Robert O.Paxton is an American historian specializing in World War II and especially of France during this conflict that bloodied the world. The author demonstrates with talent and point by point by updating and analyzing Germans documents how the Vichy government was not a victim so occupants who imposed their orders, but rather indeed a zealous collaborator of the Nazi regime . This corrosive test out in 1972 had the effect of a bomb challenging many certainties, establishing point by point the different levels of culpability of the takeover and the establishment in June 40 evening to the national revolution policy , the special role of Petain and Laval Darlan, the attitude and the evolution of the population aware of the war, Hitler's positions Abetz or Ribbentrop finally the balance sheet and the legacy of Vichy in France. A fascinating book from beginning to end that it reads almost like a novel, is for all lovers of history and sought unconventional.
