The Resistance in Western Europe, 1940-1945

Olivier Wieviorka talks about his newly translated book, The Resistance in Western Europe, 1940–1945 (Columbia University Press, 2019), a sweeping analytical history of the underground anti-Nazi forces during World War II. Examining clandestine organizations in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Italy, Olivier Wieviorka sheds new light on the factors that shaped the resistance and its place in the grand scheme of Anglo-American military strategy. While national actors played a leading role in fomenting resistance, British and American intelligence services and propaganda as well as financial, material, and logistical support were crucial to its activities and growth. Wieviorka illuminates the policies of governments in exile and resistance actors regarding cooperation with the British and Americans, pointing to the persistence of national self-interest and long-standing historical tensions. Drawing on a wide range of archival sources and bringing together the political, diplomatic, and military dimensions of the conflict, this book is the first account of the resistance on a continental scale and from a trans-European perspective.

Olivier Wieviorka is professor of history at the École Normale Supérieure de Paris-Saclay. His books in English include The French Resistance (2016), also translated by Jane Marie Todd. Robert O. Paxton is the Mellon Professor Emeritus of Social Science at Columbia University. Mark Mazower is the Ira D. Wallach Professor of History at Columbia.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please arrive ahead of time to secure a spot.

Event co-sponsored by the Knapp Family Foundation, Department of History, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Alliance Program, and European Institute.