HOW MEN AND WOMEN JOINED THE FRENCH-RESISTANCE

The meaning of the French expression entree en resistance changed all along the 1940-1944 period. In the beginning, joining in was less a st ep into an organized resistance which did not exist yet than the actua l creation of the resistance itself. It gradually implied plunging int o an underground world, in which one could also join on a basis of sen iority or by being coopted. From 1943 onwards, entry may have been inf luenced by the change in the balance of power between the Allied force s and the Axis. To understand hour and why people joined the Resistanc e as well as the consequences their entry had on the functioning of th e underground world, notions such as will, functionnality, anteriority , disponibility and charisma are quite relevant. This article studies the evolution of these notions and their interaction during these year s. To sum up, there was not one but many ways of joining the resistanc e : the circumstances and the significance of these forms of entry var ied considerably throughout the period.