Allan Massie
Panic in Paris
Fleeing Hitler: France 1940
By Hanna Diamond
Oxford University Press 304pp £16.99
Wars displace people. The ‘exodus’ – the flight south in May and June 1940 of a good part of the population of northern France, including Paris – was remarkable. But it was not unique. Less than five years later there would be a comparable exodus in eastern Europe, as Germans – many belonging to families settled for generations in the Baltic States, Poland, and the territories that were once part of the Habsburg empire – fled before the conquering Red Army. When the Hitler war ended there were millions of unfortunates officially labelled DPs – Displaced Persons (refugees, as we would now say) – to be resettled. Those old enough to remember newsreels of the Korean War will recall pictures of South Korean peasants and the citizens of Seoul in flight from the Communist armies of North Korea and China. This should be remembered. The French exodus in 1940 was not exceptional.
Hanna Diamond, a Senior Lecturer in French History at the University of Bath, tells the story vividly and even-handedly. Panic unquestionably set in. It was all the greater because for seven months after war was declared in September 1939, nothing happened in the West. This was what we called the
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk