Thanks to the Liberation Collection, the level of modern material that we collect about French history from 1944-1946 has significantly expanded. A recent acquisition drew my attention:
Histoire de l’Occupation et de la Résistance dans la Nièvre 1940-1944 / Jean-Claude Martinet ; édition présentée par Jean Vigreux.(C210.c.7324)
This book is a re-edited version of a history thesis presented at the University of Bourgogne in 1978. Cambridge University Library did not buy the original 1978 edition, though there are several copies in the UK (at the British Library, Oxford, and the Universities of Sussex and Leeds). The UL and Oxford are thus far the only UK libraries on COPAC to have the 2015 edition published by Editions universitaires de Dijon. Among the several dozen books that crossed my desk today, this book stood out to me because of the cover illustration. I thought I recognised the illustration, and indeed I’d previously included one from the same illustrator in a previous blog post. A number of images from the book Ceux du maquis : Plainefas, Vermot, Les Goths (Liberation.a.21) are featured in Histoire de l’Occupation.
A selection of illustrations from our copy of Ceux du maquis
It is pleasing to us to see that books that we are purchasing in the Literature of the Liberation collection have been well-used (and appreciated for their beauty) by historians. Martinet’s work contains an exhaustive index of names for members of the Resistance in Nièvre, as well as branches of the Resistance that were active in the area. Among other impressive pieces of research, it includes a day-by-day listing of engagements of the Resistance, including German losses, throughout 1944.
A few additional images from our copy of Ceux du maquis are available online, the book may be requested to the Rare Books Room.
Josh Hutchinson
Languages across Borders 
