Love for Life

Paris during Nazi occupation was ‘one big romp’
From The Sunday Times
By Matthew Campbell in Paris
25th May 2008
Paris during Nazi occupation was ‘one big romp’

A new book which suggests that the German occupation of France encouraged the sexual liberation of women has shocked a country still struggling to come to terms with its troubled history of collaboration with the Nazis.

Like a recent photographic exhibition showing Parisians enjoying themselves under the occupation, the book’s depiction of life in Paris as one big party is at odds with the collective memory of hunger, resistance and fear.

“It is a taboo subject, a story nobody wants to hear,” said Patrick Buisson, author of 1940-1945 Années Erotiques (“erotic years”). “It may hurt our national pride, but the reality is that people adapted to occupation.”

Many might prefer to forget but, with their husbands in prison camps, numerous women slept not only with German soldiers – the young “blond barbarians” were particularly attractive to French women, says Buisson – but also conducted affairs with anyone else who could help them through financially difficult times: “They gave way to the advances of the boss, to the tradesman they owed money to, their neighbour. In times of rationing, the body is the only renewable, inexhaustible currency.”

Cold winters, when coal was in short supply, and a curfew from 11pm to 5am also encouraged sexual activity, says Buisson, with the result that the birth rate shot up in 1942 even though 2m men were locked up in the camps.

The book has stirred painful memories. One French reviewer called it “impertinent” and another accused Buisson of telling only part of the story by focusing on the “beneath the belt” history of the occupation. Le Monde, the bible of the French intellectual elite, chided the author, who is the director of French television’s History Channel, for painting life under the occupation as a “gigantic orgy”.

People who lived through the occupation found it insulting to suggest that they spent it in bed. “It makes me really angry,” said Liliane Schroeder, 88, who risked her life as a member of the resistance and has published her own journal of the occupation. “It’s shocking and ridiculous to say life was just a big party,” she told The Sunday Times. “We had much better things to do.”

Schroeder nevertheless described her life as a messenger in the resistance as a “marvellous time” in which “people got on with life even if they weren’t laughing”. Young women were useful to the resistance, she said, because “when a young woman and a man sat in a café it did not look as if they were plotting. They looked like lovers”.

French sensitivities about the country’s wartime record were demonstrated last month when an exhibition of photographs depicting Parisians enjoying life under the Nazis included a notice explaining that the pictures avoided the “reality of occupation and its tragic aspects”. The photographs showed well-dressed citizens shopping on the boulevards or strolling in the parks. People crowded into nightclubs. Women in bikinis swam in a pool.

Buisson dedicates a chapter in his book to cinemas, which he describes as hotbeds of erotic activity, particularly when it was cold outside. “At a few francs they were cheaper than a hotel room,” he writes, “and, offering the double cover of darkness and anonymity, propitious for all sorts of outpourings.”

The French even had sex in the catacombs, the underground ossuary and warren of subterranean tunnels in Paris: war, Buisson argues, acted as an aphrodisiac, stimulating “the survival instinct”. He said in an interview: “People needed to prove that they were alive. They did so by making love.”

It has been claimed that prostitutes staged the first rebellion against the Nazis by refusing to service the invaders but Buisson called this a myth. The Germans, he claimed, were welcomed into the city’s best brothels, a third of which were reserved for officers. Another 100,000 women in Paris became “occasional prostitutes”, he said.

Elsewhere, members of the artistic elite drowned their sorrows in debauchery. Simone de Beauvoir, the writer, and Jean-Paul Sartre, the philosopher, were devotees of allnight parties fuelled by alcohol and lust.

“It was only in the course of those nights that I discovered the true meaning of the word party,” was how de Beauvoir put it. Sartre was no less enthusiastic: “Never were we as free as under the German occupation.”

De Beauvoir wrote about the “quite spontaneous friendliness” of the conquerors: she was as fascinated as any by the German “cult of the body” and their penchant for exercising in nothing but gym shorts.

“In the summer of 1940,” wrote Buisson, “France was transformed into one big naturist camp. The Germans seemed to have gathered on French territory only to celebrate an impressive festival of gymnastics.” The author said he did not want to make light of a tragic part of French history, but there was a need to correct the “mythical” image of the occupation. “In this horrible period, life continued,” he said.

“It is disturbing to know that while the Jews were being deported, the French were making love. But that is the truth.”

Now Buisson is at work on a sequel, about how women were punished for sleeping with the enemy. The provisional title is Revenge of the Males.

COMMENTS................

well said tom from cardiff

anne, paris, france

If you really want to evaluate America's contribution to Britain's war effort go and look at the debt we spent 50 years paying off to them. If the USA really did want to 'save' Europe how come we all had to pay so much for it. There's a word for people that profit from war - mercenaries.

J Roberts, Manchester, UK

Richard, Cincinnati..

Typical daft american revisionist view of WW2.

I suppose now you will say 'We'd be speaking German if it wasnt for Uncle Sam.'

Phil, Perth, UK

The Americans had nothing to do with saving the UK, so lets dispel that myth once and for all. We had already saved ourselves via the Battle of Britain and the superiority of the Royal Navy. The Americans at that point were content to sit back and sell us war materials at inflated prices.

J Roberts, Manchester, UK

Re: Jo in Dubai's comments: "Kurt, remind me again, how long did it take for the US to come on board?"

I think you mean how long did it take the UK to drag the US into another European war?

Dean, Washington, D.C., USA

Mickey:"Anyone who considers sexual liberation comparable to absolute evil, as Mr Lorriman..."

The bodily union of unselfish lovers (ie. married) is the summit of creation, and extra-marital sex is its false antithesis, riddled with self-indulgent love and lust.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

it's important to remember no matter what happened with the french in paris, if it wasn't for the USA then and now you'd ALL be under the stranglehold of saddam hussein and osama.

we work hard to liberate your people and keep this world safe from terrorists.

god bless the usa!

sam, Oklahoma, USA

The bickering below between Yanks & Brits is pathetic. Can you imagine our ancestors who were actually there having this dscussion? It wasn't a US war to fight to start with, but they helped with money & goods. When they were attacked, they joined the war in a decisive manner, & thank God for them.

Tom, Cardiff, Wales

Well, nationalism appears to be alive and well. Who'd guess that we all emerged from East Africa and inhabited the world randomly?
"Illicit" sex is surely far more prevalent than is "publicly" acknowledged. Think of the film/book 'White Mischief'; of aristocratic bedroom swopping in stately homes.

edward, london, england

Anyone who considers sexual liberation comparable to absolute evil, as Mr Lorriman below seems to, obviously doesn't get out a lot. Hasn't God got more important things to worry about than what I do in my bedroom - you know, wars and earthquakes and stuff?

Mickey, London,

WoaH How come our intelligence community did not tell us all this. We could have invaded France and not Irak and everyboby will be happy !! What a missed opportunity ... WB could be the president for life . !!!

Rick, Boynton Beach, US

France had already been through the horrors of WW1 and was occupied by a brutal force. Britain with the same bloody recent past was set for the same fate had it not been for the USA. God bless the French who risked their lives to help their country find freedom. Few are left to tell their story.

Richard, Cincinnati, USA

Marc of Quebec...awful World War knowledge mate. Britain went to war in 1914 to help the Belgians (mighty Belgium) . Britain and France went to war with Germany because of their invasion of Poland. On both accounts the Americans didn't enter the war until much, much later, thankfully.

kirk, Rotherham, UK

Hitchhiking in California I was picked up by a Vietnam vet. Oh dear, I thought to myself, the horrors this fellow must have lived! Then something amazing happened: He told me those years were the best in his life. He made a fortune in the black market!

Hiram, paris, France

Cathy Hansen -
US came at the last moment in the two WW. Where were you in 39, 40, 41 when Poland,Belgium, France, UK were attacked ? Selling goods to all parties including nazis, letting money to UK. US have helped finishing these 2 WW and Europe helped US to become the power it is now.

mutghjetu, Paris, France

Darian -
French brutalized their colonies ? Like all colonial countries did, they all have been ousted. But US did the same in all their zone of influence, Irak, afghanistan, cuba, south america.. Remember Vietnam ? Cambodia ? Contras ? Don't lecture us, you did it for the same reasons : MONEY !

mutghjetu, Paris, France

i find the whole moral tone of this article ridiculous....of course sexual activity shoots up in an occupied or threatened country....this is the survival instinct at its most basic and resiliant and thank god for it! Regard the phenomenon of terror sex in the States apres Septembre Onze.

anne, paris, france

To Jack Smith from Cork Ireland, Japan invaded the US, not the other way around. Do you think that Japan wouldn't have used the bomb first, if they had it?

Marty, Syracuse, NY, United Stated of America

Jo--Europe's addiction to lunatic ideologies & world wars transformed the 20th into unprecedented carnage. The U.S. spent 100 yrs winning your wars, cleaning up your messes & setting you back up in business. But for the US shouldering the burden E. would be Nazi, Stalinist or a future Islamic Reich.

cathy hansen, ruckersville, virginia, USA

Jed from West Palm Beach

The USA only "came aboard" when their precious Pearl Harbour was bombed, until then they just sat back and watched - mostly.

Alan, Kerikeri, New Zealand

Marie from Paris says the French weren't allied with the Germans for most of the war - who was it then that opposed the Allied landing in North Africa - the legal French Government's forces! It was an alliance of neccessity but there was an alliance between Vichy and the Germans.

Mark Jones, Cardiff, Wales

Woody Allen will be so disappointed to hear that "The Sorrow and The Pity" was only part of the story.

T. J. Cassidy, Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A.

Absolute evil, sexual liberation.

I am enjoying the connection.

Human sexuality is for love, and for fallen man that requires a vow of faithfulness. And then with your beloved you will be liberated for all your life, with God's pleasure upon you.

Don't be taken in by the atheists.

Greg Lorriman, Leatherhead, UK

As a teacher of history, I find this revelation quite uneventful, considering subjugated peoples did the same in the past against enemies. Its' a non-factor. So what !! People do what they do survive- period. I ask my students the same-what would they do to survive? Answers are quite varied.

Michael, Houston Tx, USA

I repeat and clarify my comments: After the German invasion, Vichy France fought as Allies with the Germans in North Africa and The Middle East. Future NATO countries then "liberated" France from the Germans just like we liberated Italy, by fighting. Then the French refused to join NATO!

Arthur, Melbourne,

'the Nazis and the Japanese were among the most barbaric people to walk the earth'
Perhaps, but you fail to mention the US, who killed 250,000 people with two bombs in 1945. Let's gloss over Vietnam and Iraq shall we? How America is 'civilised'...

Jack Smith, Cork, Ireland

We are only human and as such we look for whatever comfort we can in the most desperate of circumstances. Why do we have such a problem with the thought that people had fun under occupation? the Germans were there for five years which is longer than my children have been alive.

johanna raine, Aberdeen,

Its is interesting the Americans always claim to have won WWII single handedly where as in fact the real war was fought and won by the Russians in Europe certainly. The American (and us Brits) merely provided a mopping up service in comparison.

Wayne, Sydney, Australia

Listen very carefully, I will say this only once! Its a long time ago and who knows who did what really. Some fought bravely and some did not, some collaborated and some think they did not. How can anyone criticise another person when they have not been in that position.

Terry Murphy, Watford , Herts

Largest book in the world: The number of psuedo-intellectuals who which to judge the events of 65 years ago through the looking glass of current society. The lesson, people, is that humans will do what it takes to survive ... to think yourself immune from the same effects is childishly immature.

K. Bevier, Camden, USA

The image of heroice, idealistic French during the Nazi occupation, as portrayed, for example, in Casablance, makes me wretch. Didn't these same French brutalize peoples in colonies all over Southeast Asia and Africa at the same time? But conquered themselves, the French played sainlty Victims

Darian, Alexandria, USA

Jean-Marie Le Pen described the Nazi occupation of France as "not especially inhumane" , He was fined 10,000 Euro and given a 3 month suspended prison sentence. Monsieur Le Pen was born in 1928 and lived throughout the occupation. Liberté et Egalite, Je crois pas.

Paul Gibbons, M.Keynes, UK

I bet our boys are wishing they'd invaded France instead of Iraq.

Too bad the girls in Baghdad aren't as practical and "liberated" :(

Patrick , San Jose, USA

What an awful lot of xenophobic non sense and historic ignorance in many of these comments. France had collaborators but many brave french resistants died, often in awful circumstances (torture, mass murders etc.), trying to defend their country's honour. Forever live their memory!

Pierre, Dubai, UAE

Excuse me Mr. Jo from Dubai? If it wasn't for the USA this whole world might well be under Nazi rule. So I say to you and all those of your likes out there, best count your blessing that the US decided to "come aboard" when they did. Unless, of course, you are pro Nazi, then not so much huh?

Jed, West Palm Beach, USA

"In times of rationing, the body is the only renewable, inexhaustible currency". Hello? In what way does this equate to the "sexual liberation of women"?! This is an example of women being viewed as commodities and feeling that the only power they had was to trade in themselves. Some freedom.

Charlotte, Ealing,

Britain had the English Channel, the better Navy, and, eventually, the better RAF, between it and the Germans. There, but for the grace of these things, go us.

Kevin Straw, Leicester,

Jo, Dubai, UAE, said: "Kurt, remind me again, how long did it take for the US to come on board?"

Jo, let me remind you that the point is not to be the first to arrive, but the last to leave the battlefield.

Mitch, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

dana from boston said it right. saigon was also a party town. & the axis won wwII. just look at them today.

hook, norwood, usa

Let's hope this doesn't translate into an 'X' rated remake of Allo Allo then?!

Stuart Hawkesworth, Leeds,

Desperate times call for desperate pleasures!

LARRY MUNOZ, CORAL GABLES, United States

A prisoner doesn't consent to his own abuse.

The French were occupied and found a way to carry on with life despite the indignities that were imposed on them. They have a culture and a national character, and even the march of the Nazis was unable to stamp them out. Women and men compromised.

Carolyn Bongiorno, Glenham, New York, USA

Marc from Quebec- Great Britain went to war in 1914 over Belgium.

The declaration of war in 1939 was in response to the German invasion of Poland.

You'll also find that British, American and other Allied troops including Canadians liberated concentration camps - it wasn't just the Russians.

patrick, Sevilla,

So say the Canadian

ron, Ny, USA

If a Frenchwoman used her body to feed herself or her family, so be it. The ones who "romped" only for the sex, well, what can one say about bad morals? That wonderful generation, regardless of their flaws, keep this world safe in the face of incredible evil. God bless them all, now and forever.

Ann, Portage, USA

The legal, legitimate, elected French government, which had decamped from Paris to Bordeaux to Vichy, agreed an Armistice with Germany as they felt they were beaten. So France was not at war with Germany after that, regardless of what the victors' history books wish to tell you.

Gregory Lauder-Frost, London, UK

Prostitution of the body has nothing to do with Women's Liberation. Women's Liberation has everything to do with choice and these women were driven by circumstance.

I imagine that the reality of sexual oppression will never become "realest" to either Mr. Buisson or commentator Eugene.

Raquel, Vancouver,

"The French were allies of Germany for most of the war" according to Arthur in Melbourne....very interesting comment: Arthur you have SUCH a good knowledge of the French history ! I was stupid, I fought that at that time France was invaded by Germany... By the way, NATO was created in 1949...

Marie, Paris, France

This subject of discussing 65 year old events is quite convenient to these people who prefer avoiding the real issue of today which is Anglo-American war criminals Bush and Blair, and followers.

If Britain had defended Belgium sa pledged, there would have been no German invasion of Northern France.

Marc, Quebec, Canada

Anyone from Jersey or Guernsey want to make a contribution to this discussion on occupation?

Peter

Peter Foot, Geneva, Switzerland

It seems to me that the real heroes of WW2 were the Russians. They're the ones who pushed the Germans back to Berlin, liberating the eastern front in the process, including the concentration camps.

Marc, Quebec, Canada

Women who are sleeping with men for financial reasons or for survival - with the boss, milkman or whatever - are not sexually liberated. They are desperate women who have been forced into a form of prostitution. This is not a party that the author is describing, it is a desperate society.

Juliette, Birmingham, UK,

I do not think the "English intellegensia" would have behaved any differently.
After all they did not want to fight in the first place.
As for HRH The Duke of Windsor......well !

Peter Bolt, Redditch, England (born & still living there)

During WW2 the UK was flooded with Americans preparing to invade Europe. At the time British troops were conscripted overseas and the GIs were " Over-sexed and Over-here".
This begs the question whether the human primeval response is to procreate in times of danger to ensure survival of the specis?

Peter Hooper, Windsor, UK

So that French rolled over and capitulated in WWII and then collaborated with the Nazi's. What's news here?

J Roberts, Manchester, UK

“They gave way to the advances of the boss, to the tradesman they owed money to, their neighbour. In times of rationing, the body is the only renewable, inexhaustible currency.”

Hmm, very liberating - NOT.

Katharine Edgar, york, uk

"Making love whilst at the same time deporting hundreds of thousands of Jews [...] no wonder they are ashamed of their history ".Claire from London => I hope you NEVER make love because people are dying all over the world from starving and wars (Iraq for ex)...that would be shameful if you do so !

Marie, Paris, France

Re: Kurt's comments: "For us in the USA, Canada, and the UK the narrative can be made simple: we fought bravely and won."
Kurt, remind me again, how long did it take for the US to come on board?

Jo, Dubai, UAE

If it's true and there is evidence there should be no recriminations. The Germans have had to come to terms with their awful past, as have we, so should the french. If it' not true then blame the Historian for rumour-mongering and disprove it. Then either way, realise it was a hard time for all!

Glyn, Telford,

Christy, just as men will always seek a romp with a younger woman, if not constrained by legal and moral strictures...women will always jump into bed with the more dominant male. Later, contrary to myth, thousands of German women were quite happy to 'welcome' the victorious Russian invaders...

Bruno, London,

Victors write History. Thats why 90 year old prison camp wardens are dragged from care homes but 60 year old communist spies are left free.
Stalins regime killed more people than Hitlers, yet is the more acceptable.
Politics makes starange bed fellows and all that

Dominic, Manchester, England

It must be said that Mister Buisson is no university historian. His book is full of personal fancy more than facts and sensible insights. He extrapolate huge unproved consequences from
one thing: the absence of more than 2 million middle-aged French men (20-40 year old) which were POW in Germany.

Philippe , paris, France

are we supposed to be surprised? desperate times call for desperate measures!!

C Kroustis, London, UK

Arthur, Melbourne said: "even though it was NATO troops that liberated France."

NATO did not exist when France was liberated. It came into being in 1949.

Pete Jones, FOLKESTONE, UK

Second smallest book in the world? Germans who own up to having family members that willingly fighting in the war
Third smallest book in the world: German members of the SS. Anyone would think there were only 5 people in it

James, London, UK

Almost 20 years after the fall of the iron curtain, where are the Nuremberg Trials of your ally - your best friend Joseph Stalin, atrocities of 7O year Soviet regime? What was your name for the purges,Gulag slave camps?" Democracy in training" as the American ambassador put it at that time.

Maya, Riga,

Unfortunately , women have always had to endure "sex for survival' to feed their children (and themselves). De Beauvoir may have had a wonderfully erotic time but not all women in Paris would have the same happy memories.

Wombat, Brisbane , Australia

Perhaps the Germans improved the gene pool?

Edna Burbridge, Engreve, France

One thing I must say for the French in general, their sense of financial wellbeing is of the highest level. Far higher than valour, morals or ethics. De Gaulle, with his arrogant stance whilst sitting safely in London represents teh French in World War II perfectly.

Anne Wotana Kaye, London, England

The Arc de Triomphe contains The Tomb Of The Unknown Collaborator doesn't it?

Alex, Essex,

The British women were as guilty as the French.During the Norman conquest the Anglo Saxon women screwed the conquering Normans and the British women in the Channel Islands also screwed the Germans. The British and French women knew which side their bread was buttered on during the occupation.

hortense vaughan, london, uk

Making love whilst at the same time deporting hundreds of thousands of Jews and supporting the Nazis in their quest to wipe out a whole race of people...no wonder they are ashamed of their history.

Claire , London, UK

The French have a great civilization. It would be hard for anyone to go there and not enjoy themselves.

Louaphil, Lakeville, usa

These were desperate times. Most people just do what they need to to survive. Most people just want a quiet life (in this context both French and Germans). So lets just get on with life and admit nobody's perfect and war rarely bring out the best in us.

S Wright, Southport,

"'The French were allies of Germany for most of the War"

"Tell that to David Irving"

and the best yet: "the good guys lost WW2"

What planet do you people live on? The Holocaust, is not an act of 'the good guys,' it is the single worst act in history, and to deny it should be a crime.

Tom, Cardiff, Wales

Oh my God, next they are going to tell us that the evil Germans did not transfix Belgian babies on their bayonets and that they did not use corpses from the battlefield to make fertilizer !

No lampshades of human skin and no soap made from humans.

Joseph, Chicago, USA

It can be tough to see WWII from a new angle. For us in the USA, Canada, and the UK the narrative can be made simple: we fought bravely and won. For France, it is not so easy: many resisted but many other collaborated. This book seems wrong headed to me, but it raises an important argument.

Kurt Akemann, Des Plaines, USA

There are always a quantity of frivoulous people who will want to party whoever is in charge. It is just the way of careless personalities. Probably some folk welcomed the Germans as an opportunity to ignore conventions in order to get away with all sorts of naughty behaviour with big blonde guys.

Boris, Belgravia, London

De Gaulle did a job on Frances failure during the war. He basically re-wrote history due to embarresment of his own countrymen = Vichy France. He even re-wrote the constitution so forget this "We had to survive stuff" - The UK meanwhile was bombed - no Paris cafe lifestyle for us.
Fran

Francisco Martin, Madrid, Spain

I hope we're not feeling too smug here people about the notion that the French rolled over and welcomed the Nazis. If Britain was invaded and subjugated today, I wouldn't put much faith in the drunken, work shy chavs who make up much of the UK's population to offer any resistance, sexual or otherwis

Conners, London,

Life has to go on, even under unwanted and unwarranted foreign military occupation. One or two contemporary examples are Baghdad and Kabul.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

People adapt to the conditions under which they have to live. When Barcelona was conquered by Spanish fascists in January 1939, it was seen as a liberation by many who had lived under duress for more than two and a half years. But of course you won't read this in our history books.

Albert Mascardo, Barcelona,

Life has to go on, even under a hated, unwanted and unwarranted foreign military occupations. Some contemporary examples are Baghdad, Basra and Kabul.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

The French did fight. They lost a greater percentage of their population in WWII conflict than the United States did - over 200,000 military deaths - with a further 350,000 civilian deaths. Their problem was that they lost and had to make the best they could of it.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

The French were allies of Germany for most of the war. They fought against the British in North Africa and attempted to hand their fleet over to the Germans rather than let the British have it. Even now they don't want to be part of NATO, even though it was NATO troops that liberated France.

Arthur, Melbourne,

War brings out the animal instinct in people, as morals are usually neglected when survival is threatened. We who are well-fed, warm and relatively safe have no right to judge the deeds of those who lived in such terrible times, for who's to say we wouldn't have done the same in their place.

Dana, Boston, USA

When a woman feels it necessary to sell herself to support her family (I am sure many were the sole provider for children and elderly family members) the choice often is taken away from her. To imply, as this article does, that women were out for a sex romp is dispicable.

Christy, Lincoln, Ne, USA

Genetically, WWII made France more German and Germany more Russian. However, the German women put up more of a fight.

E. O'Neal, Birmingham,

You think you can speak or write anything you want in the "free west?" Tell that to David Irving or any of those who have ever even questioned how many died in the Holocaust, for example. Tell that to a woman who sings the "old " version of the German national anthem. Prison and fines.

Edward Smith, Montgomery, USA

Germany won fair and square?!? The good guys lost WWII!?!? Where does this nonsense come from? Civilization defeated Barbarianism. Pure and simply. The Nazis and the Empire of Japan were warmongers and among the most barbaric humans to have walked the earth.

Andrew, Lincoln, California, USA

I was stationed at Shape Hqrs while serving in The US Army 1958-1959 in Paris. I was only 20 years old and met and befriended many French women. I thought they were charming and friendly. They were still suffering from the economic and emotional scars or the Nazis. I gave them PX items to survive.

leon D Smith, Fort Myers, US

A pretty good indicator that the good guys did win WW 2 is that we don't live under the Third Riech, we can speak and write as we wish, and that the world is becoming more democratic all the time especially eastern Europe. People who disdain Americanization should go live in Iran or N. Korea.

Michael Grant Sanders, Corpus Christi, USA

"The good guys lost" states Amarillo Texas. Someone should
have this lad check the prescription on his Foster Grants. Somehow the antics of "the good guys" and what surfaced
at the Nuremberg Trials should constitute a rethink of what
these specimens really stood for and did.

Gerald, Ebenezer, Canada

Maybe some of these contemporary luminaries with their
bent ideas on an Allied victory should look at what happened
to the collaborators at war's end.

Gerald, Ebenezer, Canada

My mother aged 27 in 1945 entered Paris as an English employee of the U S Office of War Information. As such she was able to travel anywhere in the Paris area. Nearly all the French she met said they had a very good time during the German occupation. Most germans were very kind. and honest.

smith, chichester, uk

Second smallest book in the world? Answer, Hamilton Intelectuals.

Padraig Ocinnead, KTown, Canada

I don't see how some of these examples -- using sex as a means of survival for example -- have anything to do with eroticism or liberation, for the women involved at least.

Being forced into sex to feed your family is not liberating, albeit other women might have found the times freeing.

BKT, Sydney,

Alas, Mankind will never come to terms with sex. It lunges at him from the nearest grass and inexorably sends him into panic fits. Come on, people. Sex is real. It's the realest thing you have.

Eugene, heidelberg, germany

Smallest book in the world? Answer: French War Heroes

Reggie, Hamilton, Canada

Hindsight is a powerful tool. If Hitler had not so resolutely immolated himself and Germany, the occupation of France would probably have been permanent - and the Resistance would have been hopeless dead-enders like today's Iraqi militias. France declared war, and Germany won fair and square.

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

It now appears that "'Allo, 'Allo" was a documentary.

Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Jew Lobby is, for all useful purposes, also the Turks' lobby. That's why the Jew-subjugated Yanks bombed their way into the Christian Bosnia and Kosovo on behalf of "Islam". And, as you guys from the Balkans know better than anyone, the British Navy was pimping for the Turks all over the Mediterranian and the Black Seas since at least the middle of the 19th century, while the Jew slave traders in Istanbul were auctioning Christian women and chidren abducted from wherever in Europe the Turkish Janizaries set their foot. And you know by now who was the real First Lord of the Admiralty in dear old England -- the Rothschild vermin. So much for the much-advertised "English liberties"...

Counter Bias, Melbourne, Victoria Australia

Jaroslav,
Slowly but surely the Truth is coming out…Dieter

Dieter,
What worries me that truth will come to DEAD WHITE MAN. Few spread truth but most just flip another channel to search for "professional" wrestling, baseball, socker (football) or any of great Spielberg, Springer, Stren shows. Did you notice, SS is cursed but SSS and SSS(R) are glorified. Power of delusion by controlled media.

I do not know if is true but I red in few historical documents that there were not Bolsheviks who first conducted Holocaust by man made famine and Holcaust by extermination camps. Some history books claim that long before Bolshevism destroyed Russians, Irish were in substantial percent exterminated by artificial famine and first attempt in moderm history to eliminate indigenous population was when Holand people from South Africa were locked in first in history concentration camps by English colonial forces. Holand (Duch) people, specially children were duying in huge proportion and rapidly till they became obedient to English masters. Who knows, may be it is only Irish or Holand propaganda against country of Lords and princess Di (In Polish - ARABODAJKA=Female who gives to Arabs, Arab-pleaser?)

Also Armenians were practically anihilated by turkish monsters comming from Central Asia who invaded them. Strangelly, Turks were, are and will be dear friends and allies of England against Europe.

Jaroslav, Earth

Link to this article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3998943.ece?Su...