Leadership Struggle in France during World War II: Structural Oscillation in French Politics from Third Republic to Vichy France

Abstract

Political instability was the main problem in the last period of the Third Republic. The outbreak of the World War II has increased instability in France. Especially, the power struggle in Paris has become more complex within the uncertainty of “Strange War”. Ongoing leadership struggle in this complexity has become more pronounced with the axis of polarization between Vichy and London after the defeat. Visible camps in this polarization were the cadre who collaborated with Germany and the other who continued to struggle with England. This leadership struggle was more complex than it looked, the inside struggles of each camp, as well as de Gaulle’s and Allies’ interventions into Vichy France. It can be considered as an extension of the structural problems in the last period of the Third Republic

Keywords

• France
• Vichy France
• Free French Movement
• Pétain
• de Gaulle

II. DÜNYA SAVAŞI’NDA FRANSA’DA LİDERLİK MÜCADELESİ: III. CUMHURİYET’TEN VİCHY FRANSASI’NA FRANSIZ SİYASETİNDE YAPISAL SALINIM

Öz

Siyasal istikrarsızlık, III. Cumhuriyet’in son dönemindeki temel sorundur. II. Dünya Savaşı’nın başlaması, Fransa’daki istikrarsızlığı daha da artırmıştır. Özellikle, “Tuhaf Savaş” döneminin belirsizliği, Paris’teki güç mücadelesini daha karmaşık hale getirmiştir. Bu karmaşık yapıda devam eden liderlik mücadelesi, yenilgi sonrasında Vichy ile Londra arasındaki kamplaşma ekseninde daha belirgin hale gelmiştir. Bu kamplaşmada açıkça görünen taraflar, Almanya ile işbirliği yapan kadro ile İngiltere’den mücadeleyi sürdüren kadrodur. Dolayısıyla ilk bakışta, Vichy Fransası ile Özgür Fransa arasında ve Pétain ile de Gaulle arasında net biçimde görülebilen bir mücadeleden bahsedilebilir. Oysa hem iki kampın kendi içinde, hem de de Gaulle ve Müttefiklerin Vichy Fransası’na müdahaleleriyle, liderlik mücadelesi göründüğünden daha karmaşıktır. Bu mücadele, işgalin doğal sonucu olarak değerlendirilebileceği gibi, III. Cumhuriyet’in son döneminde ortaya çıkan yapısal sorunların ve kadrolar arası mücadelenin bir uzantısı olarak da değerlendirilebilir

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Fransa
• Vichy Fransası
• Özgür Fransa Hareketi
• Pétain
• de Gaulle

References

1. Adereth, Maxwell, The French Communist party: A critical history (1920-1984), from Comintern to ‘the colours of France’, Manchester University Press, 1984.
2. Agulhon, Maurice ve André Nouschi, Ralph Schor, La France de 1940 à Nos Jours, Paris, Nathan Universite, 1988.
3. Berstein, Serge, Histoire du Parti Radical: La Recherche de l'âge d'or, 1919- 1926, Vol. 1, Presses de Sciences Po, 1980.
4. Bruce, Robert Browman, Pétain, Verdun to Vichy, Washington D.C., Potomac Books, 2008.
5. Chapsal, Jacques, La vie politique en France de 1940 à 1958, Presses universitaires de France, 1984.
6. Commager, Henry Steele, The Story of the Second World War, Lincoln/NE, Potomac Books, 2004.
7. Compagnon, Olivier; Gourdon, Vincent ve Le Naour, Jean-Yves, Histoire politique de la France depuis 1940, Hachette, 2003.
8. Funk, Arthur L., “Eisenhower, Giraud, and the Command of Torch”, The Journal of Military History, Cilt 35, No 3, 1971, s. 103-108.

9. Herr, Richard, “The Memoirs of General de Gaulle”, Yale French Studies, Cilt 15, 1955, s. 120-128.
10. Imlay, Talbot C., “Democracy and War: Political Regime, Industrial Relations, and Economic Preparations for War in France and Britain up to 1940”, The Journal of Modern History, Cilt 79, No 1, Mart 2007, s. 1-47.
11. _______, “Paul Reynaud and France's Response to Nazi Germany, 1938-1940”, French Historical Studies, Cilt 26, No 3, 2003, s. 497-538.
12. Kim, Oliver Wyatt, “Fighting the Last War: How Strategy Failed France in 1940”, Concord Review, Cilt 21, No 1, Sonbahar 2010, s. 51-62.
13. Laub, Thomas J., After the Fall: German Policy in Occupied France, 1940-1944, Oxford University Press, 2010.
14. Muracciole, Jean-François, Histoire de la Résistance en France, Presses Universitaires de France, 2012.
15. Murray, Williamson ve Allan Reed Millett, A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, Cambridge/MA, Harvard University Press, 2009.
16. Paxton, Robert, La France de Vichy, 1940-44, çev. Claude Bertrand, Edition du Seuil, 1973.
17. Réau, Elisabeth du, “Edouard Daladier: La conduite de la guerre et les prémices de la défaite”, Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques, Cilt 22, No 1, 1996, s. 91-115.
18. Shannon, William Hunter, “Roosevelt, De Gaulle and Our Vichy Policy”, The Social Studies, Cilt 44, No 6, 1953, s. 203-208.
19. Simmonds, J. C., “The French Communist Party and the Beginnings of Resistance: September 1939-June 1941”, European History Quarterly, Cilt 11, No 4, 1981, s. 517-542.
20. Thomas, Martin, “The Discarded Leader: General Henri Giraud and the Foundation of the French Committee of National Liberation”, French History, Cilt 10, No 1, 1996, s. 86-111.