In Search of the Maquis Rural Resistance in Southern France, 1942-1944 [Paperback]

This is a study of the Maquis in southern France, the Resisters who took to the woods and hills in the struggle against the German Occupation in the Second World War. H. R. Kedward's detailed and perceptive account explores what participation in the Maquis meant for those involved both at the time and subsequently. He examines the motivations of the maquisards and how the circumstances of occupation and resistance affected the ways of life of rural communities in the south of France. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories of the participants, this original and readable book offers us important insights into the nature of community and regional tradition.

By successfully locating the maquis among the people and communities of southern France Kedward has contributed in no small measure to redefining the nature and refiguring the dimensions of resistance in France. --The Historian

This is a Maquisard history of the Maquis, and a very fine one. --Guardian

Kedward's scholarship is exemplary; he has covered the archives and the vast list of French writing, much of it by participants. To help the reader share some of the insights a scholar obtains from interviews, the author has included some fifty pages of oral testimonies. --The Journal of MilitaryHistory

For anyone with a special interest in modern France or the Second World War, this in-depth study of resistance in the southern zone from 1942 to 1944 will be a most rewarding read...[W]e must be grateful to Dr. Kedward for a very splendid and comprehensive book. --Morning Star

Limitations of space make it difficult to convey adequately the richness of this book....[T]he author, in drawing our attention to the great variety of political, geographical, and social circumstances that shaped a multitude of complex responses to the Occupation, has succeeded admirably in capturing the texture of the Resistance anlƒŸ