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Presentation Type

Presentation

Full Name of Faculty Mentor

Philip Whalen, History

Major

History

Presentation Abstract

This paper examines the rise and fall of France's Vichy Regime from 1939 to the early 1940s, specifically focusing on the ways women collaborators and resistors revealed the internal contradictions of the Vichy Regime. During its reign, the Vichy Regime implemented a series of traditionalist and exclusionary policies to restore France to a patriarchal society. The implementation of such policies and the regime's call to collaborate with Germany thus resulted in varying responses amongst the French public, including women. Through my analysis of various primary and secondary source documents, it became apparent that women were unable to uphold the conventional expectations of the Vichy Regime due to the various circumstances of World War II, including the challenges posed by France's agreed collaboration with Germany. Women's inability to uphold these expectations thus resulted in varying responses amongst them, as they were forced to engage in acts of collaboration and/or resistance. After providing a thorough analysis of France and the roles of women during the Vichy Regime, my paper will then explore how the regime's inability to deliver on its stated agenda catalyzed the evolution of two myths: collaboration and resistance. Within my paper, I demonstrate how women's acts of collaboration and/or resistance are what undermined these claims by the Vichy Regime. Thus, their actions revealed the regime's internal contradictions and its failure to deliver on its stated agenda, additionally proving women to be a critical part of the fight for France and its integrity.

Location

Room 3 (BRTH 114)

Start Date

13-4-2022 12:50 PM

End Date

13-4-2022 1:10 PM

Disciplines

History

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Apr 13th, 12:50 PM Apr 13th, 1:10 PM

The Internal Contradictions of the Vichy Regime: Women Collaborators and Resistors

Room 3 (BRTH 114)

This paper examines the rise and fall of France's Vichy Regime from 1939 to the early 1940s, specifically focusing on the ways women collaborators and resistors revealed the internal contradictions of the Vichy Regime. During its reign, the Vichy Regime implemented a series of traditionalist and exclusionary policies to restore France to a patriarchal society. The implementation of such policies and the regime's call to collaborate with Germany thus resulted in varying responses amongst the French public, including women. Through my analysis of various primary and secondary source documents, it became apparent that women were unable to uphold the conventional expectations of the Vichy Regime due to the various circumstances of World War II, including the challenges posed by France's agreed collaboration with Germany. Women's inability to uphold these expectations thus resulted in varying responses amongst them, as they were forced to engage in acts of collaboration and/or resistance. After providing a thorough analysis of France and the roles of women during the Vichy Regime, my paper will then explore how the regime's inability to deliver on its stated agenda catalyzed the evolution of two myths: collaboration and resistance. Within my paper, I demonstrate how women's acts of collaboration and/or resistance are what undermined these claims by the Vichy Regime. Thus, their actions revealed the regime's internal contradictions and its failure to deliver on its stated agenda, additionally proving women to be a critical part of the fight for France and its integrity.