Resistance Life in Occupied France: Simone Martin-Chauffier's 'See You Soon, Anyhow'

'Our house had become an active centre for the Resistance...' When war broke out in 1939, Simone Martin-Chauffier was a 37-year-old housewife and mother married to journalist and writer Louis Martin-Chauffier. Soon after the German invasion of France, they joined the resistance, first in Paris and then in Lyon. There, Louis and their son Jean became involved in the Libération-Sud, and from 1942, Louis edited the movement's underground newspaper. Simone's memoir is a touching chronicle of a family's daily life in France from 1940-44. It evokes the bleakness of those 'dark years', describing the struggle to survive amid widespread shortages of food and fuel, and the challenges of bringing up children in such grim circumstances while still creating moments of happiness in family life. Their happiness was overshadowed in 1943 when Jean was arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Germany, followed by Loius in 1944, to be a prisoner in the concentration camps of Neuengamme and Bergen-Belsen. Distinguished French diplomatic historian, the late Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, described Simone's memoir as 'one of the most deeply moving books that exist on the Resistance'. Her characterful voice chronicles the events of war, from the German invasion through to the final joyous safe return of her family.

© 2027 The History Press (E-bog): 9781837054633

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 22. april 2027