Populist Hearsay of 1939-45

World War II produced many histories which differ according to when and by whom they were written. Many historians tend to write in order to justify their home nation. In the recent Brexit debate it was claimed many times that “we won the war” and “we do not need Europe”; politicians were as guilty of this as everyone else. Britain survived rather than won the war single-handedly and managed only because of the Allies.

In France, at the L’Hôtel National des Invalides, in a museum dedicated to World War II, the photographs and notes tended to imply that Germany was defeated by the French with some American assistance. All countries have their bias and special points of view regarding their shared history of World War II, always somewhat nationally self-centred. This book confronts these nationalistic populist views, and, in places, challenges accepted versions of traditional national histories.