De Munich à Dantzig

Paul de Villelume was a career officer and worked as an attaché to the French Foreign Office from 1935 to 1940. His role as liaison between the army and the ministry, as well as his presence at several key meetings gave him the opportunity to witness important events which shaped the future of France and the world. Parts of Villelume’s diaries, covering 1939–40, have already been published by Fayard in 1976. This new book is only concerned with an earlier period starting in August 1938 and finishing in August 1939, left aside for an undermined reason in the previous edition. In this publication, de Villelume’s words are faithfully reproduced and complemented by several historical and analytical annotations guiding the reader through the complex world of the Etat Major de l’Armée and the Foreign Office. Simon Catros, the editor, has done a remarkable job to make this diary accessible and to contextualize the period through a well-informed introduction. The source itself is relevant to those studying the French high command or the period preceding the Second World War. De Villelume’s diary is particularly interesting when addressing senior officers’ psychology. The man offered a cruel and cynical portrait of his colleagues and highlighted the difficulties arising from the poisonous relationship between the army and the political world. Key figures such as Generals Gamelin and Georges, but also Edouard Daladier, Georges Bonnet and Alexis Léger, are all featured heavily in this publication. There is little doubt that Catros’ work will be welcomed by the ever-growing community of historians who work on the 1940 defeat, striving to part with a simplistic explanation of France’s collapse, as pioneered by Bruno Chaix, Maurice Vaïsse and Christine Levisse-Touze. This book is also a good introduction for scholars, students and members of the public who want to learn more about this difficult period of history.

Art · Art history · Aside · Banquet · Literature · Officer · Period (music) · Political science · Politics · Portrait · Sociology · Witness · World War II · Classics · French Historical and Cultural Studies · History · Law · Political and Social Issues