Trois continents,une guerre,un empire: Francophone Narratives of War and Occupation in the French Empire

Abstract

The colonies were at the very heart of France’s experience of the Second World War, providing soldiers in both 1939/40 and 1944/45 and playing a central role in Vichy’s propaganda. Their experiences of wartime echoed those of metropolitan France: ruled first by Vichy and often an occupying army, then liberated by local Resistance fighters and the Free French army. Indigènes (Bouchareb, 2006) promoted a supposed rediscovery of this participation. However, research undertaken by the Frame project has shown that there exist over 100 narratives about war in the empire, spanning a 70-year period, so culturally this story has never stopped being told in the literary world. This article will examine the three most important and recurrent topics examined in these cultural works (short stories, novels, films, plays) and map these onto the geographical locations and chronological events that have informed their authors. Reference will be made to narratives from all across the former French Empire.