Resistance Fighter: A Teenage Girl in World War II France

by Elisabeth Sevier

"On June 14, 1940, Parisians awoke to the crunch of German boots marching down the Avenue des Champs Elysees . . . the beginning of the German occupation, and a tragic chapter in the history of France."

One of the youngest members of the French Resistance during World War II, Elisabeth Sevier was just turning 16 when she joined. She would not quietly acquiesce to German occupation, and gradually and "unofficially" began small acts of sabotage -- on foot and on her bicycle.

"I could never see how submitting to the Nazis could help my country or my family. . . . From the first time I saw the cocky Germans in Paris, I wanted them out of France."

Elisabeth's resistance to the enemy's takeover of Paris did not go unnoticed by the Germans. She had sensed the Gestapo watching her. A warning from her Red Cross supervisor saved her, and sent Elisabeth to safety, on a dark April night in 1944, along with a truckload of other clandestine resistance fighters.

She was a witness to the brutal Gestapo tactics against French Jewish families and her Resistance comrades, who were buried alive in a forest near Dijon -- with only their heads left above ground.

"In the clearing . . . human heads were scattered everywhere. At first we thought they were separated from their bodies. However, when we drew closer I realized the bodies were buried up to their necks. . . ."

Elisabeth was captured and tortured by the Gestapo when caught trying to blow up railroad tracks. The result of the torturous thumb screws, used by the SS, can still be seen on her left thumb. For her courage and defiance of the enemy, her patriotism, and her unwavering heroism, Elisabeth received the coveted Croix de Guerre, with Bronze Star, one of the highest honors awarded by the French government.

183 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I loved it because I had Madame Sevier as my French teacher at Edmond Memorial High School in the 80's.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in High School, Madame Sevier was the French teacher. Though I never took her classes, I heard parts of her history and was intrigued, even at that time. Now years later and very much interested in WW 2 History, I was very glad to get a chance to read this book.

The book is from a different viewpoint than I'm used to, that of resistance rather than soldiers. It helps bring home what the local people were experiencing during this time of war and gives you a much better idea specifically of what was happening in France during this period.

[lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this fascinating first-hand account of a teenage girl’s remarkable role and survival in the Maquis - the French Resistance - while doing research on the subject. The losses and hardships Mme. Sevier endured are unthinkable, and her courage and perseverance at every turn, even in the very depths of total despair, are awe-inspiring. She survives active combat, capture and torture by the Nazis, the deaths of her closest friends and loved ones (witnessing some of them herself), even saves a Jewish infant as a teenage girl - and she uses all of it to fuel her mission, to play an active part in the Liberation of France. This highly decorated woman, who admired Florence Nightingale from her earliest days, to me surpassed all the accomplishments of her heroine and became an inspiring figure in her own right. Her story touches upon so many facets of the war - the plight of the Jews, the renewed optimism upon the arrival of the Americans, the suffering and steely resolve of the French people, the innocent Germans caught in the fray, whom she saw differently after her encounters with them. It is simply but eloquently written, as if you are sitting down to tea with her and hearing her story. This book is riveting; it should be widely published and taught in high schools. Madame Sevier, former Resistance fighter turned American French teacher, and her fellow Maquisards will remain with me for a long time.