Episode 216: France's War in WWII
Guest: Douglas Porch
Sunday, September 22, 2024
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This Week on History Happy Hour: After its shocking defeat to the Nazis in 1940, how did France respond? In his book Resistance and Liberation: France at War, 1942-1945, historian Douglas Porch traces how Charles de Gaulle sought to forge a French army and prevent civil war.
Chris and Rick talk to Douglas about the experiences of ordinary French men and women caught up in war and defeat, the choices they made, the trials they endured, and how this has shaped France's memory of those traumatic years.
Douglas Porch is an American military historian and academic. He currently serves as a Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, and is the former Chair of the Department of National Security Affairs for the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California. He has written more than eight books and numerous other publications, mostly about French history and French colonialism.