We were at a dinner party here in the village last week and one of the couples there were a French woman, of our generation and her German husband.
As we all relaxed over dessert I asked them a question which is I suppose fairly indiscreet , but has been giving me much cause for thought lately.

I asked them why were Germans so well liked in this area.

Surely with the war so recent they, the oppressors, should still be regarded with some residual national loathing. Our obversion indicated to us that this was not the case and that the Thezanese now actually preferred the Germans to the English -their liberators.

Of course being south of Vichy the war was faught on different lines down here one of the principal causes for dissent in the Languedoc- the history books tell us- was the young men in the area being forced into service in Germany to work on agriculture and in factories left unmanned by German soldiers.

Anyway , the question caused no offence , and started a conversation which was very interestng.
The French lady , whose family originally came from Thezan , told us that her father was forced to go and work for the Germans , this left her mother with an abiding hatred of that race as she was forced to raise her family without him.
But, her father came back from his forced labour a man who had made great friends in Germany, had been treated exremely well while there and bore them no resentment whatsoever.
Her mother remained unmoved however and while she was growing up our friend was always instructed by her Mother to never marry a Boche.

The inevitable of course happened and , on holiday in St Tropez , she met her future husband .
He , it turned out was an extremely well brought up (and handsome ) young man , and insisted on asking her mother’s permission before asking her out.
At this all of of her Mother’s opposition melted and a few years later they were married.

So where are all these stories of collaborators, of shaven headed women carrying children being abused after the war by the villagers ? Of undying hatred for Germans held by the French after the atrocies of the war ?

As so many of the players in this scene are still alive, and it still is a subject never discussed here, I think it will be years when the real impact of WW 2 on the people of the south of France surfaces.