From 1940 to 1944, France's Vichy government collaborated with Nazi Germany. Marcel Oph�ls mixes archival footage with 1969 interviews of a German officer and of collaborators and resistance fighters from Clermont-Ferrand. They comment on the nature, details and reasons for the collaboration, from anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and fear of Bolsheviks, to simple caution. Part one, "The Collapse," includes an extended interview with Pierre Mend�s-France, jailed for anti-Vichy action and later France's Prime Minister. At the heart of part two, "The Choice," is an interview with Christian de la Mazi�re, one of 7,000 French youth to fight on the eastern front wearing German uniforms.

Starring:

Georges Bidault, Matth�us Bleibinger, Charles Braun, Maurice Buckmaster, Emile Coulaudon, Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie, Ren� de Chambrun, Christian de la Mazi�re, Darquier de Pellepoix, Jacques Doriot, R. Du Jonchay, Jacques Duclos, Anthony Eden, Sgt. Evans, Marcel Fouche-Degliame

Genre:

Documentary, History, War