The French Who Fought for Hitler
Memories from the Outcasts

This book examines how the Frenchmen who volunteered to fight for the Nazis account in their memoirs for their controversial decisions.

Philippe Carrard (Author)

9781107643376, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 August 2013

274 pages, 3 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.4 kg

'This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book on a subject that has never been treated at length before. The project is of real interest and importance, and I admire Philippe Carrard for the courage to undertake it, and to successfully complete it.' Susan Rubin Suleiman, Harvard University, and author of Crises of Memory and the Second World War

Thousands of Frenchmen volunteered to provide military help to the Nazis during World War II, fighting in such places as Belorussia, Galicia, Pomerania, and Berlin. Utilizing these soldiers' memoirs, The French Who Fought for Hitler examines how these volunteers describe their exploits on the battlefield, their relations to civilian populations in occupied territories, and their sexual prowess. It also discusses how the volunteers account for their controversial decisions to enlist, to fight to the end, and finally to testify. Coining the concepts of 'outcast memory' and 'unlikeable vanquished', Philippe Carrard characterizes the type of bitter, unrepentant memory at work in the volunteers' recollections and situates it on the map of France's collective memory. In the process, he contributes to the ongoing conversation about memory, asking whether all testimonies are fit to be given and preserved, and how we should deal with life narratives that uphold positions now viewed as unacceptable.

Introduction
1. Backgrounds
2. Authenticity
3. Veracity
4. Textualization
5. Frameworks
6. Bearing witness
7. From the outcasts' point of view
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Second World War [HBWQ], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]