The United States and the Making of Postar France, 19451954 [Paperback]

A study of the American government's influence in France during the critical postwar period.This study of French-American relations in the critical postwar period, 194554, makes use of diplomatic archive material and personal papers. It examines the American role in French diplomacy, economic reconstruction, military policy, politics, and the reshaping of French society from labour unions to consumer tastes and films.This study of French-American relations in the critical postwar period, 194554, makes use of diplomatic archive material and personal papers. It examines the American role in French diplomacy, economic reconstruction, military policy, politics, and the reshaping of French society from labour unions to consumer tastes and films.This is the first study of French-American relations in the critical postwar period, 1945-1954, which makes use of recently opened diplomatic archives and personal papers in France and the United States. Wall examines the American role in French diplomacy, economic reconstruction, military policy, politics, and the reshaping of French society from labor unions to consumer tastes and films. Particular emphasis is placed on American attempts to combat the influence of French Communism and achieve a stable, centrist regime avoiding the extremes of right and left.Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The diplomatic heritage; 2. The postwar years: independence compromised; 3. L'ann?e terrible; 4. Americanizing the French; 5. Building an alliance; 6. The Marshall plan; 7. Military aid and French independence; 8. The United States and French Indochina; 9. France declares its independence; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index. ...succeeds...in revealing the contradictions and tensions involved in American entrance into Europe after the war. Times Higher Education Supplement Irwin Wall has written a most welcome book on Franco-American relations from 1945 to 1954....He has written a nuanced study of a bilateral relationsl~