France between "contemporary history" and "current history"

Next to the expression "Histoire contemporaine", the term "Histoire du temps present" has increasingly come into use in France over the past years. As in Germany, the development of contemporary history as a separate discipline began in France after the First World War. One of its precursors was Pierre Renouvin. After the Second World War, the state restructured research by the foundation of the Comite d'Histoire de la Deuxieme Guerre mondiale, but simultaneously denied it access to the archives. Under the influence of the writings of Marc Bloch, Lucien Febvre and especially Henri Michel privileged the use of interviews of contemporaries. The documentation of the liberation of the country quickly developed into one of the foci in the work of the Comite. Due to public criticism, the Comite was dissolved; the Institut d'histoire du temps present took its place in 1978. At the same time, the period of closure for state files was reduced to thirty years. Under the founding director Francois Bedarida, research made a new start, but as a reaction to exposures and scandals it at first developed into an internal French debate about the nation's past. The fading of the generation of contemporary witnesses in conjunction with the embedding of contemporary history at the universities and the succession of young researchers have increasingly objectified the discussion. The IHTP, responsible for the beginning of this development, has recently entered a crisis due to the demand for a reform of state financed research. In view of the establishment of a number of new research institutions, a reorientation regarding content is indispensable for this institution, if it is to retain its leading position in France.