Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Translated into English after more than 60 years of near-obscurity, Humbert's firsthand account of her work for the resistance in occupied Paris and her subsequent arrest and deportation to a forced-labor camp in Germany is an invaluable addition to works highlighting the role of women during wartime. At the fall of Paris, Humbert verges on despondency until she hears de Gaulle's broadcast calling for all Frenchmen to carry on the struggle. Prompted to action, she begins networking, bringing together some of the key figures of the resistance, including Boris Vildé and Pierre Brossolette, with whose help she and others produce the underground liberation newspaper, Résistance. But the indelibility of the human spirit is most fully revealed in Humbert's account of her imprisonment, during which she retains her dignity amid the humiliating circumstances through small, individual acts of resistance such as sabotaging the work she does in the labor camps. She also provides heartfelt testament to numerous other women in the prison, many of whom were arrested for helping French and British soldiers escape. In a fair-minded account, Humbert relays the atrocities of the Third Reich as well as the sympathy of some of the camp inmates' captors (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
This incredibly important publication will be welcomed by scholars and informed lay readers alike. Long out of print in the original French and never before available in English translation, this combination diary/memoir provides an engrossing account of the activities of the French Resistance by an early participant. Humbert, an art historian, was a member of one of the earliest (if not the earliest) resistance groups to be formed. Her diary account, begun in June 1940, recounts in riveting detail the atmosphere of panic and "scenes of savagery" that accompanied the fall of Paris and collapse of the Third Republic. Betrayed to the Gestapo, imprisoned both in France and in Germany, and deported to a slave labor camp, Humbert nonetheless survived the war and went on to write this personal and deeply moving memoir of her reflections upon these various experiences. Originally published in 1946, the French edition has long been an important resource for scholars. Translator Mellor, herself an expert in French culture, has included valuable complements to the original manuscript, providing readers with selected primary documents on the Resistance, biographical information on Humbert, and annotations to the text. Highly recommended.--Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-From the very first word of this spellbinding diary, readers are transported to Paris, June 1940, with a bright and articulate founder of the Resistance movement. An art historian, Humbert joined forces with her colleagues, creating and bravely distributing an underground newspaper they named Resistance. Through her detailed and intimate diary entries, the author gives a mesmerizing, day-to-day picture of the movement. After being betrayed to the Germans, she was put in a stark, cold cell in a French prison, where she was interrogated; she never betrayed her colleagues, several of whom, she learned, were executed. After many months, she was taken to a labor camp and forced to work for years in horrific conditions on starvation rations, with increasingly poor health. Humbert exhibited spirit, courage, and determination to resist the Germans, sabotaging whatever she was forced to make in the factories they turned into labor camps, never losing sight of her fellow prisoners' needs as she struggled to keep up hope and survive. After being liberated by the Americans, she put herself in charge of her former captors and helped the Americans deal with the initial horrors left by the Germans. The book includes a detailed appendix of documents on the Resistance and 32 pages of translator's notes that put the author's comments in historical context. Humbert's wit and bravery, her charisma, will draw teens into this remarkable account.-Ellen Bell, Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A member of the French Resistance recalls her work against the Nazis, capture and imprisonment during World War II. Originally published in 1946, the book has taken a surprisingly long time to be translated into English, especially since scholars frequently cite it as an important source of information about the Resistance, notable for its accuracy and immediacy. Humbert (1894-1963), an art historian, wrote the bulk of the text in the nine months immediately after her liberation from a German labor camp; three chapters are directly transcribed from diaries kept at the time. The first diary entry, on June 7, 1940, describes German troops descending on Paris. What follows is a startling firsthand account of the war, as told through the eyes of someone who experienced rebellion against the Nazi threat, imprisonment at the hands of merciless German troops and freedom as the war came to an end. Humbert's meticulous eye for detail (even in chapters written after the fact) makes the book a compelling read. She chronicles the early days of the German occupation, when she and a group of friends hastily formed the publication Rsistance, which ultimately led to her imprisonment by the Nazis. She chronicles the charges that were brought against her, the court case and her initial imprisonment in a forced-labor camp in Anrath, Germany. It was here that Humbert encountered genuine criminals (one woman had killed her son and two nephews by cutting off their hands) and experienced the barbaric conditions that would mark the rest of her time as a slave laborer in Germany. She made friends with some of the inmates, and occasionally a letter from a family member was passed on to her. Freed by U.S. forces in April 1945, she helped them expose some key members of the Nazi party during the month before VE Day, vividly described in a final chapter composed of contemporary diary entries. A vital historical document. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
