Assassination in Vichy : Marx Dormoy and the struggle for the soul of France /
During the night of July 25, 1941, assassins planted a time bomb in the bed of former French Interior Minister Marx Dormoy. The explosion of the bomb on the morning of July 26 launched a two-year investigation that traced Dormoy's murder to the highest echelons of the Vichy regime. Dormoy, who...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Toronto ; Buffalo :
University of Toronto Press,
[2020]
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| Summary: | During the night of July 25, 1941, assassins planted a time bomb in the bed of former French Interior Minister Marx Dormoy. The explosion of the bomb on the morning of July 26 launched a two-year investigation that traced Dormoy's murder to the highest echelons of the Vichy regime. Dormoy, who had led a 1937 investigation into the "Cagoule," a violent ultra-right-wing terrorist organization, was the victim of a captivating revenge plot. Based on the meticulous examination of thousands of documents, Assassination in Vichy tells the story of Dormoy's murder and of the investigation, led by courageous Police Superintendent Charles Chenevier, who persisted despite opposition from both Vichy and collaborationists in Paris. A book about France's deep political divisions, wartime choices and postwar memory, Assassination in Vichy explores the impact of fascist extremism on France's history and explains why after the war none of Dormoy's assassins were punished for his murder. At the heart of this book lies the investigation of a true crime that was sensational in its day but overshadowed by the war. It is a microhistory that also tells a larger and more significant story about the development of far-right political movements, domestic terrorism, and the importance of courage. |
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| Physical Description: | xiv, 312 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781487588373 1487588372 9781487588366 1487588364 |