Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 (History of Warfare (Brill))

Simon Kitson's Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 offers a ’history from below’ analysis of the attitude of the Marseille Police between the Popular Front and the Liberation of France. Kitson highlights the specificities of policing France’s largest port: clientelism, corruption, a floating population and high levels of criminality, including organised crime. But he also demonstrates why many of his conclusions about Police attitude can be generalised to other parts of France and, in so doing, challenges many of the assumptions of the existing historiography. Although they zealously hunted down Jews and communists, the Police were not as reliable for the Vichy government as is commonly assumed and were, undoubtedly, far more involved in Resistance than most sectors of society. List Of Abbreviations -- A Note On Sources -- A Note On The Organisation Of The Police -- Introduction -- From Hope To Disappointment : The Police Experience Of The Popular Front -- Marseille Chicago -- Enthusiasm And Co-operation : The Start Of The Vichy Government -- Policing Opposition -- Anti-semitic Policing -- The Hunt For German Spies -- Ripping The Heart Out Of Marseille -- Disaffection And Unreliability -- The New Slave Trade -- New Rivals -- Towards Liberation -- A New Police For A New France? -- Conclusion. By Simon Kitson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Acknowledgements A note on sources List of Abbreviations used in this manuscript A note on the organisation of the Police Introduction 1 - From Hope to Disappointment: The Police Experience of the Popular Front 2- Marseille Chicago 3- Enthusiasm and Co-Operation: The Start of the Vichy Government 4- Policing Opposition 5- Anti-Semitic Policing 6- The Hunt for German Spies 7- Ripping the Heart out of Marseille 8- Disaffection and Unreliability 9- The New Slave Trade 10- New Rivals 11- Towards Liberation 12- A New Police for a New France? Conclusion Bibliography Index In Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936-1945 Simon Kitson challenges assumptions about the attitude and behaviour of the French Police and its role with regard to Resistance, Collaboration, the Holocaust and the forced labour draft during the Second World War