Books
Memoirs
And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II – Jacques Lusseyran
Extraordinary. After being blinded at age eight, Jacques Lusseyran went on to lead a French resistance group of young boys during the Nazi occupation of Paris and became one of the few to survive the Buchenwald concentration camp.
The Journal of Hélène Berr: A Young Jewish Woman’s Life in Occupied Paris – Hélène Berr
Beautifully written. The writer seeks refuge in music and literature in Paris before being arrested and ultimately dying in a concentration camp just days before its liberation. Her poignant journal captures both her profound love for life and the slow dawning of the horror of her fate.
Résistance: A Woman’s Journal of Struggle and Survival in Occupied France – Agnès Humbert
A founder of the Musée de l’Homme network, which published Conseils aux Occupés out of the basement of the museum and was soon betrayed. Humbert tells the story of her fight against the Nazis and the horrors of German labor camps while maintaining hope for humanity despite immense suffering.
Art
The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland—A True Account of Her Fight Against Art theft and Tyranny in WWII Paris – Michelle Young
The extraordinary story of Rose Valland, the assistant curator at the Jeu de Paume who documented stolen masterpieces and thwart Hitler’s art-looting campaign.
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War – Lynn H. Nicholas
The basis for the movie The Monuments Men, the book chronicles the systematic looting of European art and the Allies’ efforts to preserve and reclaim it. From Nazi purges of “degenerate” art to the rescue of masterpieces like the Mona Lisa.
Movies
Beyond the classic D-Day movies, here are a few you might not know focusing more specifically on the Resistance.
Army of Shadows (L’Armée des ombres, 1969) – Jean-Pierre Melville
Great acting and lots of fun, with one tense scene after another, and partially set in Paris. suspense. Perhaps the most famous film about the French Resistance, as much as a touching mobster movie as a war movie.
Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) – Louis Malle
Not set in Paris, but beautiful, and one of my favorites. Based on the director’s own memories of Catholic boarding school during the Occupation, where a priest attempts to shelter Jewish children from the Gestapo.
A Man Escaped (1956) – Robert Bresson
Again, not set in Paris, but another favorite. A beautifully shot classic based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a French Resistance fighter who engineered a meticulous escape from a prison in Lyon just hours before his scheduled execution.
Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?, 1966) – René Clément
Based on the book, and the memoirs of General von Choltitz, focused on the August 1944 liberation of Paris. A bit overstuffed, in my opinion, and loose with the facts, but still fun, with a screenplay co-written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola and endless stars.
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