simon kitson- arresting nazi spies in vichy france 1940-1942
Post on 16-Nov-2014
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Simon Kitson analyses the process of arresting Nazi spies and preserving sovereignty in Vichy France during the Second World War. This article deals with the controversial and neglected topic of the anti-German aspect of counter-espionage in wartime France. The Vichy government initially tolerated the arrest of Nazi agents as a way of securing its sovereignty over the 'unoccupied' parts of France or paradoxically of reinforcing collaboration by offering arrested spies as a bargaining counter in negotiations with the Nazis. Rapidly it began to back-track, undermining its secret services in this domain, as the desire to avoid diplomatic incidents weakened its resolve. Members of the secret services themselves took the dangerous decision to continue to see the Germans as an enemy power, although this attitude was never entirely devoid of ambiguity.
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