Let me begin, dear reader, by saying that this book was not quite what I expected. The back jacket described the book as the story of 230 French women resisters, who they were, how they came to join the Resistance, how they were captured and their lives in the death camps. While this book certainly covered all of the above in vivid detail it was not so much a story but rather a reporting of information based on years of research, discussions with survivors and their families, as well as the published memoirs of some of the survivors.
Ms. Moorhead explains chronologically and systematically the roles these women played in setting up the many networks of couriers, underground printers and coordination of delivery of anti-Nazi material. She describes the methods used by the Germans to penetrate these networks which ultimately lead to the arrest and deportation of these women as well as the men in their lives who were also part of the resistance. Those who have an interest in WWII would be amazed at the vast amounts of information and the minute details of the underground networks which were all very cloak and dagger.
As fascinating as this information is, it quickly becomes increasingly difficult to read as the events leading up to the capture, deportation and torture of these women is revealed. Much of the book follows the lives of these women during their years in Birkenau or Ravensbruck. The friendship that sustained them was fierce, often serving as a form of physical protection as well as providing emotional comfort in the midst of so much brutality and death.
The women that survived give testimony to the horrific acts against humanity committed during the occupation of France by the Nazis. They are telling not only their own stories but are also speaking for those women who did not survive. And while this book is an account of these horrific atrocities, it is also testament of survival, friendship and love. Until next time…have you read a book today?
Julie
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