Just Finished Reading: The Resistance – The French Fight against the Nazis by Matthew Cobb



I’m not exactly sure why but I have had a lifelong interest in revolution, rebellion and resistance. So it should come as no surprise that on seeing this book I bought it immediately and read it shortly afterwards. Where I got it from I’m unsure, but for as long as I can remember I have held a deep admiration for the French Resistance to The Occupation between 1940 and 1944. This book has deepened that admiration even further.


Starting from the invasion and subsequent collapse of the French armed forces under the pressure of Blitzkrieg this book ran in two strands: the political aspect of the fight against the Germans (mainly conducted in London by the Free French administration under Charles De Gaul and the British government under the increasing guidance from Washington) and the actual fighting in France itself by individuals and, later, organised groups from both the Left and the Right. I actually wasn’t that interested – above acknowledging it as necessary background material – in the political side of things, except maybe to be cynical about the involvement of Allied governments in French affairs (and the attempts to manipulate the future of liberated France) as well as the largely self-serving influence of De Gaul himself. What interested me far more was the personal stories of the men and women – often frighteningly young and naïve – who resisted occupation with their lives. Where any simple act of defiance could result in torture, imprisonment or even death I was constantly amazed at the bravery and honest heroism of what we would regard as ordinary people. School teachers, farmers, postmen, house wives and students (including school children) ran huge risks producing pamphlets and newspapers, passing vital information to the Allies, undertaking acts of sabotage and assassination. Although initially ineffective through lack of resources, experience and a dangerous naïveté, the Resistance movement proved to be a very useful resource prior to D-Day destroying bridges and delaying the German response to the Normandy landings.


Reading the very personal stories of those who survived this conflict as well as the diary entries of those who did not I couldn’t help but wonder what I would have done under similar circumstances. Like the early resistors I doubt if my life expectancy would have been measured in months – more likely in weeks or even days. That is if I had the necessary guts to do anything at all. Most French citizens did not resist. Indeed many collaborated, either passively or actively with their occupiers. I guess that it would have been the same here too if the German invasion of Britain had ever happened. The idea of Resistance is a very difficult one to contemplate especially if you have a family or loved ones who might be hurt because of your actions. Yet French men and women who were deeply in love with each other fought and died together in their war against German occupation. Amazing. These people are true heroes who should be better known and much more celebrated than they are today – even in France. If you want to know what heroism looks like then read this book.