Figure 1.--Hitler as a result of spectcular militarty successes (1939-41) controlled virtually all of Europe except the Soviet Union. Them ajor prize was France. This gave Hitler a Großraum rivling the United States and far in excess of either Britain or the Soviet Unions. Often ignored by World War II historians is while German indutruial production inreased, the production in the occupied countries which could have greatly expnded the German war economy, plummeted to unheard of levels.. while at the sane time American war production exploded to levels that the grmansnd japoabese dud noit believe oossible. Here is a Paris street scene duriungthe occupation. Notice the absence of motor vehicles in a country that had the largest motor vehicle iundustry on the continent. The collapse of the economies of occupied Europe was a major factor in the Germany's failure to capitalize on its early military successes. The Germns could simply not match Allied induatrial production. THERe were also military consequences. It is part of the reason that when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941), the great bulk of the Deutsche Ostheer drove east on foot with horse-drawn carts.

The French home front is a complicated topic because it concerns three very different periods. Thus topics like war production, rationing, labor, civil unrest, police repression, and a range of other topics varied widely depending on the chronological period because of the German invasion and occupation (May-June 1940). The German occupation was only ended with the Allied invasions (June-August 1944). Children were affected in many ways, including school, scouting, church, rationing, and other areas. After NAZI Germny invaded Poland lunching World WarII, Britin and France declared war (September 1939). The Soviet unioin invaded polabnd a few day later. Britain and france did jot declare war. France mobilized and men were called up to the front. Rationing began. Children were evacuated from Paris, but not at the same extenbt as the British. And gas masks were not issued to all civilians. Most evacuated children did not have gas masks. For an 8-month period noeriod, there was no significant land operations. The French conducted a ineffectual move into the Saar abnd then moved bck behind Maginot Line. The Allied plan was as in World War I to wage economic warfare. The Allies blockadeed Germany in an effort to destoy thegerman economy. The Germans lunched the there own commerce war using u-boats and surfce raiders. the problem for the Allies was that unlike World War I, the Motolktoiv-Ribbentrip Pact signed days before the German invasion of Poland was an alliance and the Soviets provided the NAZIs huge quntities of food, oil, and other strategic materials. The new French government in the unoccupied zone was formed at Vichy. Nominally neutral, Vichy assisted the NAZIs in their war effort. Marshall Petain who led the Vichy Government concluded that after the fall of France that Germany was the dominant power in Europe. He sought to carve out a place for France in the new Europe. He believed that France could form a bridge between NAZI Germany and America and the rest of the world. The German invasion put the French economy under German control (1940). The Vichy leader, World War I hero Marshall Pétain, believed that Germany had won the War and this adopted collaboration as the only possible policy. Vichy moved to modernize both small business and industry. Vichy authorities created the General Committee for the Organization of Commerce (CGOC) modernize and professionalize small business. [Jones] The Vichy Government essentially seized control of all production including major industrial concern. Vichy synchronized the French economy with the NAZI war economy was part of the German Großraum. The NAZI economic model was implemented. Free trade unions were dissolved and replaced with state-controlled labor associations run without worker input. The French economy was open for massive German exploitation through adverse exchange rates and imposed reparations. France had the largest economy if all the occupied countries and proved to be a major support for the Germans throughout much of the War. Hitler's strategic vision was to finance and supply the War through conquests in the East. As those conquests did not materialize as envisioned, it was the occupied West, especially France that supported the German war effort.

Phony War (1939-40)

After NAZI Germny invaded Poland lunching World WarII, Britin and France declared war (September 1939). The Soviet unioin invaded polabnd a few day later. Britain and france did jot declare war. France mobilized and men were called up to the front. Rationing began. Children were evacuated from Paris, but not at the same extenbt as the British. And gas masks were not issued to all civilians. Most evacuated children did not have gas masks. For an 8-month period noeriod, there was no significant land operations. The French conducted a ineffectual move into the Saar abnd then moved bck behind Maginot Line. The Allied plan was as in World War I to wage economic warfare. The Allies blockadeed Germany in an effort to destoy thegerman economy. The Germans lunched the there own commerce war using u-boats and surfce raiders. the problem for the Allies was that unlike World War I, the Motolktoiv-Ribbentrip Pact signed days before the German invasion of Poland was an alliance and the Soviets provided the NAZIs huge quntities of food, oil, and other strategic materials. This helped sustain the Geramn economy and prepare for a Western Offensive. The only imprtant land oprttion during the Phoney war was the german invasion of Denmark and Norway (April 1940). The Germans fortified with Soviet supplies, launched their Great Western Offensive (May 1940).

Vichy (1940-44)

The new French government in the unoccupied zone was formed at Vichy. Nominally neutral, Vichy assisted the NAZIs in their war effort. Marshall Petain who led the Vichy Government concluded that after the fall of France that Germany was the dominant power in Europe. He sought to carve out a place for France in the new Europe. He believed that France could form a bridge between NAZI Germany and America and the rest of the world. The German victory had humiliated France, but France had fought. Vichy represented a loss of honor. Hitler had expected to fuel his war by exploiting the resources of the East. In fact, the German War effort was supported by exploiting the occupied countries of Western Europe--especially France. Petain and Vichy were at first fairly popular. This did not change until the Germans began to demand French workers for war work in the Reich. At the sane time the French became increasingly aware that German plundering was causing shortages and that the German military campaign had faltered in the East.

Paris

Paris perhaps more so than any other capital is the soul of the country. The French nation essentially grew up around the city. The French language is the language that Parisians spoke. Other languages were spoken in he provinces. Paris was a center of European culture. it became known as the 'city of lights'. In the Franco-Prussian war, Paris resisted the Germans, months after the French Army was defeated (1870-71). In World War, the Germans were stopped. The decisive battle for Paris was fought at the Marne and the German defeat there ended the best chance the Germans had to win the War (1914). Paris mobilized for war after the Germans and Soviets invaded Poland (September 1939). The War seemed very distant at the time and Parisians seemed safe behind the Maginot Line. The Germans launched their Western Offensive (May 1940) and within weeks entered Paris without a fight (June 1940). This was in sharp contrast to the Polish defense of Warsaw. This was more important than it might seem. If the French had not surrendered to the Germans at the time, the Germans could not have launched either the Battle of Britain or have an opportunity to invade. The British would have had months to prepare, not a few weeks. Many say that without the Channel, The British would have meekly surrendered like the French. They see Churchill's defiant words as mere bluster. Perhaps, but one historian thinks there was a difference. [Roberts, 268-69.] The Germans occupied Paris (June 14). The French moved the capital to Vichy. Paris was governed by the German military and German military and civilian agencies and companies moved in. The City of Lights went dark. A curfew was in effect from 9 PM in the evening until 5 AM in the morning; at night the lights went out. Rationing of food, tobacco, coal and clothing was imposed (September 1940) and got progressively worse. Paris students demonstrated and were brutally suppressed (November 1940). The Paris taxis disappeared--there was no gas. The streets were no longer congested--for the same reason. Shortages of fuel, both gas and coal affected production. All over NAZI occupied Europe production plummeted, having a huge impact on the potential German war economy. Food and consumer goods grew more and more scarce and the prices escalated as production declined and the Gerrman seizing much of what was produced. A million Parisians fled the city for the provinces, where food was more available and there were fewer Germans. The French press and radio was strictly censured by the Germans. Jews were forced to wear the Yellow Juif Star and then began to disappear as the Germans and Vichy police rounded them up (July 1942). As German repression increased, clandestine groups were formed and networks created. General Charles de Gaulle broadcasted inspirational messages from London. Slogans appeared on walls and an underground press. There were attacks on the Germans, but German reprisals were unbelievably barbaric. Thus attacks on the Germans were rare, especially in Paris. The Resistance focused on espionage and attacking collaborators and infrastructure. After the Germans began conscripting French workers many began forming partisan bands in the countryside. The Allies landed in Normandy (June 1944), The French Resistance in Paris rose up (August 19). The partisans seized the police station and began attacking the Germans. Hitler ordered the city destroyed. Unlike cities in the East, however, the German commander refused to comply. This would have got him shot, but he wisely surrendered to the Allies. Liberation came a few days later when French and American tanks entered the city (August 25). The following day, General de Gaulle led a triumphant parade down the Champs-Élysées. An entire Aamerican division moved down the Champs-Élysées on the way to the front. De Gaulle organized a free French government in Paris, basically preventing the communits from seizing power.

Economy

France by virtue of its climate France and fertile soil is one of the most productive countries on earth. And before the Industrial Revolution this made France the richest and potentially most powerful country in Europe. Before the Industrial Revolution, France was at he center of of European affairs. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain. France and Germany lagged behind, but by the mid-19th century both countries were rapidly developing. Here Germany forged ahead of France. France was a world leader, but behind Britain, Germany and the United States. Industrial development was concentrated in northeastern France along with Belgium. A factor here was the location of coal fields. Except for thee northeast, much of the rest of France remainder remained little changed, basically a country dominated by peasant agriculture. The more rapid pace of industrialization was part of the reason for Prussia/Germany's victory in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). The French learned one lesson in the War, don't fight the Germans without powerful industrialized allies. This was a lesson the Germans did not learn. French industry was based on textiles and some mining, but much less heavy industry than the Germans. It is not entirely clear why France industrialized at a relatively slow pace. It had significant technological capacity, more so than the United States. Napoleon I had promoted science and education. The result was competent scientists and engineers. We believe that the Catholic monarchy's persecution of the Protestant Huguenots at the end of the religious wars was a factor (18th century). The Protestants were the most entrepreneurial and mechanically talented group in France. French business as the industrial revolution progressed tended to be tightly held family firms in which traditionalism and paternalism were highly valued. France did develop a strong banking system, although the importance of the Rothschilds impeded the emergence of a stock exchange which played such an important role in the development of industry in America and Britain. Paris more like Vienna than Berlin became a world center for luxury craftsmanship. The development of large factories, major corporations, and heavy industry lagged behind the Germans. France developed an important rail system which as in other countries promoted industrialization. Unlike America and Britain and to a lesser extent Germany, the French rail system was not primarily focused on economics and thus was not as powerful a force for industrialization as in these other countries, even Belgium. Unlike Germany, the French economy was damaged by World War I. Much of the industrial northeast was occupied by the Germans and there was immense physical damage. France was kept in the War by American and British loans and the fact that unlike Germany it was largely sufficient in food production. The damage was why the French were so insistent on damages after the War. The Depression did not hit France as hard as America, Britain, and Germany, in part because it was not as heavily industrialized. It was, however, impacted, with riots (1934) and the election of Léon Blum's socialist Popular Front Government (1936). Elation with a socialist government resulted in a wave of strikes. Some 2 million workers went out in strike. The workers seized factories and stores. The strikes were not ordered by Blum, but were spontaneous and largely unorganized. The business community saw a Communist revolution coming. They met secretly with Blum and negotiated major labor law reforms known as the Matignon Accords. [Rossiter] The labor strife and economic confusion was in sharp contrast to the NAZIs in Germany who put the economy on war footing. German rearmament alarmed Blum. He began a major program to increase French arms production. France did not, however, have the same industrial capacity as Germany. The cost of rearmament forced the Popular Front to abandon its social reform programs. [Thomas] At the time the war broke out, Germany had a much larger economy than France. And for several years a much larger portion of the German economy was devoted to arms production. One estimate suggests $200 billion in comparison to Germany's $385 billion. [Harrison] The German invasion put the French economy under German control (1940). The Vichy leader, World War I hero Marshall Pétain, believed that Germany had won the War and this adopted collaboration as the only possible policy. Vichy moved to modernize both small business and industry. Vichy authorities created the General Committee for the Organization of Commerce (CGOC) modernize and professionalize small business. [Jones] The Vichy Government essentially seized control of all production including major industrial concern. Vichy synchronized the French economy with the NAZI war economy was part of the German Großraum. The NAZI economic model was implemented. Free trade unions were dissolved and replaced with state-controlled labor associations run without worker input. The French economy was open for massive German exploitation through adverse exchange rates and imposed reparations. France had the largest economy if all the occupied countries and proved to be a major support for the Germans throughout much of the War. Hitler's strategic vision was to finance and supply the War through conquests in the East. As those conquests did not materialize as envisioned, it was the occupied West, especially France that supported the German war effort. While France was a major support for Germany, for what ever reason, the Germans did not make extensive use of the significant French arms industry. They did use the Renault plants to produce trucks. Germany at the time was still using horses for logistical transport. French agriculture helped supply German food needs. Many French POWs also worked on German farms. Vichy had to ship large quantities of French agricultural produce to the Reich, causing serious food shortages in France. The problem for Germany was the NAZI centralized, bureaucratic control of the French economy was a dismal failure. The economy contracted with massive declines in output. And production continued to decline during the occupation. French production contracted significantly. The 1939 production of $200 billion fell to only $110 billion, approaching a 50 percent decline by 1943. And fell below 50 percent in 1944. [Harrison] This massive decline meant that there was much less for the Germans to exploit. Much of this was the direct result of NAZI policies. The heavy burdens placed on France and the resulting shortages meant that effective wages plummeted, reducing worker motivation. Labor shortages resulted from the refusal to release the POWs and forced worker conscription. The Germans did not supply needed raw materials. Passive resistance to the increasingly brutal Germans increased inefficiencies. French factories proved far less productive than German plants. [Speer] And as the War began to go against German, their demands increased which further impaired French production. The French rail system was extensively used by the Germans to ship French war booty, food and manufactured goods back to the Reich. And to ship military supplies for the occupation forces, especially important as the Germans began building the Atlantic Wall. The Allies began bombing rail yards and major factories. The French rail system was largely destroyed in the run up to D-Day. Vichy had created the first comprehensive plan for the French economy. This was not undertaken by any previous French Government. After D- Day the Provisional Government organized by Gen. DeGualle adopted the centralized Vichy plans for France's recovery effort (1944-45). The Monet Plan was to a large part based on the Vichy plans (1946). [Brinkley, p. 87.] Although the use of Vichy plans not publicized at the time, it is notable that both the Vichy an DeGualle group did not use pre-War laissez-faire principles and turned to fundamental economic changes and state economic planning. [Jones]

Liberation (1940-45)

The Allies landed in Normandy (June 1944). Most of France was, however, not liberated until August. Almost all of the country was liberated by September. France proceeded to reconstitute its armed forces and participate on the drive east into the Reich. Liberated France was dominated by two issues, First was finding a punishing the collaborators. Summary justice was carried out in the immediate aftermath of liberation. Once order was restored, punishing the collaborators proved a complicated undertaking. Unlike the rest of Europe, France had signed an armistice with the Germans and Vichy was the legitimate national Government. As a result, many collaborationists could say that they were carrying out the instructions of the legitimate French Government and not collaborating with the Germans. Second and most important was the future of France. This was determined by a struggle for power between the Guallists and the Communists. There was considerable damage to French industry, although not as much as in the occupied East. France has some of the riches farm land in Europe. And the Germans were driven out before the 1944 harvest was brought it and without German exploitation, food was available.

Created: 8:38 PM 8/22/2022
Last updated: 8:39 PM 8/22/2022