Olivier Wieviorka - Histoire totale de la Seconde Guerre mondiale

How can we tell the story of the Second World War without limiting ourselves to the battlefields alone? Olivier Wieviorka presents his book "A Total History of the Second World War," published by Perrin Ministère des Armées. Interview with Nicolas Patin. Find the book here: https://www.mollat.com/livres/2886977... Far from being a simple military chronicle, this book offers a comprehensive perspective that integrates the economic, social, and ideological dimensions of the conflict. The historian explains that the term "total" reflects his desire to link the fate of combatants to that of civilians, while also shifting the focus to Asia and the Pacific. This conflict caused the deaths of approximately 56 million people, including 31 million civilians and 25 million soldiers, illustrating the shift toward unprecedented mass violence. Olivier Wieviorka analyzes major technological breakthroughs, such as aviation and nuclear power, that redefined global strategy. He revisits the French defeat of 1940, the result of inadequate preparation in the face of a Germany that had learned the lessons of 1914 more effectively. One of the key points of the discussion concerns the global nature of the war, which he describes less as a bloc united by universal values ​​than as a convergence of national theaters with often conflicting histories. The Pacific front is addressed from the perspective of its ambivalences, between the structural racism of the belligerents and Japan's promises of independence. Olivier Wieviorka also emphasizes that while the resistance played a crucial moral and political role, its military weight remained marginal compared to economic power, the true driving force behind the Allied victory. Finally, he rejects the idea of ​​a single decisive battle, preferring to demonstrate how the logistical exhaustion of the Axis powers made its defeat inevitable from the very start of Operation Barbarossa. 0:00 - Introduction and the concept of total history 5:15 - Technological innovations and bombings 10:45 - The lessons of 1918 and the defeat of 1940 16:30 - A world war or a sum of conflicts? 21:00 - Limits of cooperation between the Allies 26:20 - The Pacific front: racism and decolonization 33:10 - The role of the Resistance in the global conflict 37:25 - Archival work and the historian's perspective 41:30 - Myths and the absence of a single decisive turning point 45:50 - The logistical collapse of the Axis powers 48:40 - Moral dilemmas and individual choices Music: © mollat Subtitles automatically generated in French by YouTube. Visit the website: http://www.mollat.com/ Follow Mollat ​​Bookstore on social media: Instagram:   / librairie_mollat   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Librairie.mo... Twitter:   / librairiemollat   LinkedIn:   / votre-libraire-mollat   Soundcloud:   / librairie-mollat   Pinterest:   / librairiemollat   Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/mollat