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This book analyses the successive appearances of Adolf Hitler in French fiction between 1945 and 2017. It discusses why, unlike what has been observed in the US and in the UK, it has proven problematic for French novelists to write about Hitler in their numerous fictional explorations of the Second World War. It examines the literary and ethical challenges of including historical characters such as Hitler in fiction, and demonstrates how these challenges evolved over time as memories of the Second World War also evolved in France.
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List of contents
Chapter 1: Hitler and the Second World War in French Historiography and Fiction.- Chapter 2: Hitler in the Margins. On Jean-Paul Sartre's Le Sursis (1945) and Jean Genet's Pompes funèbres (1947).- Chapter 3: What if Hitler had Survived? On Pierre Boulle's 'Son Dernier Combat' (1965) and René Fallet's Ersatz (1974).- Chapter 4: From Adolf to Hitler. On Frédéric Dard's Le Dragon de Cracovie (1998) and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt's La Part de l'autre (2001).- Chapter 5 : Adolf before Hitler. On Christian Millau's Le Passant de Vienne (2010) and Michel Folco's La Jeunesse mélancolique et très désabusée d'Adolf Hitler (2010).- Chapter 6: Hitler from France to the Rest of the World (and Back): Concluding Remarks.
About the author
Manuel Bragança is Assistant Professor in French Studies at University College Dublin, Ireland, where he is also a member of the Centre for War Studies and of the Humanities Institute. His research interests focus on the historiography and memories of the Second World War in France and Europe.
Summary
This book analyses the successive appearances of Adolf Hitler in French fiction between 1945 and 2017. It discusses why, unlike what has been observed in the US and in the UK, it has proven problematic for French novelists to write about Hitler in their numerous fictional explorations of the Second World War. It examines the literary and ethical challenges of including historical characters such as Hitler in fiction, and demonstrates how these challenges evolved over time as memories of the Second World War also evolved in France.
jhopok
Additional text
“Bragança offers is a series of detailed and convincing case studies that usefully illuminate the specific evolution of French memorial culture since the end of the war. It will be useful for anyone interested in cultural memories of the Second World War, French post-war literature, or perpetrator representations.” (Joanne Pettitt, Modern & Contemporary France, Vol. 32 (1), 2024)
“It offers an incisive and illuminating analysis of how and why Hitler’s representation in French novels has evolved over time … . The book’s conclusion includes a comprehensive survey of other relevant works, and examines contemporary trends to ask what Hitler’s future in fiction might look like. Insightful and lucid in both its broad analysis and readings of individual … works, this book makes a very substantial contribution to the study of French cultural memory … .” (Matthew Phillips, The Year’s Work in Modern Language Studies, Vol. 81, 2021)
Report
Bragança offers is a series of detailed and convincing case studies that usefully illuminate the specific evolution of French memorial culture since the end of the war. It will be useful for anyone interested in cultural memories of the Second World War, French post-war literature, or perpetrator representations. (Joanne Pettitt, Modern & Contemporary France, Vol. 32 (1), 2024)
It offers an incisive and illuminating analysis of how and why Hitler s representation in French novels has evolved over time . The book s conclusion includes a comprehensive survey of other relevant works, and examines contemporary trends to ask what Hitler s future in fiction might look like. Insightful and lucid in both its broad analysis and readings of individual works, this book makes a very substantial contribution to the study of French cultural memory . (Matthew Phillips, The Year s Work in Modern Language Studies, Vol. 81, 2021)
