The Resistance: The French Fight Against the Nazis

A gripping and insightful history of the French Resistance and the men and women who opposed Nazi occupation during World War II Based on personal stories, eyewitness accounts, and archival material, this vivid history goes behind the tales of derring-do and explains the forces that shaped the fight against the Nazis, providing a deeper explanation of events. The French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II was a struggle in which ordinary people fought for their liberty, despite terrible odds and horrifying repression. Hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen and women carried out an armed struggle against the Nazis, producing underground anti-fascist publications and supplying the Allies with vital intelligence. With major themes of courage, self-sacrifice, betrayal, and struggle, this book shatters the illusion of a unified Resistance created by General de Gaulle, and brings to vivid life a true story of heroes and conflicts forgotten over the next half-century as the movement became a myth. Based on hundreds of French eyewitness accounts and including recently-released archival material, this book uses dramatic personal stories to take the reader on one of the great adventures of the 20th century.