Browsing by Subject "Third Republic"

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    The Gravediggers of France at the Château d’Itter, 1943-­1945
    (Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays (JOIE), 2013-08) Munholland, Kim
    Discussion of responsibility for the defeat of France in 1940 has been a matter of controversy and debate among historians of France. Given the importance of this event in French history, which brought the downfall of the Third Republic, the establishment of the collaborationist Vichy Regime and Occupation by the Germans, these debates have led to accusations of incompetence and even treason. One author has called these individuals the “gravediggers” of France. A number of these individuals were arrested by the Germans in 1943 and assigned to a prison, the Château d’Itter (or Schloss Itter) in annexed Austria from 1943-45. This imprisonment compelled those whom some see as the guilty parties to confront one another and assess their own roles in the conduct of French politics leading up to the defeat and armistice. The paper revisits the way these individuals assessed their roles in the immediate aftermath of defeat, going back to the atmosphere at the time and a reexamination of responsibilities through the eyes of the participants. The article concludes that the severe condemnation of these individuals as “gravediggers” is excessive, reflecting the anger and frustration felt in the immediate aftermath of defeat.
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    Intersections of Art and Politics: Clemenceau, Monet and Republican Patriotism from Commune to Nymphéas
    (Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays (JOIE), 2015-10-01) Munholland, John Kim
    In the aftermath of France’s defeat in the war of 1870-71 and the Commune uprising of 1871, the French sought a new political identity and sense of unity, which brought a new political regime, the Third Republic. At the same time, a younger generation of French artists began experimenting with new forms and techniques that came to be known as Impressionism. The Third Republic was born at the same time that a new generation of artists were emerging. While there was always a distance between the artistic and political worlds, two representative figures, the politician Georges Clemenceau and a leading Impressionist, Claude Monet, found themselves joined in a common cause, despite Monet’s dislike of political conflicts, in defending the newly formed republic from its opponents during three crises in France at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. This paper examines this curious alliance of two friends and patriots during times of crisis during the formative years of the French Third Republic.