Preview
  • The French Resistance

  • The History of the Opposition Against Nazi Germany's Occupation of France During World War II
  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Kevin Kollins
  • Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (23 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The French Resistance

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Kevin Kollins
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The French Army crumbled swiftly under the powerful blows delivered to it in 1940 by Adolf Hitler's self-confident Wehrmacht. Launching a massive feint into Belgium to lure mobile French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) away from the actual point of attack, the weakly protected Ardennes Forest, the Germans struck past the Maginot Line. In a lightning campaign, Guderian's panzers punched through to the coast, dividing Allied forces with a steel cordon across France and forcing the evacuation of the BEF from the port of Dunkirk.

Not all French people proved willing to surrender to the Nazi invaders, however. While large numbers collaborated – working for German or Vichy companies to provide for themselves or their families – and some wholeheartedly backed the new regime out of opportunism, fascist conviction, or other motivations, a courageous minority operated in secret to resist their conquerors and the quisling state at Vichy: "De Gaulle described them as being bound together by a taste for risk and adventure [...] national pride sharpened by the suffering of their nation and 'an overwhelming confidence in the strength and cunning of their own plot'. [...] 'With him, it is [...] serving the Resistance and national honour, uncompromisingly demanding,' wrote one. 'With him, we would have to get used to breathing the rarefied air of the summits.'" (Fenby, 2012, 109).

The French Resistance never grew into a single unified organization. Rather, it remained divided in several major and numerous minor factions, each with their own philosophy and agenda. While these factions all shared the same goal – opposition to the Germans their Vichy pawns – they viewed each other with some suspicion and sometimes cooperated only grudgingly.

During the war years, however, the Resistance kept the spirit of an independent and defiant France smoldering under the surface of Nazi domination, waiting for the opportunity to emerge again, regardless of the precise political beliefs of its members.

Though exaggerated in scope and effectiveness by postwar legends seeking to minimize the widespread (usually involuntary) collaboration among the French people, the Resistance actually embodied a patriotic spirit determined to defeat Nazi totalitarianism and make France once again the nation of "liberté, égalité, fraternité" under the tricolor flag. Despite the faults, foibles, and occasional cruelty or criminality of individual Resistance members, the shared goal of defeating Nazi authoritarianism provided the glue needed to more or less unify the disparate factions. This defining aim also gave the movement resilience to weather the brutal suppression meted out by the Gestapo, the infamous Klaus Barbie, and the Vichy Milice.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2016 Charles River Editors
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The French Resistance

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story is valuable

The story is useful in more fully understanding WWII. The narrator should have been able to pronounce key German words, such as Wehrmacht, with a more authentic, and widely used, German “v” sound for the letter “w.”

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

total garbage

it sounds like it's being read by the same kind of AI trash that runs Alexa and the robocalls I get about how the Social Security Administration is sending a swat team to my house if I don't pay a fine. do not waste your time or credits on this stupid thing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!