A Soviet angle is put on French history

Press, 10 February 1981, Page 16

A Soviet angle is put on French history

By

PAUL WEBSTER

in Paris

A massive, 1751-page “History of France,” published by the Soviet Union, has shaken French historians by setting out to prove that World War II was significant only for its class struggle. The “History” is totally silent’ on the revival of the French Army under General De Gaulle, but exalts a forgotten protest by Communist-led housewives outside a*, ’tore during the Occupation. Several historians have gone on television or written to newspapers to protest against the three-volume “History” whose translated version has gone on sale in Paris for $2B. Many consider the boo'; to be a masterpiece of evidence of how history can be manipulated by a totalitarian society.

Printed by Editions de Progres, the’ “History” was

written under the guidance of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Universal History. A team of 20 historians, including 15 professors of history, was' headed by a leading member of the Academy. It is the first official. Soviet history of France. Closely following Marx — “The history of every society up until our time has been .nothing but a history. of claso struggle” — the team skips over all tribal and religious developments .in French history in the 1800 years between the Roman defeat of the Gauls,, to the Revolution. Joan of. Arc. is seen as a pawn in the class war and the Crusades are not even mentioned.

More interesting, perhaps, is the period up until President/ discard's election in 1974, which covers 633 pages and does not mention

Stalin nor his dominating influence on the central inspiration of that time, from the Soviet viewpoint, the French Communist Party. The “History” revels in the struggle between the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat up until 1918 and then literally takes off with the formation of the French Communist Party ■in: 1920. From here, France is marked by Communist protests, strikes, political declarations and resistance movements. But Mr Jacques Doriot, who led the Communist protests before turning coat, is given no credit, although he would probably have less reason to complain than the generals of the French Free Forces who get no mention at all.

By an astute arrangement of pages, a muted Communist appeal for resistance could be mistakenly seen as preceding De Gaulle’s rally-

ing cry of June 18, 1940, while the general himself is accused of delaying military action because of class pressures from “a bourgeoisie not always guided by patriotic reasons” for entering the Resistance. While housewives, dockers and munition workers get their due (the current party leader, Mr George Marchais ■was working as a fitter for Messerschmitt in Germany, a fact passed over), the inspiration for the Communist faithful — Joseph Stalin — is forgotten, leaving Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, by default, as the dominant world leaders.

Ingeniously, the “History” is prefaced by a note, saying that the volumes are destined for the Soviet public and “cannot claim to satisfy entirely the French public,” for whom they "would probably need to be rewritten." — Copyright, London Observer Service.