The Collapse of the Third Republic: a Study of the Fall of France in 1940 (Obelisk)

William Shirer is not only a researcher of the history of France's defeat and collapse in World War II, but also a witness. He witnessed France, a military power on the European continent, helpless in the face of the invasion of Nazi Germany, and completely fell in just six weeks. How did this happen? After nearly ten years of research on the vast archives left behind and hundreds of interviews with leaders, generals, diplomats and ordinary people of the French Third Republic, Shirer gives the answer to this question in this book: France died from internal strife. This internal division and contradiction can be traced back to the 1890s, and has not been slowed down by the outbreak of war. This book records and analyzes major events that occurred in France before and after the outbreak of World War II, both at home and abroad, and details the thoughts and behaviors of the characters on all sides.