Book Launch – "German Soldiers and the Occupation of France, 1940-1944" by Dr. Julia Torrie

The Research Office and the History Department invite you to a book launch for History professor Dr. Julia Torrie’s book German Soldiers and the Occupation of France, 1940-1944 on February 22 at 2:30pm in the Rotunda.

From 1940 to 1944, German soldiers fought and ruled over France, while also living their lives there. While there is a range of documentation on the combat experiences and the everyday lives of the occupied French population, we know much less about occupiers’ daily activities beyond combat. Julia Torrie uses letters, photographs, and tour guides, alongside official sources to reveal how ground-level occupiers understood their role, and how their needs and desires shaped policy and practices. These Soldiers were told to dominate and control France, but also to sight-see, to photograph, and to ‘consume’ the country which lead to a familiarity that limited violence. Torrie’s revelation of the lives of ordinary soldiers offers new insights into the occupation of France, the history of Nazism, and the Second World War.