TeeCee wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2024 6:05 am
There's a similar book that's been out for a while called
'Moondrop to Gascony'.
It's a true story of a 20 year old woman who was part of the S.O.E.(special operations executive) who parachuted into occupied SW France to help the resistance in the build up to the D-Day landings. I live in the area she was dropped into. Pretty amazing for a 20yo woman to do such a thing. A great story.
There are monuments all around this part of France to the resistance and people who were murdered in retaliation by the Nazi's. In my village there is a cabin down in the woods that has been preserved as a memorial because it was a meeting place of the local resistance. 20 men were in a meeting there one night and a collaborator informed the Germans who surrounded the cabin and killed all 20 of them. To this day you find in pretty much every village in this part of France, there are some French families who do not speak to others, they turn their backs on people in the streets and it's all because someone in their family back in the 40's was a 'collaborator'.
They never forgive or forget.
Yes, I can well believe it. A part of me agrees, but also I sometimes think time let try & forgive and let it heal especially as their off-spring are not responsible. A bit like someone I knew who "Hated" the Japanese; as in 'Any' Japanese person ... Because of what his grandfather went through as a POW in Burma,
Who are we to say huh?
Anyway
Thanks Tee Cee I will check the book out. Since reading the book about Elżbieta Zawacka (aka: Agent Zo), I came across a book of the same genre and ilk called "
Christine : SOE Agent And Churchill's Favourite Spy", again another young woman who fought the Nazi's from within their own ranks/invading troops. It makes me realise just how Brave and Courageously Amazing many young people were back then. I don't want to disparage the young people of today, but I sometimes wonder how many of them would Volunteer to undertake such Frightening work.. living 25 hours a day in fear for one's capture, torture and execution.
Some time ago (20 - 25 years ? or so?) there was a TV documentary; again I'm guessing but It was eitherBBC or Channel 4 titles something like "Torches in the field/s"??? And was about 4 young women in the Belgian / French resistance throughout WW2. I've tried googling and searching for it but have come up with nothing connected. The reason for my interest in that specifically is that my Ex-missus' Mother was one of them, she passed about 10 years ago, but when & if the mood and time was right she would tell us stories of her escapades and some of the means they used to evade the Nazi's etc A Very Brave Woman; smuggling a radio and / or guns in Large Farm Milk Churns on the back of a horse drawn dray , she never ever 'boasted' but occasionally when asked, she
might share a story or two. I knew nothing of this until about 5 years before she died. (RIP)
Edit: When she passed her grave / head stone read: "vivre libre ou mourir" ( live free or die).
) and we would have stupid water fights in the garden that started with my sons water guns and ended up with buckets of water
), also where I spend endless hours perusing the shelves..There's something about Books (paper one's rather than the new electric / tablet versions - which I did try but just can't get on with even though I know they are Environmentally better etc)
