{"product_id":"mussolinis-army-in-the-french-emanuele-sica-9780252039850","title":"Mussolini's Army in the French Riviera: Italy's Occupation of France","description":"In contrast to its brutal seizure of the Balkans, the Italian Army's 1940-1943 relatively mild occupation of the French Riviera and nearby alpine regions bred the myth of the Italian \u003ci\u003ebrava gente\u003c\/i\u003e, or good fellow, an agreeable occupier who abstained from the savage wartime behaviors so common across Europe. \u003cp\u003eEmploying a multi-tiered approach, Emanuele Sica examines the simultaneously conflicting and symbiotic relationship between the French population and Italian soldiers. At the grassroots level, Sica asserts that the cultural proximity between the soldiers and the local population, one-quarter of which was Italian, smoothed the sharp angles of miscommunication and cultural faux-pas at a time of great uncertainty. At the same time, it encouraged a laxness in discipline that manifested as fraternization and black marketeering. Sica's examination of political tensions highlights how French prefects and mayors fought to keep the tatters of sovereignty in the face of military occupation. In addition, he reveals the tense relationship between Fascist civilian authorities eager to fulfil imperial dreams of annexation and army leaders desperate to prevent any action that might provoke French insurrection. Finally, he completes the tableau with detailed accounts of how food shortages and French Resistance attacks brought sterner Italian methods, why the Fascists' attempted \"Italianization\" of the French border city of Menton failed, and the ways the occupation zone became an unlikely haven for Jews.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Emanuele Sica\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0252039858\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780252039850\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Illinois Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/04\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2016","brand":"Emanuele Sica","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086444343551,"sku":"9780252039850","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ced693ed-c37c-4087-a3bb-5c1795ecd9f9.jpg?v=1769094707","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mussolinis-army-in-the-french-emanuele-sica-9780252039850","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}