New York exhibit explores France under Nazi occupation

A landmark exhibition on Vichy France has opened at the New York Public Library. “Between Collaboration and Resistance: French Literary Life under Nazi Occupation,” guest-curated by award-winning historian Robert O. Paxton, runs until July 25 at the library’s headquarters at Fifth Avenue and 42^nd Street.

This rich and complex show explores one of the saddest chapters in the history of France, the period between 1940 and 1944 when France succumbed to the armies of the Third Reich.

Using rare journals, maps, letters and photos — including the original manuscript of Irene Nemirovsky’s bestselling novel “Suite Francaise” — the exhibition probes some of the same issues that Paxton examined in his groundbreaking 1972 book “Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944.”

Paxton, one of the first historians to broach the issue of French collaboration with the Nazis, was awarded the French Legion d’honneur in April.

Free public tours and a series of films made in France during the Nazi occupation accompany the exhibition. Admission is free.

— Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: A free exhibit on Vichy France is at the New York Public Library. Credit: Ann Sappenfield / New York Public Library]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 10:40 am by Susan Spano and is filed under Arts & Culture, Deals, Europe, France, Germany, Global, New York, News, Tips & Advice, Summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.