From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the absorbing story of a French village that helped save thousands hunted by the Gestapo during World War II—told in full for the first time.Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a small village of scattered houses high in the mountains of the Ardèche, one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Eastern France. During the Second … France. During the Second World War, the inhabitants of this tiny mountain village and its parishes saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, freemasons, communists, OSS and SOE agents, and Jews. Many of those they protected were orphaned children and babies whose parents had been deported to concentration camps.
With unprecedented access to newly opened archives in France, Britain, and Germany, and interviews with some of the villagers from the period who are still alive, Caroline Moorehead paints an inspiring portrait of courage and determination: of what was accomplished when a small group of people banded together to oppose their Nazi occupiers. A thrilling and atmospheric tale of silence and complicity, Village of Secrets reveals how every one of the inhabitants of Chambon remained silent in a country infamous for collaboration. Yet it is also a story about mythmaking, and the fallibility of memory.
A major contribution to WWII history, illustrated with black-and-white photos, Village of Secrets sets the record straight about the events in Chambon, and pays tribute to a group of heroic individuals, most of them women, for whom saving others became more important than their own lives.
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Through interviews, research, and documentation, Moorehead has produced an amazing story that mitigates the many myths of Vichy France, credits the plateau of Vivarais, not just Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, the Catholic and Protestant pastors, not just André Trocmé, and the villagers who protected and saved about 800 Jews and escorted between 3,000-4,000 Jews to safety during World War II. While telling the region’s story of resistance operations, Moorehead demonstrates the need for both public historians and academic historians to work together to accurately tell a story. Yad Vashem recognized the village of Le Chambon as one of only two places in the world to be honored as Righteous Among the Nations. Moorehead also dispels the myths that once WW2 ended, all were happy with their reunion and lived peaceful lives because they had survived.
Look at me writing something about another book!
This time it is Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France by Caroline Moorehead.
For those that haven’t seen my new method on book reviews, here’s the scoop. I am going to blog about books I’ve read in a question and answer format. The premise is that one of my readers is asking me questions. For the record, this is just a device I am using to have fun. I’m the one asking and answering. It’s more interesting for me to write them this way, and it gives the other voices in my head a chance to talk. If you don’t like it, well, there are plenty of other things to do online.
Should I read this book?
Maybe. It was very interesting, and definitely a story worth telling, but you probably have to be pretty committed to wanting to know the story to read it.
It sounds like you didn’t like this book, is that true?
No, I liked this book. It’s just that some stories are conducive to being swept along as a reader, I don’t think this is one of those stories. In a lot of ways I’d use the word sprawling to describe it. There are a lot of people, a lot of places, and it’s the type of book that can almost discourage you because it can be a little hard to find a rhythm as a reader because it seems to be constantly changing direction. This isn’t a criticism of the author so much as a commentary on the difficulty that I’m sure was there in attempting to do justice to the reality of what happened.
What prompted you to read this particular book?
A couple of things. First, I’ve got an idea for a book bouncing around in my head that might use this time and place in France as a background, so there was definitely a “research” element for me. Second, I am always up for reading about World War 2, and this was a piece of the puzzle that I knew nothing about.
Was there anything you read in this book that you think we can learn from in our current world?
Man, there were lots, but there is one that I’ve been thinking about a lot the last few days. I’m going to try to thread a needle here politically (which I’m sure I won’t be successful at), but here goes. We live in a hyper-partisan, polarized world, particularly in the U.S. That isn’t a terribly insightful observation, and if you think it is you need to get out more, but what I have been thinking about is this idea of being a collaborator. Not in the sense of someone who is good at working with other people, but in the WW2 sense of working with the enemy. We have come to a place that whichever side of the fence you are on politically you generally think your side is good, and the other side is evil. Because of this anybody who works with or for the person you find reprehensible gets branded a collaborator. Obviously, there is a line that if crossed you are aiding people in unethical and bad behavior, I’m not suggesting we ignore that. What I have been pondering though is that there may be good people who may be in tough spots because they have decided that’s the best way to stave of disaster. I think of this line near the end of Village of Secrets, “From one end of France to the other, there were civil servants who falsified ration books, policemen who turned a blind eye, telephone operators who warned of impending raids. Parallel to the map of Vichy is a map of decency.”
Our political landscape is such that I think the red and blue teams largely view each other as Nazis, or at best the Vichy French, but all throughout our country there are legions of people, some of which we may view as “working for the other side,” who do what they do for the common good of as many as they can. I think there are definitely things going on in the world that we should have moral clarity on, but there is an awful lot of gray area on what the best way to deal with a particular problem is. Our world isn’t complicated in the same way as trying to exist under the Nazi regime, but doesn’t mean that the world hasn’t gotten less complicated. We are blessed in the United States not be dealing with being overrun by Nazis, but we do live in a time with serious problems and questions, perhaps it’s time to do a little less tarring and feathering.
There were a lot of people who appeared in this book, that almost 80 years later we aren’t really sure if they were collaborators or not. Were they trying to help? Were they trying to save their own skin? Were they willing to switch sides depending on who looked to be winning? History hasn’t given us answers, and I think the same questions still exist about a lot of people today, and maybe we don’t know the answers as well as we think we do.
At this point 8 of the 10 people who read this post now believe that I am a heretic, so let’s hurry along to another question shall we?
You sure you don’t want to talk about your thoughts on collaborators anymore?
If any educational institution I attended before grad school still existed I’m pretty sure they’d be revoking my diplomas, so yeah, let’s move along.
If we must move along, then what about this book surprised you?
There were several things, but one of them was the appearance of John Nelson Darby. Darby is considered the father of the theological system of Dispensationalism. I grew up steeped in dispensational theology, and even attended Dallas Theological Seminary, the most famous dispensational institution out there, but I had no idea that his followers in France were instrumental in saving so many Jews. They weren’t the only ones. French Huguenots, Quakers, and other Protestants did their share. A number of Catholics were also involved in saving Jews, but I never knew that there were Darbyist enclaves in France, and that they were committed to saving as many Jews as they could. Maybe I just don’t know that much about France, a distinct possibility.
Here’s a good quote from the book about there prevalence:
“There was, however, something else that made the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon exceptional in France, and it would become crucial in saving the Jews in the months to come. Among its inhabitants were not only a very high percentage of Protestants, steeped in the embattled faith of the Huguenots, but also a number of Darbyists, followers of a nineteenth-century English preacher, John Darby, sober, austere, very private people sometimes likened to Quakers and the Amish. By the outbreak of war, the plateau had 12 Protestant parishes, and some 9,000 of its 24,000 people were Protestant, in a country in which Protestants counted for less than 10 per cent of the total population. The Darbyists, and an even smaller and more obscure sect, the Ravenists, were said to number about 2,000, making these communities some of the largest in Europe.”
This is getting long so two final questions.
First, did you have to look up how to spell Huguenot?
Absolutely.
Second, do you have a favorite quote from the book?
Well, I read this as an ebook, and I did so specifically so I could highlight easily and access those highlights efficiently. That is to say, there were lots of highlights.
One quote that stood out to me was from a Jewish woman in an interment camp in France, many of whom would be shipped to Auschwitz, never to be heard from again, “We lived somewhere outside life,” she wrote, “In a bath of death.”
Check out more of my thought on books at https://www.oursharpology.com/culture
I found this book fascinating, and although it is factual, it is written in an easy narrative style. The village of the title is located on the eastern side of Le Puy-en-Velay. This is the Ardèche and the principle village in this true story is that of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. A beautiful area surrounded by dense forests of oak and pine on the Vivarais plateau known for its remoteness and inaccessibility.
Just why and how the inhabitants of Le Chambon and the outlying villages came to save thousands wanted by the Gestapo is difficult to put into a nutshell. But save people is exactly what they did. And you have to keep in mind that a lot of these villagers were just ordinary French people, farmers, drovers, the local bar owner or teacher.
A meticulously researched story brought to life with an easy and flowing narrative that covers the whole period of the 1939/45. However, because of the subject matter, I found that I was sometimes moved to tears. An incredible and thought-provoking read.
Excellent read. Enjoyed the character building and reality of the story line. An honest look at life under an oppressive regime. And the resilience of the human spirit.
Learnt a lot about the French and Germans during World War 2 and their outlook on Jews, Freemasons and other refugees.
I am interested in WWII and this gave me some information I didn’t have previously regarding citizens who tried to help the Jews escape.
This doesn’t read like a novel but more of a historical text.
it was very interesting I learned a lot about the war that I had no idea of what went on in the lives of the jews
too much information
this shows very different town-folks and how they helped in the war effort in helping save those who were hiding from the Nazis.
This is a true story that I will never forget. The people in this village encountered the nazis in a way I had never known was possible. If you are interested in WW2, you will want to read this true story.
I learned a lot about the inner workings of the Vichy Regime and how it persecuted Jews in WWII. I also learned that the French population had it’s good a bad actors during this horrible time.
While the info was great it was a bit tedious. Since I don’t speak French missed many lines that did not have English
Not what I expected and full of information about Vichy and the people who worked for years saving the lives of children.
I found it sad and complicated.
Compelling non-fiction account of brave residents of area of France protecting Jews from Nazis and collaborative French during WW II.
This book reads like a text book with a lot of people and dates. It would help to know a little French because of the French towns. It seems like you can see the hand of God working through people to save lives. It is heartbreaking also. Sometimes you need to read a book that tugs on your emotions. This is it!
This book was just full of facts, after facts after facts, It reminded me of a history teacher at a very young age, Frankly, I found it quite boring, and I love history, especially The Great War, The Civil War and WWII. But I found this book to be disappointing in that there was no real story line, Just names, dates, facts of acts. Whilst I was reading it, I kept thinking , ‘oh I just can’t wait till this is finished so I can get on to my next Daniel Silva,,,
I am always impressed at the risks ordinary people took to protect persons they did not even know during the Nazi terror. This involved nearly an entire village and it was a story I’d not heard before.
The book was so informative. Some may feel the reading tedious but this is an historical account of the day to day of a woman gone underground. A telling of the years of hyper alertness with nothing to do but not get caught. A story of wits and guile and the need to do anything to keep from being murdered. Incredible.