Taking a new view of France during and after the German occupation, this book challenges traditional chronology concentrating on the Vichy government. It punctures standard interpretations dividing occupied France into resisters and collaborators and explores the resistance concept of an ideal Frenchwoman by using interview material to contest the standard view. French demographers' post-liberation enthusiasm for Nazi population policy, women in the city, and the widespread fervor for the family are also examined. The significance of race--specifically Jewishness--and gender is emphasized throughout this study.