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9781603294997 Academic Inspection Copy

Resistance

Contes de la Seconde Guerre mondiale en France
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Based on real events of the French Resistance during World War II, Edith Thomas's stories explore how ordinary people respond to the extraordinary conditions of political occupation. The stories, first published under the title Contes d'Auxois by an underground press in 1943, were written to oppose Vichy-Nazi propaganda and to offer encouragement to civilians who felt resigned to defeat. Whether lining up to wait for food, tuning in to a forbidden radio broadcast, adapting to living side by side with German soldiers, or preparing for an act of sabotage, the characters in these stories must make choices in highly compromised circumstances on a daily basis. As the characters confront their own suffering and that of others, their actions inspire readers to consider the nature of heroism, the idea that people can share a common humanity with their enemies, and the possibility for individuals to find solidarity in an overwhelming, isolating world.
Edith Thomas (1909-70) was a French Resistance member and a founder of the then clandestine publishing house Les Editions de Minuit. A novelist, poet, short story writer, prolific journalist, and National Archives curator, Thomas helped establish women's history as a legitimate discipline in France, publishing six historical biographies on figures including Joan of Arc, Louise Michel, and Georges Sand.
"In addition to providing a glimpse of daily life during World War II and a woman's perspective on the war, these stories raise issues about moral choices that go beyond the specific time period and remain relevant to choices people face today."- Melanie Hawthorne, Texas A&M University.
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