France Restored: Cold War Diplomacy and the Quest for Leadership in Europe, 1944-1954 (The New Cold War History)

Publisher's Description: Historians Of The Cold War, Argues William Hitchcock, Have Too Often Overlooked The Part That European Nations Played In Shaping The Post-world War Ii International System. In Particular, France, A Country Beset By Economic Difficulties And Political Instability In The Aftermath Of The War, Has Been Given Short Shrift. With This Book, Hitchcock Restores France To The Narrative Of Cold War History And Illuminates Its Central Role In The Reconstruction Of Europe. Drawing On A Wide Array Of Evidence From French, American, And British Archives, He Shows That France Constructed A Coherent National Strategy For Domestic And International Recovery And Pursued That Strategy With Tenacity And Effectiveness In The First Postwar Decade. This Once-occupied Nation Played A Vital Part In The Occupation And Administration Of Germany, Framed The Key Institutions Of The New Europe, Helped Forge The Nato Alliance, And Engineered An Astonishing Economic Recovery. In The Process, France Successfully Contested American Leadership In Europe And Used Its Position As A Key Cold War Ally To Extract Concessions From Washington On A Wide Range Of Economic And Security Issues. Table Of Contents -- The Founding Of The Fourth Republic And The Conditions For French Recovery -- The Limits Of Independence, 1944-1947 -- No Longer A Great Power -- The Hard Road To Franco-german Rapprochement, 1948-1950 -- Sound And Fury: The Debate Over German Rearmament -- The European Defense Community And French National Strategy. William I. Hitchcock, Foreword By John Lewis Gaddis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [259]-279) And Index.

In an important revision of early Cold War history, Hitchcock restores France's central role in the post-World War II reconstruction of Europe. He focuses on French diplomacy toward the occupation of Germany, the economic reconstruction of the continent, and the crafting of the NATO alliance.