Nobody asked questions, nobody demanded money. Villagers lied, covered up, procrastinated and concealed, but most importantly they welcomed.This is the story of an isolated community in the upper reaches of the Loire Valley that conspired to save the lives of 3500 Jews under the noses of the Germans and the soldiers of Vichy France. It is the story of a pacifist Protestant pastor who broke laws … laws and defied orders to protect the lives of total strangers. It is the story of an eighteen-year-old Jewish boy from Nice who forged 5000 sets of false identity papers to save other Jews and French Resistance fighters from the Nazi concentration camps. And it is the story of a community of good men and women who offered sanctuary, kindness, solidarity and hospitality to people in desperate need, knowing full well the consequences to themselves.Powerful and richly told, A Good Place to Hide speaks to the goodness and courage of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
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The horrors in this book are hard to read but the stories of common people banding together to protect other people’s children is awe inspiring. These people beat the Nazi war machine!
A Good Place to Hide is not only interesting, well-researched and written, and thoughtfully organized, but it’s also an uplifting story.
Peter Grose neatly narrates the history of how the tiny village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (and other surrounding communities of even smaller size) saved thousands of Jews and other “fugitives” from the Vichy …
While there exist many unknown or seldom-told tales of World War II, one could spend a life reading what’s been written on the topic and make little more than a dent. Still, there seems no end to our fascination with the myriad stories of the heroes, villains; acts of both courage and treachery in that most dark era of human history. The stories …
Super, I kknew nothing of the Plateau and Huguenots, and was very inspired by this book. Excellent writing style.
Fascinating history, a beautiful tribute to a community willing to risk living by it’s convictions.