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War Veterans in Postwar SituationsThe Position of Former Combatants, French Authorities, and Public Opinion Vis-à-Vis German Prisoners of War (1944–1949)

War Veterans in Postwar Situations: The Position of Former Combatants, French Authorities, and... [This chapter offers an analysis of the “cultural demobilization” of French veterans. The complex relationship between French veterans and German prisoners of war (POWs) and with French society as a whole reflects the difficult process of reintegrating veterans that began in 1945 and lasted until the departure of the last POW in 1949. The chapter discusses the impact on this process of how the enemy was viewed, the role of political structures, and the importance of the international context—at three points in time. From 1944 until October 1945, a rationale of surveillance toward an enemy universally despised justified the participation of veterans—in recognition of their sacrifice—in the administration of POWs. As time went on however and the war receded into the past, POWs began to take on a more human and positive image as workers for France, which frustrated veterans’ attempts to remain the focal point of the country’s reconstruction. In 1947, there was a turning point in the relationship of French society with both POWs and veterans. Official projects aimed at the integration of the soon-to-be-liberated POWs, now accepted by public opinion, aroused conflicting reactions on the part of veterans and foreshadowed their marginalization by French society in the 1950s.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

War Veterans in Postwar SituationsThe Position of Former Combatants, French Authorities, and Public Opinion Vis-à-Vis German Prisoners of War (1944–1949)

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2012
ISBN
978-1-349-34417-8
Pages
137 –155
DOI
10.1057/9781137109743_7
Publisher site
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Abstract

[This chapter offers an analysis of the “cultural demobilization” of French veterans. The complex relationship between French veterans and German prisoners of war (POWs) and with French society as a whole reflects the difficult process of reintegrating veterans that began in 1945 and lasted until the departure of the last POW in 1949. The chapter discusses the impact on this process of how the enemy was viewed, the role of political structures, and the importance of the international context—at three points in time. From 1944 until October 1945, a rationale of surveillance toward an enemy universally despised justified the participation of veterans—in recognition of their sacrifice—in the administration of POWs. As time went on however and the war receded into the past, POWs began to take on a more human and positive image as workers for France, which frustrated veterans’ attempts to remain the focal point of the country’s reconstruction. In 1947, there was a turning point in the relationship of French society with both POWs and veterans. Official projects aimed at the integration of the soon-to-be-liberated POWs, now accepted by public opinion, aroused conflicting reactions on the part of veterans and foreshadowed their marginalization by French society in the 1950s.]

Published: Nov 3, 2015

Keywords: French Society; French Authority; French People; German Immigration; Security Rationale

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