Duplicity, Indulgence and Ambiguity in Franco–German Relations, 1940–1946

Abstract

This article focuses on the unusual relationships formed by a Nazi officer, his Swiss interpreter and a Basque double agent in southwestern France during the German occupation. The case illustrates the paradoxes and ambiguities entailed in the continuum of collaboration, accommodation and resistance and both strengthens and elucidates many conclusions of recent scholarship on the occupation and liberation. The article also applies anthropological theories about reciprocity, gratitude and hospitality to Franco–German relations and illustrates the ways in which the political was filtered through, if not entirely defined, by the personal. The experiences of the Nazi officer, interpreter and double agent provide an excellent opportunity to delve into the thickets of compromise, uncertainty and ambivalence that so often characterized Franco–German relations.