Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

The era of the German Occupation of France constituted, surprisingly, a golden age for the arts: literature, theater, popular music and cinema. These works of art seem to be devoid of political impact. The widespread trend of unrealistic and fantastic art during this period is explained by some scholars as the artists escape from the omnipotent eye of German censorship. The purpose of the book is to show that, contrary to the accepted view, some of these films were intimately linked to the political situation. They convey the demonization of characters that, while not specifically presented as Jews nevertheless manifested anti-Semitic stereotypes of the Jew as ugly, rootless, low, hypocritical, immoral, cruel and power hungry. All five movies analysed (Les Inconnus dans la maison, dir. Henri Decoin, 1942; Les Visiteurs du Soir, dir. Marcel Carne, 1942; L'Eternel retour, dir. Jean Delannoy, 1943; Les Enfants du Paradis, dir. Marcel Carne, 1943) present characters not identified as Jews but who exhibit negative Jewish traits, in contrast to the aristocratic characters whom they aspire to emulate. They demonstrate, implicitly, central themes of explicit anti-Semitic propaganda. Yehuda Moraly addresses two current major misconceptions regarding the Cinema of Occupied France: (1) that the accepted view that there were almost no explicitly Jewish characters in the cinema of that time and place is patently incorrect; and (2) that the feature films of Occupied France were not as it is commonly thought free of the propaganda messages that permeated the press, the radio and documentary films. Analysis of these films brings out the contradictory nature of European anti-Semitism. On one hand, the Jew is the anti-Christ, throttling the world with disgusting materialism while on the other hand, he is representative of an ancestral stifling morality, which it is time to abolish.

In the years since 1940, French theatre has been transformed both institutionally and artistically. This book compares all the major traditions and tendencies at work in French theatre since the outbreak of the Second World War, not only in Paris, but also in the Centres Dramatiques and Maisons de la Culture. Previous books have stopped short at the end of the fifties when the influence of Artaud was strong and the Absurd Theatre had become the new orthodoxy. David Bradby reassesses Beckett, lonesco, Adamov and Genet and challenges the notion that the sixties and seventies were a period of decline in French theatre. The book proceeds chronologically, offering a critical survey of the principal directors, actors and companies as well as of the playwrights, who are its major concern. Important productions are illustrated with black and white photographs. The political background is explained and all quotations are in English.