France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932-1939 by Jean-Baptiste Duroselle
Authors: Jean-Baptiste Duroselle
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F OREWORD
T he purpose of this book, and the series of which it is part, is to take the vantage point of France and the French people in describing French foreign policy without diluting those very specific characteristics in the broader context of international relations. This is an ambitious project insofar as foreign policy is elaborated within a wider debate that extends beyond diplomacy. One must constantly consider the objectives set by those in key positions and the political forces at work exerting their influence and leading to the discrepancies that may appear between viewing policy objectives on one hand and considering the causes of underlying events on the other.
I have used mostly French archives and those at the Quai d’Orsay in particular. Foreign archives, namely those in Great Britain, Italy, Germany, and the United States have only been published in selective fashion and are also being studied scientifically in many cases. I have used those existing studies and materials for those specific countries. Some books and articles published in the United States and Great Britain appear to have been written using mostly British and American sources with the French archives being listed quite impressively in the bibliography but rarely appearing within the footnotes (with the exception of the excellent works by authors such as Adamthwaite, Robert Young, etc.).
I was able to use the huge body of work undertaken by the Commission for the publication of documents dealing with the origins of the war that was founded by my late teacher and friend Pierre Renouvin (who died in 1974), with the help of Maurice Baumont, historical advisor at theforeign ministry who also died in 1981. I succeeded Pierre Renouvin as president of the Commission that in 1984 became the Commission for the publication of French diplomatic documents. I am pleased to thank the various directors of the Archives: Martial de La Fournière and Guy de Commines; the head curators: Maurice Degros, Mlle. Paulette Enjaran, M. de Vienne, Georges Dethan, Mme de Nomazy and their staff. As for the team I have been leading, after the late Pierre Mandoul, François Gadrat, Colonel Chalmin, Georges Taboulet and its current members, Mr. Monicat, Degros, d’Hoop, Labaste, Marquand and Yvon Lacaze, archivist and paleographer the most knowledgeable regarding the documents of the period. I owe to all the better part of my sources of information.
I must also mention the help provided to me by my students (who for the most part are now full professors at various universities) within the framework of the Institut d’histoire des relations internationales contemporaines. Some of them (Jean-Claude Allain, Jacques Bariéty, etc.) were kind enough to reread my manuscript. Ambassadors Léon Noël, of the Institut, René Massigli, Armand Bérard, Jean Daridan continuously helped and encouraged me. I also used the written and oral remarks of Ambassador E. de Crouy-Chanel, Generals Jacques Humbert and Philippe Maurin, Colonel J. Defrasne, Yves Jann and Bernard Sinsheimer and Professor H. Batowski.
I wish to express my thanks to all. I also wish to thank the Imprimerie Nationale and its directors, Georges Bonnin and Guy Beaussang. It is very comforting for a writer to be published by this prestigious institution.
J.-B. D.
A BBREVIATIONS
ADAP
Akten zur deutschen auswärtigen Politik
CEP
Commission d’enquête parlementaire. Les événements survenus en France de 1933 à 1945.
DBFP
Documents on British Foreign Policy.
DDF
Documents diplomatiques français.
DDI
Documenti diplomatici italiani.
DGFP
Documents on German Foreign Policy (translation of the ADAP . We generally quote the original German texVol.)
FRUS
Foreign Relations of the United States.
JODP
Journal officiel. Débats parlementaires.
LJ
Livre jaune (français).
MAE
Archives du ministère des Affaires étrangerès.
RHDGM
Revue d’histoire de la deuxième guerre mondiale
RHMC
Revue d’histoire moderne et
T he purpose of this book, and the series of which it is part, is to take the vantage point of France and the French people in describing French foreign policy without diluting those very specific characteristics in the broader context of international relations. This is an ambitious project insofar as foreign policy is elaborated within a wider debate that extends beyond diplomacy. One must constantly consider the objectives set by those in key positions and the political forces at work exerting their influence and leading to the discrepancies that may appear between viewing policy objectives on one hand and considering the causes of underlying events on the other.
I have used mostly French archives and those at the Quai d’Orsay in particular. Foreign archives, namely those in Great Britain, Italy, Germany, and the United States have only been published in selective fashion and are also being studied scientifically in many cases. I have used those existing studies and materials for those specific countries. Some books and articles published in the United States and Great Britain appear to have been written using mostly British and American sources with the French archives being listed quite impressively in the bibliography but rarely appearing within the footnotes (with the exception of the excellent works by authors such as Adamthwaite, Robert Young, etc.).
I was able to use the huge body of work undertaken by the Commission for the publication of documents dealing with the origins of the war that was founded by my late teacher and friend Pierre Renouvin (who died in 1974), with the help of Maurice Baumont, historical advisor at theforeign ministry who also died in 1981. I succeeded Pierre Renouvin as president of the Commission that in 1984 became the Commission for the publication of French diplomatic documents. I am pleased to thank the various directors of the Archives: Martial de La Fournière and Guy de Commines; the head curators: Maurice Degros, Mlle. Paulette Enjaran, M. de Vienne, Georges Dethan, Mme de Nomazy and their staff. As for the team I have been leading, after the late Pierre Mandoul, François Gadrat, Colonel Chalmin, Georges Taboulet and its current members, Mr. Monicat, Degros, d’Hoop, Labaste, Marquand and Yvon Lacaze, archivist and paleographer the most knowledgeable regarding the documents of the period. I owe to all the better part of my sources of information.
I must also mention the help provided to me by my students (who for the most part are now full professors at various universities) within the framework of the Institut d’histoire des relations internationales contemporaines. Some of them (Jean-Claude Allain, Jacques Bariéty, etc.) were kind enough to reread my manuscript. Ambassadors Léon Noël, of the Institut, René Massigli, Armand Bérard, Jean Daridan continuously helped and encouraged me. I also used the written and oral remarks of Ambassador E. de Crouy-Chanel, Generals Jacques Humbert and Philippe Maurin, Colonel J. Defrasne, Yves Jann and Bernard Sinsheimer and Professor H. Batowski.
I wish to express my thanks to all. I also wish to thank the Imprimerie Nationale and its directors, Georges Bonnin and Guy Beaussang. It is very comforting for a writer to be published by this prestigious institution.
J.-B. D.
A BBREVIATIONS
ADAP
Akten zur deutschen auswärtigen Politik
CEP
Commission d’enquête parlementaire. Les événements survenus en France de 1933 à 1945.
DBFP
Documents on British Foreign Policy.
DDF
Documents diplomatiques français.
DDI
Documenti diplomatici italiani.
DGFP
Documents on German Foreign Policy (translation of the ADAP . We generally quote the original German texVol.)
FRUS
Foreign Relations of the United States.
JODP
Journal officiel. Débats parlementaires.
LJ
Livre jaune (français).
MAE
Archives du ministère des Affaires étrangerès.
RHDGM
Revue d’histoire de la deuxième guerre mondiale
RHMC
Revue d’histoire moderne et
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