Colonial prisoners of war and Vichy France, 1940-1942 : experiences and politics

Abstract

This thesis traces the experience and politics surrounding the prisoners of war from the French colonies captured by the Germans in 1940. These colonial prisoners of war (CPOWs) come from across the French Empire to fight in France during the Second World War. Unlike their French counterparts who, upon capture, were brought to Germany, the CPOWs were interned in camps throughout Occupied France, called Frontstalags. This decision to keep the CPOWs in France defined not only their experience of captivity, but also how the French and German authorities reacted to them.