**Limitations:** The limitations of this essay are that it does not discuss in long-term impact the underground journalism had on the resistance movement. But it does provide nice information on detailed events, which occurred in France while under Vichy/Nazi control. It is a translated article, which also poses a limitation since there is no realistic way to ensure the translation is correct.

**Source 2** **MLA Citation:** Aubrac, Raymond. //The French Resistance: 1940-44//. Paris: Hazan, 1997. Print.

**Origin:** This book was written by Raymond Aubrac who is a french engineer and was a member of the French Resistance and joined the movement in 1940. He was the deputy to the head of the secret army and was arrested several times and escaped. He is one of the last survivors of the Caluire meeting.

**Purpose:** This book includes a short summary of the French Resistance movement. It is mostly comprised of photographs of the resistance movement and documents relating to it.

**Value:** Not only does this book include fabulous photos of the Resistance, it also features an informative introduction which outlines the movement. The beginning of the book explains the roots of the Resistance and how it began. It explains that people started resisting German occupation and Vichy government in small ways which grew into bigger and much more profound movements of resistance. This book also speaks in detail about a protest held by students on the Champs Elysées who carried fishing poles with them that read “De Gaulle”. The book also introduces the question that the Resistance faced as they grew larger and stronger, which was should they attack German soldiers directly? Aubrac’s book also discusses the underground ‘networks’ which were created by the Resistance, and their role in supplying the British with information about the German armies during a time where censorship was prevalent in France. The Clandestine Press is also addressed which was the underground newspaper. The clandestine press recruited members and fed the peoples thirst for information during a time of darkness, the printers who agreed lend the use of their printers ran huge, but great risks. 1942 was the year in which the consolidation of many smaller movements began and was lead by Jean Moulin. Once these movements were consolidated it was easier to get things done. But, groups such as the Maquis faced issues when many young people came and wanted to join the resistance but there was not much food or shelter to supply them with. To solve this problem counter fit operations began and forged papers for many young men and women involved.

**Limitations:** This book vastly covers the Resistance movement and its history, I still have a few more sections to read on the liberation of France and what impact that had on the movement. There’s information on not only the roots of the movement but also their accomplishments as well as wonderful pictures. The only limitation is that a personal account of the resistance would have been nice. The book is written by a man who was a member of the Resistance and it would have been nice if he would have written a personal account of the movement so that the reader could have a primary source of a personal account of events instead of just a overview of what happened. While the information is very good, the book is also short. It’s made up primarily of pictures and only has about 40 pages of actual information.

**Source 3** **MLA Citation:** Green, Robert. //"Vive la France": The French Resistance during World War II//. N.p.: A First Book, 1969. Print.

**Origin:** This book was written by Robert Green in 1969. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Boston University and has written many biographies of important figures of the ancient world.

**Purpose:** This book provides a very good general overview the French Resistance movement’s history. It also provides information on the Nazi occupation of France during World War II.

**Value:** This book provides information on the state of France before the Germans invaded, it explains how the French did not expect the invasion because they relied on the Maginot Line to keep the Germans and other foreign invaders out of the country. When this failed and the Germans took Paris, all the French people were astonished and panicked at the same time. France was in a state of chaos. The book discusses how the French people people started to subtly resist the German soldiers who occupied the country. People resisted the Germans in simple ways such as peaceful in cooperation, giving German soldiers false directions and pretending not to understand the Germans. Many french people also started to spray paint graffiti all over the nation with sayings such as “Vive la France!”. The book chronicles how the French formed resistance movements all over the south of France and what role they played in the war. It also explains that the resistance movements aided the allies in the war by secretly providing them with inside information on what was happening in Vichy France. The book also gives a good explanation of what Charles De Gaulle’s role was in the movement and how he basically created his own form of French government while he was in exile.

**Limitations:** The limitations of this book would be that it is written as a children's book. While it provides very good, detailed information, it leads me to wonder if the author left any information out that they didn’t see fit for children. It also spends a lot of time discussing the actual occupation of France during World War II as opposed to discussing more in depth about the resistance movements and their impact on the war.

**Source 4** **MLA Citation:** Moorehead, Caroline. "The Brave Women of the French Resistance ." Interview by Jennifer Hunter. //TheStar.com//. N.p., 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. <http://www.thestar.com/news/ insight/article/1081900--the-brave-women-of-the-resistance>.

**Origin:** This news article was published by [|thestar.com] which is one of Canada’s leading online news websites. The article was written by columnist Jennifer Hunter who previously wrote for the //Chicago Sun-Times// and studied at Ryerson University. In the article she interviews British biographer Caroline Moorehead who received a BA from the University of London on her new book on the subject of women in the French Resistance.

**Purpose:** This article provides good information on what role women played in the French Resistance Movement and also gives suggestions for additional reading to find more information

**Value:** During the interview in the article, Moorehead explains her new book, and the women in the french resistance which the book talks about. The article explains that many women from all different walks and paths of life came together to aid the French Resistance movements during World War Two. Everyone from dressmakers to doctors of all different ages. Moorehead explains that a lot of the women she talked to who were actually in the resistance were criticized for joining the movement and leaving their children in the care of others, but the women explain that they left their children so that they wouldn’t have to grow up under French Vichy rule and how that desire drove them to fight back. This interview also explains how many children of the women who were in the resistance didn’t want to share their parents stories because they were too graphic and depressing, the stories weren’t told until a generation of grandchildren emerged with a desire to share them with the world. Women who were caught aiding the resistance were sent to Auschwitz and punished there and when they returned to France, they became depressed and their lives were very much impacted by the movement and their punishment in the concentration camp.

**Limitations:** While this interview gives a good idea of what it was life for women involved in the resistance, it doesn’t give many specifics. There isn’t any full detailed accounts of what it was like or any statistics about the impact women made. There is also not any specific instances mentioned where women impacted the movement or what roles they played in it.

**Source 5** **MLA Citation:** Trueman, Chris. "The French Resistance." //History Learning Site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/french_resistance.htm>.

**Origin:** This article was written by Chris Trueman, he created his own website called historylearningsite.co.uk in order to provide a comprehensive overview of World History accessible to students all over the world. He has been teaching various types of history for the past 26 years and received his BA in History from Aberystwyth University in Wales and a MA in management from Brighton University.

**Purpose:** The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of the French Resistance movements during World War II and explain the role they played achieving French Liberation from German occupation during the war.

**Value**: This source provides a very good overview of how the resistance movement in France and what their roles were. The article begins with a brief summary of why the resistance movements were created. It explains that the French morale was very low after the Nazi-supported Vichy government was approved and were shocked after the Blitzkrieg. The source goes on to explain that in June of 1940 Charles de Gaulle addressed the people of France and called on people to continue to rebel against the Germans, and was well well received in occupied France, but not as much in Vichy France. The resistance had been made up of multiple groups until June of 1941 when all the communist resistance groups within France joined forces to create on unified group right before the November 11th 1942 complete occupation of France by the Germans. This article also explains the relationship formed between the British government and de Gaulle and de Gaulle’s leadership within the movement. Finally, the source tells that by 1944 there were an estimated 100,000 member of resistance movements all over France, and that there were 60 intelligence cells which gathered vital information in the build up to D-Day.

**Limitations:** This source doesn’t provide detailed information about the formation of the resistance movement, just a general overview. It also does not discuss specific events which the resistance movements were part of. And it does not provide any insight into the perspective of actual members of the resistance movemen