[ccmay]

The American role in liberating France earned a nod of appreciation

That was as ephemeral as a puff of wind.

My grandparents toured Europe in the early 1950's, when you would think that there would still be some gratitude for our efforts against the Nazis. This was indeed the case in England, Holland, and Belgium. They were even treated well in Germany.

However, they were treated with sneering contempt throughout France. One hotel clerk asked them where they were from, and then said "Américains? Ptui!" as he spit on the floor.

I hate France.

-ccm

[processing please hold]

I hate France.

I can do you one better. I loathe the french!!!

[Verginius Rufus]

John Keegan in his book Fields of Battle talks about spending time in France in the early 1950s and encountering the "stringent anti-Americanism" which was "then de rigeur at almost every level of French society" (p. 30).