The ‘Dark Years’ of French cinema: the Nazi Occupation and Censorship, 1940-44

Image: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

The German Occupation of France between 1940 and 1944 is often hailed as the nation’s ‘dark years.’ Despite being a period characterised by political repression and censorship, paradoxically, French cinema did more than survive, producing many of the most well-known and accomplished films in wartime history. This cultural flourish emerged from conditions of moral compromise, which tends to raise rather uncomfortablequestions about creativity under authoritarian rule: Was cinema during the Occupation a form of escapism, resistance, or evidence of complicity? By examining the ‘dark years’ of French cinema, we can reveal a cultural landscape shaped more by survival than political intent. 

The context of the Occupation 

On 17 June 1940, the French government surrendered to Hitler by requesting an armistice just six weeks after Nazi Germany advanced into France. The armistice that was signed on 22 June left France divided into two zones: the occupied zone controlled by Germany in the North, and the free zone controlled by the Vichy regime in the South. Although it was known as the free zone, the Vichy government, headed by Marshall Pétain, was collaborationist, mirroring many Nazi sentiments and policies. Over in England, Charles de Gaulle broadcast his appeal for resistance through the BBC on 18 June 1940, declaring that France was not yet defeated, which helped to cement his role as the leader of Free France and rally resistance efforts against Germany. Under de Gaulle, the French Resistance operated in many covert ways, including sabotage and crucially, propaganda. 

Meanwhile, the cinema industry in France was thriving. A total of 222 films were produced in the years 1940-1944, most of which survived the strict censorship rules imposed by the government, and cinema audiences were at their largest, reaching around 300 million in 1943. The industry was labelled as being in its ‘Golden Age’ since the early 1930s, contrasting the notion of the ‘dark years’ of the Occupation. Moreover, after the end of the Second World War, cinematography was beginning to advance towards the style of New Wave which radicalised independent cinema by prioritising creative control and artistic expression over traditionalism. However, the question we need to ask is as follows: Does the notion of the ‘dark years’ obscure a more complex cultural reality? 

The film industry during the Occupation 

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, restrictions, such as the banning of importation and distribution of American films in occupied France, left Hollywood imports in ruins, and international distribution of films collapsed entirely. This enabled a vacuum to emerge in the French film industry, which was filled by Continental Films, a German-owned but French-run distribution company. The aspect of German control meant that censorship was inevitable, and strict regulations were imposed on French filmmakers and actors alike: the exclusion of Jews was implemented in the industry and themes of moral order were promoted by the Vichy government, who would also censor criticism towards the Nazis and their own collaborationist regime. It became clear that the typical freedom of expression that coincided with filmmaking would be near-impossible, and many directors merely survived within the system. Some, however, pushed the narrative that the survival of their industry did not necessarily constitute political submission or endorsement. 

Addressing the significance of cinema, it is also imperative to account for the social function of film-going itself. Despite curfews, rationing, and the fostered environment of fear and paranoia from denunciations, cinemas in both the free and occupied zones of France remained well-attended during the war years, with the most popular genres being musical comedies and historical reconstructions. In terms of the audience, the motivation for going to watch a film transcends the circumstances in which one may live. The form of collective escapism delivered through cinema, away from the lived reality of denunciations or choosing between collaborating and resisting, allowed French culture to thrive, creating a distinct paradox with political repression and the notion of the ‘dark years.’ It is most important to note that the enticement of escapism functioned as a coping mechanism for many in occupied France. While some films were made to convey coded responses to oppression, such as Les Visiteurs du soir (1942), consuming this media itself neither challenged nor endorsed the Nazi regime. Others, however, represented the morally bleak setting of France at the time, presenting themselves not for escapism, but as a reflection of the harsh reality of the nation under far-right rule. 

Poisoned communities: Le Corbeau and the culture of denunciation 

Possibly one of the most unsettling cinematic depictions of life under Nazi occupation is Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Le Corbeau (1943). Set in a small, provincial town plagued by poisoned letters, the film exposes themes of suspicion, immorality and extreme paranoia, all of which mirror the lived reality of occupied France. Critically, Le Corbeau offers no obvious heroic counterpoint to the narrative of the anonymous denunciations that permeated society: its characters are instead cynical, motioning a rather hopeless ambiance, for which the film was criticised by both the Vichy regime and the Resistance. Supporters of the Vichy regime ordered the film to be banned from theatres for its immoral values, while the Resistance perceived the film as pro-Nazi propaganda due to its portrayal of the French as untrustworthy and immoral. The criticism was so severe that the director, Clouzot, was issued a lifetime ban from directing films that was lifted in 1947, and the film was banned after the war due to its pro-Nazi misinterpretations. Furthermore, Pierre Fresnay, the lead actor in the film, was jailed for six weeks for his involvement. While his acting career continued, it never recovered, unable to achieve the prestigious heights of his earlier career. 

The feeling of discomfort from the story of Le Corbeau is exacerbated when viewed in light of the events following the liberation of France, particularly the public humiliation and retribution that came with the collapse of the Vichy government. Famously, women who were accused of collaboration had their heads shaved in public spaces without a formal trial, which exposes a similar form of morally dubious desire for purification, as seen in Clouzot’s depiction of a poisoned community. Equally, with Marshall Pétain’s trial in 1945, France placed distance between some of its population’s complicity by concentrating the blame and guilt on an individual. In this effect, Le Corbeau appears more as an unsettling prediction of post-war attitudes than a product of cynicism from the Occupation. It is clear that denunciation, scapegoating, and moral ambiguity persisted after the end of German control in France, and Clouzot confronted his audience with a vision that could not simply be confined to the ‘dark years.’   

The lack of a likeable hero in this film leads it to stand in very sharp contrast to the post-war glorification of Charles de Gaulle, who was perceived to be the embodiment of the national resistance and morality.Whereas the glorified Gaullist account of French history presents France as a nation of resisters unified by the heroic de Gaulle, Le Corbeau asserts a bleaker, more despairing vision of complicity and immorality, which was therefore uncomfortable both during and after the Occupation because it did not align with the heroic narrative that France intended to assert. 

Reassessing the ‘dark years’ of French cinema 

Naming the period of the Occupation as the ‘dark years’ of the French film industry requires more definition than a label of darkness alone. Through the political lens, this era was undoubtedly defined by repression and censorship which restricted artistic freedom. However, to describe Occupation cinema solely through these terms risks overlooking the cultural flourish that blossomed out of these constraints and desire for the survival of the industry. Films such as Le Corbeau suggest that cinema did not merely retreat into silence but also continued to mirror the somewhat uncomfortable social tensions of the time somewhat uncomfortably. Instead of representing a total cultural void, these years expose an industry motivated by survival, adaptability, and uncertainty that would continue to thrive well into the 1950s and 1960s. 

Bibliography 

• Jackson, Julian, ‘France: the dark years, 1940-1944’, (Oxford University Press, 2001), pp. 271-277. 

• Laub, Thomas Johnston, ‘After the fall: German policy in Occupied France, 1940-1944, (Oxford University Press, 2010) pp. 36-54. 

• Mayne, Judith, ‘Le Corbeau: Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1943’ 1^st ed, (I.B. Tauris, 2007) pp. 70-96. 

• Reader, Keith, ‘French Cinema during the Occupation Years’, French Studies 58.3, (2004), pp. 385-389. 

• Stafford, Jeff, ‘Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Le Corbeau’, Cinema Sojourns, 29 May 2024, https://cinemasojourns.com/2024/05/29/henri-georges-clouzots-le-corbeau/ [accessed 16 January 2026]. 

• Strebel, Elizabeth Grottle, ‘French cinema, 1940-1944, and its socio-psychological significance: a preliminary probe’, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 1.1 (1981) pp. 33-45.