TEACHING THE MEMORY OF WWII IN CONTEMPORARY FRENCH LYCÉES

Abstract

Any reform affecting the teaching of history in public schools is an inherently political matter, and one that often functions as a lightning rod for controversy. In France, one of the most dramatic changes of the last twenty years has been the way the teaching of the Second World War has evolved, most recently attempting to concentrate on its problematic memory. The Éducation Nationale has introduced an ambitious programme of study to the final year of lycée which includes elements of historiography and a critical examination of divergent collective memories. 1 This change certainly reflects the contemporary ‘memory boom’ which, whilst not unique to France, has nonetheless been a particularly dynamic and influential area of research there. 2 It also shows a dramatic evolution in the way French historians teach and think about war, particularly the Second World War. Until the early 1990s, World War Two was taught in a very traditional manner, focusing solely on major battles and strategies. The first major change came in 1993 when, amid public and political debate over Henry Rousso's Le Syndrome de Vichy (1987) and various ‘lois mémorielles’, 3 the teaching of the war itself was moved to première so that students in terminale could focus on the consequences of the war, including its legacy in post-war politics. 4 As France's public discourse about WWII continued to evolve, further changes were deemed necessary. In October 2002, with the country still reeling from the shock rise of the revisionist Jean-Marie Le Pen and his Front National, a new curriculum was unveiled for L ( littéraire ) and ES ( économique et sociale ) Baccalauréats that for the first time required students to consider not just the outcome of WWII but how it was remembered. 5 The ambitious programme attempted to show the emergence of divergent memories of the conflict and how they changed over time, both influenced by and affecting politics.