Behind Enemy Lines

by Marthe Cohn, Wendy Holden

Marthe Cohn was a beautiful young Jewish woman living just across the German border in France when Hitler rose to power. Her family sheltered Jews fleeing the Nazis, including Jewish children sent away by their terrified parents. But soon her homeland was also under Nazi rule. As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe’s sister was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. The rest of her family was forced to flee to the south of France. Always a fighter, Marthe joined the French Army.

As a member of the intelligence service of the French First Army, Marthe fought valiantly to retrieve needed inside information about Nazi troop movements by slipping behind enemy lines, utilizing her perfect German accent and blond hair to pose as a young German nurse who was desperately trying to obtain word of a fictional fiancé. By traveling throughout the countryside and approaching troops sympathetic to her plight, risking death every time she did so, she learned where they were going next and was able to alert Allied commanders.

When, at the age of eighty, Marthe Cohn was awarded France’s highest military honor, the Médaille Militaire, not even her children knew to what extent this modest woman had faced death daily while helping defeat the Nazi empire. At its heart, this remarkable memoir is the tale of an ordinary human being who, under extraordinary circumstances, became the hero her country needed her to be.

Genres: History, Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction, World War II

Unknown Binding

First published March 1, 2006

About the author

Marthe Hoffnung Cohn was a French author, nurse, spy and Holocaust survivor. She wrote about her experiences as a spy during the Holocaust in the book Behind Enemy Lines (2002).

Reviews

[Margy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to hear Marthe speak four days ago, just as I was finishing the book. She is now 94' yrs old, 4 ft 10 in and sharp as a tack!! What an extraordinary woman. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Just the right amount of detail to make it poignant, but not so much to make sufferable. It included lesser known historical details which were very interesting. It is a real tribute to what the human person can do when the soul is willing!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful read - especially the second half. It brought home how easy it was for Jewish people to get caught in the mentality that Hitler's cruelty wouldn't reach them - until it did. I had never read anything about WWII that highlighted a Jew who hid her identity in order to survive. Marthe was able to work and go to school without a lot of people knowing she was a Jew - either because she worked with forged documents or people were kind enough to defy the Nazis on her behalf.

The first half of the book talked a lot about her family life and laid the foundation for how the war affected her family in the end. It was a bit dry. The second half was about her spy work in the military. That's when the book really caught my attention. The hand of God was certainly present in her life - protecting her so she could get her work done and message through.

Marthe suffers heartbreak and pulls through cowardice and great courage. I love her emphasis on not judging another's acts or cowardice because we have no idea how we would act in a similar situation unless we are in it. Ultimately this is a triumphant book about a remarkable woman. Definitely recommended!

[Liberté · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was mostly okay. It's compelling as a history of a family's survival of the Holocaust, but the material dealing with the Resistance doesn't even start until 1945, after the Allies had retaken France. During the occupation, the Hoffnung family and friends were deeply active in the Resistance but Marthe Hoffnung-Cohn's account is more about the occupation itself. Her brothers were involved, and her fiance, and her sisters, and so on, but she doesn't go "behind enemy lines" until the French army is reorganized and takes her to the border to collect intel on troop movements. I don't dismiss this account; it seems accurate and it is quite compelling, but only about a third of the book is about her actions as a spy (the first half is about the rise of Hitler and the occupation of France, and the resultant impact on its Jewish community, including her own family, and the last quarter or so of the book is about her life after the defeat of Germany). There were also aspects to her account that I was deeply uncomfortable with; there are times where we can do nothing and that's horrible enough, but there are other events narrated in this book that have nothing to do with surviving the war or the war itself that left me disappointed. She did a lot during the Allied advance though, and that counts for a lot.

~Spoiler Warning but for future reference: her not saving the child from being sold for sex so she could keep working as a nurse, her not responding when her surrogate son tried to contact her for help, her using the Germans' tactics for collecting personal information against German civilians after the war, her wanting to separate children from their parent because she wanted to punish the parent, her record of declaring a vow and then abandoning it without any additional explanation besides time.

[Meredith Morgenstern · Rating 5 out of 5]

The remarkable story of one brave woman's fight to do the right thing under incredible odds. Marthe Hoffnung tells her story in such a matter-of-fact way that I am in awe of her actions during WWII. She showed a tireless effort to protect her friends, family, and country from the brutalities of Nazi-occupied France, and her story should inspire us all.

There were times when I wish her story had more details, but that seems a silly thing to quibble over in light of Marthe's story. What I will most take away is the feeling of her fearlessness, which she never seemed to see as such. All she wanted was to help, and she went so far above and beyond that I feel her story needs to be broadcast to everyone.

This is a story of Jewish resistance against unspeakable evil, and I hope to be inspired by Marthe's courage with me for the rest of my life.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished my Book Club Book and couldn't put it down - it took me forever to read it because of time. So many adventures and exciting parts throughout. A memoir of Marthe Cohn a tale of an extraordinary young woman (in her 20's) that was put under extraordinary circumstances became a hero and was awarded France's highest military honor, the Medaille Militaire a rare medal awarded for outstanding military service and given in the past to the likes of Winston Churchill.

I definitely recommend this book!

[Marcia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story of a woman who spied for the French resistance during WWII. Her experiences were dangerous, demanding and sometimes sad. I was drawn to her story initially because I am a nurse too. Yet there was so much more to the story. Love and loss is part of the story yet it is a triumphant story as well.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that women are coming forward to tell their stories of loss and courage. The narrative thus far has been male and they have not made any room for women. This needs to change before we can claim equality in strength and purpose.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this memoir of Marthe Cohn, a French Jewish spy in Nazi Germany.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing woman!!

[Ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading. She is so matter of fact about things and her life experiences are incredible. A very different survivor biography which gives a very different perspective.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and unique.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an amazing read and I could hardly put it done. She is such a brave woman and I feel luck to have read her story. I definitely recommend this book!

[Lahna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little slow at first, but this book just kept getting better. Amazing true story. Amazing woman.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from my aunt, and it was signed by the author last August, when she was 99 years old! An incredible story!

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description of yet another "ordinary" hero of WWII is awe-inspiring. The bravery of my parents' generation never ceases to amaze and inspire. I was less impressed with the writing style of the book,however, as it seemed stiff, the equivalent in places of a student reciting names, dates and places for a history exam. But considering the events described, that seems a rather minor quibble.

[Kate Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was glad to know that people like Marte Cohen exist in the world and work really hard to do what is right. It's very difficult to stand up to what is going on around you and Marte Cohen did. The writing in this book is a bit uneven and stalls in bits but the story is easy to read and compelling. I read this book in several small chunks but found it easy to keep the storyline.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am on awe at the bravery, perseverance, and hope of this woman as she faced the horrors of WWII

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading

[Jack Baillot · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review http://howeverimporbable.blogspot.com...

[Kathie Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective of WWII in France. Story of a young Jewish girl dared to risk everything for her family and country.

[cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though not wonderfully written, this is a testimony to bravery and survival well worth reading.

[Oletta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courageous biography that reads like an adventure novel!