[gwern]

WWII treated France pretty well on the brute destruction scale. France didn't even lose most of its sovereignty after the invasion, with the Vichy regime resisting German demands when it wished to.

They didn't go through anything like what Japan, Germany, or Russia did, with the cities razed by fighting (Stalingrad), fire-bombing (Tokyo or Dresden), or atomic bombs (Hiroshima & Nagasaki). If a French violin had survived the siege of Stalingrad - now that would be impressive. But just being in France? That's about as impressive as a random Englishman surviving the Battle of Britain.