The Battle for Children
World War II, Youth Crime, and Juvenile Justice in Twentieth-Century France
Published on 9. July 2002
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-674-00755-0 (ISBN)
Description
The Battle for Children links two major areas of historical inquiry: crime and delinquency with war and social change. In a study based on impressive archival research, Sarah Fishman reveals the impact of the Vichy regime on one of history's most silent groups-children-and offers enlightening new information about the Vichy administration.
Fishman examines how French children experienced the events of war and the German occupation, demonstrating that economic deprivation, not family dislocation, sharply drove up juvenile crime rates. Wartime circumstances led authorities to view delinquent minors as victims, and provided the opportunity for reformers in psychiatry, social work, and law to fundamentally transform France's punitive juvenile justice system into a profoundly therapeutic one. Vichy-era legislation thus formed the foundation of the modern juvenile justice system in France, which rarely incarcerates delinquent youth.
In her examination of the critical but unexpected role the war and the authoritarian Vichy regime played in the transformation of France's juvenile courts and institutions, Fishman has enriched our knowledge of daily life in France during World War II, refined our understanding of Vichy's place in the historical development of France, and provided valuable insights into contemporary debates on juvenile justice.
Fishman examines how French children experienced the events of war and the German occupation, demonstrating that economic deprivation, not family dislocation, sharply drove up juvenile crime rates. Wartime circumstances led authorities to view delinquent minors as victims, and provided the opportunity for reformers in psychiatry, social work, and law to fundamentally transform France's punitive juvenile justice system into a profoundly therapeutic one. Vichy-era legislation thus formed the foundation of the modern juvenile justice system in France, which rarely incarcerates delinquent youth.
In her examination of the critical but unexpected role the war and the authoritarian Vichy regime played in the transformation of France's juvenile courts and institutions, Fishman has enriched our knowledge of daily life in France during World War II, refined our understanding of Vichy's place in the historical development of France, and provided valuable insights into contemporary debates on juvenile justice.
Reviews / Votes
Sarah Fishman approaches the subject of juvenile justice in France with admirable breadth, bringing to bear simultaneously a close study of politics, legal texts and institutions, professional interests, intellectual positions, and cultural values. Without minimizing Vichy's ugly aspects, she has emphasized the regime's capacity to mobilize experts and push through changes that turn out to be durable. Her conclusions give a significant new nuance to studies of France under the Vichy regime. -- Robert O. Paxton, Columbia University Makes a contribution to a little-known aspect of Vichy social policy and to the longer-term history of juvenile criminal justice and treatment in France. Sarah Fishman's study is based on important archival work; the materials on internal Vichy debates are exceptionally rich and intelligently utilized. Her prose is absolutely first-rate. -- Robert A. Nye, Oregon State University Fishman makes a praiseworthy contribution to the growing body of Foucault-influenced scholarship on criminality in this study of the transformation of the juvenile justice system in 1940s France. She argues that the rise in juvenile crime during the Occupation, which contemporaries attributed to the absence of POW fathers, was in reality the result of economic privation and the rise of a generalized defiance of authority symbolized by the black market and the Resistance...A rare work of historical scholarship with clear contemporary relevance. -- D. A. Harvey * Choice * Loaded with numerous examples and a clear use of language, this book is an asset to research on juvenile courts and related political, social and expert views. -- Ingrid Van Der Bij * The European Legacy *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 line illustration, 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
608 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-00755-0 (9780674007550)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Sarah Fishman
The Battle for Children
World War II, Youth Crime, and Juvenile Justice in Twentieth-Century France
E-Book
07/2002
Harvard University Press
€205.99
Available for download
Person
Sarah Fishman is Professor of History and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston.