Medical and Social Support Systems

France's medical system, overwhelmed by unprecedented needs, evolved through crisis. Military hospitals, designed for thousands, treated millions. Civilian facilities converted to military use. Medical schools accelerated training to replace mobilized doctors. Women entered medicine in unprecedented numbers, their competence proven through necessity.

Rehabilitation medicine emerged as new specialty. Teaching blind men to read Braille, amputees to use prosthetics, and shell-shocked soldiers to function required innovative approaches. The École de Rééducation Professionnelle des Mutilés pioneered occupational therapy, teaching disabled veterans new trades. Yet demand far exceeded capacity. Waiting lists stretched months while men deteriorated.

Psychiatric services, primitive prewar, expanded dramatically but inadequately. The Val-de-Grâce hospital established specialized wards for psychological casualties. Dr. Gustave Roussy developed classification systems for war neuroses. Yet stigma limited treatment seeking. Many veterans, fearing institutionalization, self-medicated with alcohol. Addiction rates soared as men sought chemical escape from memories.

Private charity supplemented inadequate state services. The Union des Femmes de France operated hospitals and convalescent homes. American organizations, continuing wartime work, funded rehabilitation centers. Catholic and Protestant organizations provided moral support. Yet charity's limitations became apparent as needs overwhelmed resources. Systematic state intervention, resisted for ideological reasons, became unavoidable.

Social workers, a profession barely existing prewar, multiplied to address veterans' needs. These pioneers, mostly women, navigated bureaucracies for bewildered veterans, connected families with services, and advocated for improved support. Their case files document individual struggles: securing pensions, finding employment, addressing family crises. Through mundane administrative work, they held together a society threatening to fragment.