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On the basis of a comparison between World War I and World War II, we shall endeavour to show five major differences in the area of beliefs and representations of defence policy. The belief in a short war gradually gave way to the realization that the war would be long and that industrial production decisive. The ideology and strategy of an “all-out offensive” were abandoned in favour of a new conception and a defensive strategy. Securing the protection of the national territory became essential in order to prevent a most feared surprise attack. The representation of the value of human capital also changed and indifference changed to concern to limit losses. In the moral field, the fear of war profiteers and shirkers led to measures to limit the phenomenon in 1939-1940, These five major changes resulted from the traumatic experience of 1914-1918 and cast a shadow from the first world conflict onto the second one.