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Outwitting the Gestapo
Lucie Aubrac (1912-2007), of Catholic and peasant background, was teaching history in a Lyon girls' school and newly married to Raymond, a Jewish engineer, when World War II broke out and divided France. The couple, living in the Vichy zone, soon joined the Resistance movement in opposition to the Nazis and their collaborators.
Outwitting the Gestapo is Lucie's harrowing account of her participation in the Resistance: of the months when, though pregnant, she planned and took part in raids to free comrades—including her husband, under Nazi death sentence—from the prisons of Klaus Barbie, the infamous Butcher of Lyon. Her book is also the basis for the 1997 French movie, Lucie Aubrac, which was released in the United States in 1999.
Outwitting the Gestapo is Lucie's harrowing account of her participation in the Resistance: of the months when, though pregnant, she planned and took part in raids to free comrades—including her husband, under Nazi death sentence—from the prisons of Klaus Barbie, the infamous Butcher of Lyon. Her book is also the basis for the 1997 French movie, Lucie Aubrac, which was released in the United States in 1999.
235 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
April 3, 2017
This had me teary eyed by the end. Lucie Aubrac and her husband were Jewish members of the French Resistance and this is her account of her life during Nazi occupation. About half way through her husband, betrayed by a traitor, is arrested by the notorious Klauss Barbie, otherwise known as the “Butcher of Lyon”. The perilous deeds Lucie puts herself through in attempts to get her husband released are awesome in their bravery and ingenuity. At this point the narrative becomes like a brilliant thriller as plans are made to attack the German convoy transporting her husband from Gestapo headquarters back to prison. She’s given such an intimate and beautifully written account of herself and her husband that you’re rooting for them as if they were your own family. The bravery of some people is almost beyond belief. A fantastic read.
January 10, 2019
Maybe I would have liked this book more had I been able to read it rather than having listened to the audiobook version read by Nadia May. Nadia May is the English actress Wanda McCaddon. Lucie Aubrac, the author of this autobiographical memoir, was French. Listening, I was hammered by sounds that felt as un-French as could be! The narration of the book jarred me. In addition, Nadia May reads fast, way too fast. Such a rapid tempo is OK only when the events being related are suspenseful, and they are at some points. However, the rapid speed should not have been maintained throughout the entire book. The valuable and informative, fact heavy introduction by Margaret Collins Weitz should have been read slower. Also, the preface and beginning chapters when who is who is made clear to readers. The way this book is read stresses the listener. Well, that is what it did to me. The rapid speed was to my liking o-n-l-y in the most suspenseful portions and Nadia May’s English inflection never felt right! Go ahead, read the book, but don’t listen to it read by Nadia May, at least not if you are at all sensitive to the tone of the French language!
OK, what is the memoir about? The author, Lucie Aubrac (1912-2007), tells her own story in diary format. Please observe though that she in fact did not keep a diary during the period the book concerns, that would have been impossible as an active member of the French Resistance! The memoir covers nine months of her life, from the conception of her second child to its birth, so from May 29, 1943, to February 12, 1944. Lucie was Roman Catholic and thirty-one years of age. Her husband, Raymond, was Jewish. She was a teacher at a French lycée, he an engineer. Both were active in the French Resistance. Lucie and her husband helped to establish Liberation-sud—a resistance group working from within Vichy, France, its aim being to fight Nazi occupation through sabotage and propaganda. Living in Lyon, their activities brought them in direct conflict with the Gestapo head, Klaus Barbie, the so-called "Butcher of Lyon". After the war, he came to be convicted of Crimes against Humanity, as pointed out in the book’s epilog. The memoir covers only nine months in Lucie Aubrac’s life and it focuses on how she and fellow resisters got her husband and fifteen others out of the clutches of the Gestapo. Her plan was so audacious and so bold that one cannot help but be somewhat amused. Speaking of humor, the book does contain lines that will make you smile.
Here is the plan: . With this as the ploy, the escape of Raymond and fifteen other prisoners was arranged!
The beginning chapters are confusing, and this is not just due to the audiobook’s rapid narration. Information is not clearly presented. Throughout the book aliases are used and the information presented is jumbled.
The book focuses on Lucie’s clever feats. In my view, there is too little about her husband’s role and important work in the Resistance.
Lucie points out that her work in the Resistance was characterized by the incessant need to wait and wait and wait some more. This never ending need to wait is reflected in the telling—for good and for bad. It is perhaps accurate but makes the telling long and drawn out!
I do like that we see Lucie as a whole human being; we do not see her only as an active member of the Resistance. We see her womanly side--a woman deeply in love with her husband and devoted to the wellbeing of her young son. We see her as a dedicated teacher. We see her outspoken manner, her spunk, her spark, as well as her dauntless courage.
A brief afterword tells what happens to the others involved.
I try to separate my reaction to the written contents of a book and how it is narrated. Perhaps I did not succeed here. I might have given this book four rather than three stars had I read rather than listened to it. Maybe.....just maybe.
OK, what is the memoir about? The author, Lucie Aubrac (1912-2007), tells her own story in diary format. Please observe though that she in fact did not keep a diary during the period the book concerns, that would have been impossible as an active member of the French Resistance! The memoir covers nine months of her life, from the conception of her second child to its birth, so from May 29, 1943, to February 12, 1944. Lucie was Roman Catholic and thirty-one years of age. Her husband, Raymond, was Jewish. She was a teacher at a French lycée, he an engineer. Both were active in the French Resistance. Lucie and her husband helped to establish Liberation-sud—a resistance group working from within Vichy, France, its aim being to fight Nazi occupation through sabotage and propaganda. Living in Lyon, their activities brought them in direct conflict with the Gestapo head, Klaus Barbie, the so-called "Butcher of Lyon". After the war, he came to be convicted of Crimes against Humanity, as pointed out in the book’s epilog. The memoir covers only nine months in Lucie Aubrac’s life and it focuses on how she and fellow resisters got her husband and fifteen others out of the clutches of the Gestapo. Her plan was so audacious and so bold that one cannot help but be somewhat amused. Speaking of humor, the book does contain lines that will make you smile.
Here is the plan: . With this as the ploy, the escape of Raymond and fifteen other prisoners was arranged!
The beginning chapters are confusing, and this is not just due to the audiobook’s rapid narration. Information is not clearly presented. Throughout the book aliases are used and the information presented is jumbled.
The book focuses on Lucie’s clever feats. In my view, there is too little about her husband’s role and important work in the Resistance.
Lucie points out that her work in the Resistance was characterized by the incessant need to wait and wait and wait some more. This never ending need to wait is reflected in the telling—for good and for bad. It is perhaps accurate but makes the telling long and drawn out!
I do like that we see Lucie as a whole human being; we do not see her only as an active member of the Resistance. We see her womanly side--a woman deeply in love with her husband and devoted to the wellbeing of her young son. We see her as a dedicated teacher. We see her outspoken manner, her spunk, her spark, as well as her dauntless courage.
A brief afterword tells what happens to the others involved.
I try to separate my reaction to the written contents of a book and how it is narrated. Perhaps I did not succeed here. I might have given this book four rather than three stars had I read rather than listened to it. Maybe.....just maybe.
June 23, 2013
This is the third book I have read on the French Resistance, which I am finding to be a fascinating subject. The first book was fiction, the second more of a personal although very educational journal. This third book is written in journal form but is giving me much more history about the formation of the Resistance. It is giving me a big picture of the breadth of the Resistance, both inside and outside of France, as well as in both occupied France and free France. More forms of resistance are described way beyond propagandizing, education, and recruitment and on into freeing prisoners, and other military operations. In other words, forming an active and national army of resistance. Attention is given to the large number of groups with different perspectives and goals. The difficulties uniting the units into a common one working together is especially interesting to me. Can you imagine when one group with no weapons is in a better position strategically to carry out an operation, getting a better armed group to give them their weapons? It came to mind last night when I was listening to Obama on Charlie Rose, explaining the difficulty of understanding things that were happening if you did not have ALL of the information available to him and others, indeed if you had "not sat in that room" with all of the briefings. This intelligence gathering, information sharing, and policy making was of course also greatly hampered not only by the political disagreements, but by the circumstances of war and occupation. Even when communication systems were developed, there were constant arrests which meant everything had to be developed all over again with different sources, resources and people recruited.
Remember the old saying that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred did only backwards and in high heels? Well Lucie Aubrac did it all pregnant while caring for a small son. Altho, as I sit reading about Aubrac's plan to liberate her husband from the Nazis, I look across at my husband and think poor thing, he would have been doomed. I don't think I have that kind of courage. I think I might have the courage to fight in the moment of capture, to hit and kick and shoot even if I had a gun, but the courage to plan a sneak attack involving me crossing borders and bribing Nazis? Not so much. Especially when said Nazi is Klaus Barbie.
This book has excellent footnoting relating journal entries to facts of history and events of the time. It is very helpful for me as I have no knowledge of French history. Wish there had not been so many cute guys in my one world history class to distract me. As for the history class Aubrac is teaching during the Resistance, she is addressing ancient history and her Jewish students light up when they hear the names Mesopotamia, Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, Abraham, Moses, etc. and the Catholic students find interest in the tablets of law. "My young students recognize each other as equals in the identity of a faith that originated with the nomad shepherds of the desert." Then on to studying metal industries of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. and the students realize "industrial power is on the side of the Allies."
This book just kept getting better and better. I was a nervous wreck for the last one third or so as the action increased. It's been a very long time since a book made me so physically tense.
The main thing that happened for me in reading this, is turning my grade school education about history and especially war, especially war of one country against another country, into a much more realistic picture of the intricacies and number of groups, alignments, complicated politics, etc. involved. Not everyone in France supported the fight against the Nazis of course, just as every German did not support the Nazis. Some people think the Aubracs were heroes, some think they were traitors. It reminds me once again of the foolishness of becoming involved in the politics of other countries where one cannot possibly understand all of these intricacies. I don't know the truth of these stories but this was one good book. Five stars.
Remember the old saying that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred did only backwards and in high heels? Well Lucie Aubrac did it all pregnant while caring for a small son. Altho, as I sit reading about Aubrac's plan to liberate her husband from the Nazis, I look across at my husband and think poor thing, he would have been doomed. I don't think I have that kind of courage. I think I might have the courage to fight in the moment of capture, to hit and kick and shoot even if I had a gun, but the courage to plan a sneak attack involving me crossing borders and bribing Nazis? Not so much. Especially when said Nazi is Klaus Barbie.
This book has excellent footnoting relating journal entries to facts of history and events of the time. It is very helpful for me as I have no knowledge of French history. Wish there had not been so many cute guys in my one world history class to distract me. As for the history class Aubrac is teaching during the Resistance, she is addressing ancient history and her Jewish students light up when they hear the names Mesopotamia, Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, Abraham, Moses, etc. and the Catholic students find interest in the tablets of law. "My young students recognize each other as equals in the identity of a faith that originated with the nomad shepherds of the desert." Then on to studying metal industries of the U.S. and U.S.S.R. and the students realize "industrial power is on the side of the Allies."
This book just kept getting better and better. I was a nervous wreck for the last one third or so as the action increased. It's been a very long time since a book made me so physically tense.
The main thing that happened for me in reading this, is turning my grade school education about history and especially war, especially war of one country against another country, into a much more realistic picture of the intricacies and number of groups, alignments, complicated politics, etc. involved. Not everyone in France supported the fight against the Nazis of course, just as every German did not support the Nazis. Some people think the Aubracs were heroes, some think they were traitors. It reminds me once again of the foolishness of becoming involved in the politics of other countries where one cannot possibly understand all of these intricacies. I don't know the truth of these stories but this was one good book. Five stars.
June 23, 2016
I found this book quite remarkable for the ordinariness of courage on the part of a woman who is superficially conventional in every way: she's a French Roman Catholic, happily married, with a child she adores. She describes in an understated, self-deprecating way her role in the Resistance: walking into a prison to try to get a comrade out in broad daylight, befriending an SS officer, taking part in an armed raid in the streets to rescue another resistance member, a Sten submachine gun across her knees as she waits to spring the ambush. At any moment she can expect to be betrayed, shot down or arrested and tortured to death. The knock on the door could come at any time. The tone is flat, the very antithesis of dramatic. She survives, remarkably. So does her husband - a senior figure in the Resistance - along with their son. The reader asks one question throughout, over and over: would I have the guts, the self-discipline and conviction to do this? Very few of us would, I suspect.
August 27, 2016
This memoir of the French Resistance is a good reminder of the bravery that people of principle can show, even in the darkest of times. It is humbling to think about, considering how easy it is to accommodate. In Lucie Aubrac's case, she and her husband chose to remain in France even though they had an out. I'd ask myself whether I would do the same, but I'm not sure if I'd like the answer.
From the book:
"[Her husband] Raymond Samuel was of Jewish origin; his ancestors had come from Poland at the beginning of the eighteenth century. After the collapse of the French army in 1940, and following his own escape from a prisoner-of-war camp, his professors in Boston offered him a job as an assistant. I still had my fellowship, so in September 1940 we applied for American visas in order to go to the United States. But then we changed out minds; could we really leave our families and our friends behind, while our country was occupied by the Germans?"
From the book:
"[Her husband] Raymond Samuel was of Jewish origin; his ancestors had come from Poland at the beginning of the eighteenth century. After the collapse of the French army in 1940, and following his own escape from a prisoner-of-war camp, his professors in Boston offered him a job as an assistant. I still had my fellowship, so in September 1940 we applied for American visas in order to go to the United States. But then we changed out minds; could we really leave our families and our friends behind, while our country was occupied by the Germans?"
April 18, 2023
This one was also for History. I really enjoyed her style of writing the book as if it were a diary. The addition of her describing her clothes she wore to certain prison breaks and her sons shoes were reminiscent of the Modern Woman which was cool to make that connection. Very sad, but a good ending, and even more heartwarming to know it was a truly happy ending in real life as well.
June 15, 2014
Lucie Aubrac was one kick-a, bad-a lady.
Germans on my doorstep? Whatever, I'll just lie to their face.
Nazis capture my (Jewish) husband? NBD, I'll just march up to Klaus Barbie and give him a piece of my mind.
Pregnant? Psh, I'll go on raids and rescue missions until I start having labor pains.
Seriously, there's a book (and I guess, a movie) about Lucie Aubrac (aka: Catherine, Lucie Bernard, Lucie Samuels, etc) for good reason. She did some incredible things as part of the Resistance in France in WWII. Add on top of it that this diary-style book captures the nine months of her pregnancy - when her husband is captured and she helps mastermind his rescue - and you have one hell of a story.
So why only three stars? Unfortunately, this book is a prime example of how poor writing can turn something as exciting as Lucie Aubrac's life into a history book. I don't know if Lucie's writing style was a bit silted or (what I think is more likely) the translation was poor. Excitement comes across as corny and all of the events are discordant and often confusing. Everything felt like it was in fast forward. Before the emotions of fear or anxiety or hope could squeeze in the action had already changed. I ended up skimmed much of the end of the book.
I'm pretty die-hard when it comes to WWII memoirs - if you're that way too, you may find this enjoyable. If not, I wouldn't recommend picking it up. I think ti's important to know who Lucie Aubrac is - do a little research - but, unfortunately, her memoir falls flat.
Germans on my doorstep? Whatever, I'll just lie to their face.
Nazis capture my (Jewish) husband? NBD, I'll just march up to Klaus Barbie and give him a piece of my mind.
Pregnant? Psh, I'll go on raids and rescue missions until I start having labor pains.
Seriously, there's a book (and I guess, a movie) about Lucie Aubrac (aka: Catherine, Lucie Bernard, Lucie Samuels, etc) for good reason. She did some incredible things as part of the Resistance in France in WWII. Add on top of it that this diary-style book captures the nine months of her pregnancy - when her husband is captured and she helps mastermind his rescue - and you have one hell of a story.
So why only three stars? Unfortunately, this book is a prime example of how poor writing can turn something as exciting as Lucie Aubrac's life into a history book. I don't know if Lucie's writing style was a bit silted or (what I think is more likely) the translation was poor. Excitement comes across as corny and all of the events are discordant and often confusing. Everything felt like it was in fast forward. Before the emotions of fear or anxiety or hope could squeeze in the action had already changed. I ended up skimmed much of the end of the book.
I'm pretty die-hard when it comes to WWII memoirs - if you're that way too, you may find this enjoyable. If not, I wouldn't recommend picking it up. I think ti's important to know who Lucie Aubrac is - do a little research - but, unfortunately, her memoir falls flat.
August 27, 2017
A good book about war shows the savagery and mindlessness of warfare. Lucie Aubrac's book does that. The book takes place in France during 1943 when Lucie, despite being pregnant, was trying to get her husband out of a German-run prison in Lyon. She was helped by many people in the French resistance, but it was her daring in approaching Nazis like Klaus Barbie, the "butcher of Lyon" to get an audience with her husband that allowed the commando raid that she was part of to take place. They freed a number of prisoners, including her husband, Raymond. The French resistance was instrumental in saving people and hurting the German war effort, despite others who kowtowed to the Germans.
April 23, 2023
Lucie was a force to be reckoned with and I could not put this book down. The way she used her femininity to her advantage and tricked so many people and was always thinking so quickly on her feet absolutely amazes me. She rescued her husband from prison/the Gestapo several times and did so many things to support the resistance, all while pregnant and with caring for her son. She is truly an impressive historical figure.
January 8, 2017
The story of Lucie Aubrac and how she was able to spring her husband from the clutches of the Gestapo in wartime Lyon is well known via the 1990s film. This memoir was written after the war, since it was too dangerous for Resistance members to keep a diary. I found it fascinating, not only because real life stories are often more outlandish than fiction, but also because it provides details of daily life in occupied France.
The fact that it was written after the events described does make me wonder if there was a certain amount of post hoc rationalisation going on. And the real history of that period has sometimes been obscured by the post-war myths that grew up around the Resistance. At times, I found the narrative confusing and had to keep looking at the date to see where we were.
But, overall, I found this book a valuable piece in the jumbled mosaic of which the history of the French Resistance is composed. I read the English edition and I would like to read it again in the original French.
The fact that it was written after the events described does make me wonder if there was a certain amount of post hoc rationalisation going on. And the real history of that period has sometimes been obscured by the post-war myths that grew up around the Resistance. At times, I found the narrative confusing and had to keep looking at the date to see where we were.
But, overall, I found this book a valuable piece in the jumbled mosaic of which the history of the French Resistance is composed. I read the English edition and I would like to read it again in the original French.
August 29, 2025
J’ai un intérêt et une affection toute particulière pour la période de la seconde guerre mondiale dans la littérature et cette histoire m’a passionnée.
Comment des hommes et des Femmes ont eu autant de courages, en sachant très bien ce qu’eux et leurs familles risquaient, pour rentrer en résistance et se battre pour une France libre.
En bref, j’ai passé un moment riche en émotions mais je recommande ce type de récit (résistants qui raconte leurs parcours) à 1000% !
Comment des hommes et des Femmes ont eu autant de courages, en sachant très bien ce qu’eux et leurs familles risquaient, pour rentrer en résistance et se battre pour une France libre.
En bref, j’ai passé un moment riche en émotions mais je recommande ce type de récit (résistants qui raconte leurs parcours) à 1000% !
February 5, 2023
Hello again to my friend mary. And any others. So. Never read anything about the French resistance before so that was interesting however I feel I would have enjoyed it a bit more if it was about her/the resistance’s broader work it focused so much on just getting her husband out of jail. Was still interesting enough and had some stuff about the broader things going on at the time and it was cute to see sort of what a female leader in such a movement was up to and that she was respected and seen as equal to the men in the resistance despite this being a bit back in the day… Sad as well but I don’t know my main grievance is just that so much of the book was about breaking her bae out of jail when I feel like she probably did a ton of other meaningful important stuff that was just glossed over or not mentioned at all. But I suppose one must pick and choose what to write about ……
February 19, 2020
Although not technically a journal or diary, it is written id the format of a journal. It lasts exactly nine months, the gestation period of her second child, a daughter Catherine -- one of Lucie's code names.
In the course of the narrative, she outwits Claus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, and rescues her husband from certain death. (He was arrested in the same raid that captured Jean Moulin.) How she does it is worth the read. I won't give it away.
Her background is equally interesting -- from dirt poor to passing the agrégation masculine at the
Sorbonne. Unfortunately, most of it is in her other French publications. As an example of Madame Aubrac's social and political skills, her daughter Cathrine's godfather was Charles de Gaulle. Her daughter Elizabeth's godfather was Ho Chi Minh.
The movie version is worth watching, but lack's the intensity of the book.
In the course of the narrative, she outwits Claus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, and rescues her husband from certain death. (He was arrested in the same raid that captured Jean Moulin.) How she does it is worth the read. I won't give it away.
Her background is equally interesting -- from dirt poor to passing the agrégation masculine at the
Sorbonne. Unfortunately, most of it is in her other French publications. As an example of Madame Aubrac's social and political skills, her daughter Cathrine's godfather was Charles de Gaulle. Her daughter Elizabeth's godfather was Ho Chi Minh.
The movie version is worth watching, but lack's the intensity of the book.
January 17, 2018
Quite frankly, Yes, this blew my mind, and I want to shout at everyone I know to READ THIS (or listen, as I did; the narration is sublime). It's a must read book. It's old, but I was looking about something on Lyon, France, where I studied abroad during law school and incidentally learned some about the resistance. It always has amazed me that a popular historical novel about Lyon during WWII doesn't exist in English (that I know of, so if you know of one please please tel me). Non-fiction and surreal, considering the difference in how I listened to it now verses several years ago. Important stuff, and what a woman!!!
December 31, 2010
I do not know how I got this book and it has been sitting by my bedside for a while but I finally got desperate to read something. This book was very interesting to me. It probably is well written in French but there are a few things that seem confusing or out of order. However it is well worth reading. A first hand account of the French resistance and an interesting life at challenging times makes good reading even for a person who prefers fiction and literature.
March 17, 2021
On suit Lucie Aubrac pendant neuf mois. Le 14 mai, elle fait évader son mari et ils conçoivent leur deuxième enfant, Catherine (un des pseudos résistants de Lucie). On la suit jusqu'à son accouchement londonien. Entre temps, Raymond est capturé par la Gestapo avec Jean Moulin ("Max"), emprisonné et torturé à Montluc.
Lucie s'emploie à le faire sortir en montant tout un stratagème digne du cinéma. Mais être résistante n'exempte pas de la gestion du quotidien de pénurie avec les tickets de rationnement, la layette, les chaussettes sales des détenus à nettoyer, le repas à composer sans oeufs, avec un ersatz de crème. Elle raconte aussi son métier de professeure d'histoire, et de mère. Forcément, la résistance prend un jour nouveau, loin des réflexions imbitables de Jean Moulin dans Premier Combat.
Son récit m'a fait penser à une très belle exposition organisée par le Centre National de la Résistance et de la Déportation à Lyon sur la nourriture pendant la guerre. Elle croisait histoire culturelle et histoire des femmes, c'était top. Là, c'est pareil : l'intime et le politique, le silencieux acheté en Suisse et la layette jaune se chevauchent, tout comme les vacances en amoureux (qui permettent à Raymond de se faire oublier pour revenir avec une nouvelle identité) et l'évasion armée.
Elle relaie bien également la manière dont son statut de femme, qui plus est enceinte! lui permet des ouvertures inaccessibles aux hommes (son numéro de charme à deux dignitaires nazis sans lequel Raymond (et d'autres prisonniers) ne seraient jamais sortis de leur geôle).
Et aussi le sexisme ambiant (et 1943 ou 2021, même combat : le meilleur compliment que certains pensent faire à une femme, c'est de lui dire qu'elle est "presque" un homme).
Lucie s'emploie à le faire sortir en montant tout un stratagème digne du cinéma. Mais être résistante n'exempte pas de la gestion du quotidien de pénurie avec les tickets de rationnement, la layette, les chaussettes sales des détenus à nettoyer, le repas à composer sans oeufs, avec un ersatz de crème. Elle raconte aussi son métier de professeure d'histoire, et de mère. Forcément, la résistance prend un jour nouveau, loin des réflexions imbitables de Jean Moulin dans Premier Combat.
Son récit m'a fait penser à une très belle exposition organisée par le Centre National de la Résistance et de la Déportation à Lyon sur la nourriture pendant la guerre. Elle croisait histoire culturelle et histoire des femmes, c'était top. Là, c'est pareil : l'intime et le politique, le silencieux acheté en Suisse et la layette jaune se chevauchent, tout comme les vacances en amoureux (qui permettent à Raymond de se faire oublier pour revenir avec une nouvelle identité) et l'évasion armée.
Elle relaie bien également la manière dont son statut de femme, qui plus est enceinte! lui permet des ouvertures inaccessibles aux hommes (son numéro de charme à deux dignitaires nazis sans lequel Raymond (et d'autres prisonniers) ne seraient jamais sortis de leur geôle).
Et aussi le sexisme ambiant (et 1943 ou 2021, même combat : le meilleur compliment que certains pensent faire à une femme, c'est de lui dire qu'elle est "presque" un homme).
August 22, 2020
The first half of this book made me question the strong recommendation made by a friend - but the second half made me understand that the preliminary account of quotidian doings was essential to my understanding of the courage it takes to be focused on the urgency and rightness of resisting fascism in any form. I am astounded by the drive and intense belief in the necessity to do whatever it takes that resided in Lucie Aubrac. She is pregnant with her second child as she takes on terrible risks. As a mother, I found myself questioning: was she right to put her unborn child and her little boy in jeopardy? Could I have done the same? As it happens, she manages to reach London, out of reach of the Gestapo and their French collaborators, but the ending could have been different. The questions raised for me were profound - how do we balance the future of our children by protecting our narrower personal family interests at the same time that we are asked to see and work for the greater good? Her courage is indisputable. The story of the French Resistance is remarkable. I applaud her. And I don't know if I could have done the same thing. An important book in these times.
March 20, 2025
Recalling Anti-Fascist Heroes, Still Relevant
History may reside in the pages of a book - the dates, the campaigns, the politics - but history “lives” when those who lived it share their personal, human, individual stories. This book by French resistance fighter/heroine Lucie Aubrac is important because she, her husband and her living and as yet unborn child were resistance fighters with what seemed like nine lives. Somehow they lived to tell the tale.
I believe one reason so-called “strongmen with fascist tendencies are seemingly in vogue right now in locations around the world is that so few alive today remember Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. This book, better than some I’ve read, brings that unstable life-and-death time alive and allows a reader to get a glimpse of that nightmare.
As the saying goes, “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
We shouldn’t hide behind ignorance and this book is an important reminder in a very personal way.
History may reside in the pages of a book - the dates, the campaigns, the politics - but history “lives” when those who lived it share their personal, human, individual stories. This book by French resistance fighter/heroine Lucie Aubrac is important because she, her husband and her living and as yet unborn child were resistance fighters with what seemed like nine lives. Somehow they lived to tell the tale.
I believe one reason so-called “strongmen with fascist tendencies are seemingly in vogue right now in locations around the world is that so few alive today remember Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. This book, better than some I’ve read, brings that unstable life-and-death time alive and allows a reader to get a glimpse of that nightmare.
As the saying goes, “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
We shouldn’t hide behind ignorance and this book is an important reminder in a very personal way.
June 2, 2020
I really enjoyed this retrospective memoir of the French Resistance in Lyon and vicinity. It lacked the literary skill (or pretentiousness) of Marguerite Durand's memoir--also written in retrospect--that I read just before this one (and which didn't appeal to my taste, anyway); in fact, the writing style and framing of some scenes came across as quite amateurish in places, although coming nowhere near to detracting from the story itself. Aside from revealing a lot about features and practices of the Resistance at eye-level, it's filled with taut scenes of suspense and action, all the more impressive when considering that Lucie Aubrac was pregnant through all of the events she recounts.
February 4, 2023
A pregnant mother active in the French underground carries out planning and participation in a daring mission to free her husband Raymond. I actually like the "action" component of such memoir but this one really focuses on the travails of maternity and child rearing at this time. I actually find that refreshing and gives this work a refreshing, unique voice. She gives a lot of details on downtime away from underground work painting a picture of life in occupied France.
March 12, 2021
Compte rendu très détaillé et stimulant de 9 mois de vie d’une femme enceinte dans la Résistance française. Ce livre mélange les sentiments d’une femme dont le mari est arrêté, d’une française qui voit son pays détruit et d’une mère qui souhaite le maximum pour ses enfants. J’ai particulièrement aimé pouvoir replacer géographiquement et chronologiquement les détails de la Résistance et l’action de certains personnages (comme Max, alias Jean Moulin, ou Klaus Barbie). L’autobiographie donne une bonne vision du rôle des femmes à l’époque.
December 30, 2017
Adventure and heart touching moments fill this book that tells the life story of Lucie Aubrac in a terrible time on history. Lucie's was a part of the Resistance. Even in pregnancy, she took her part in raids to free others, including her husband, trying to get him away from Klaus Barbie. This is one to pick up and hopefully let people know we should never forget this dark part of history so it will never happen again.
April 1, 2019
I have been extremely moved by this book.
The power and strength of Lucie Aubrac, her husband, and their associates is staggering. Throughout this memoir, she relates the details of her quotidian lives, that of teacher and mother, and that of a leader in the French Resistance in Lyon. Her fearlessness and love are inspiring and incredible.
And the effortless killing of nazi's is appreciated.
The power and strength of Lucie Aubrac, her husband, and their associates is staggering. Throughout this memoir, she relates the details of her quotidian lives, that of teacher and mother, and that of a leader in the French Resistance in Lyon. Her fearlessness and love are inspiring and incredible.
And the effortless killing of nazi's is appreciated.
August 12, 2023
Great personal details from a member of the French resistance. Although she mostly covers only a small portion of the time of her involvement in the resistance and is writing from memory many years later, Aubrac really brings her experience to life. She shows the logistical and emotional complexities of this work without bogging down in extraneous details, nor does she present an overly romantic picture.
January 30, 2019
A compelling account of the French Resistance in Lyon and detailed retellings of Resistance actions to free prisoners and attack the Nazi presence in France, along with the collaboration of the French government. The translation does read as a very English retelling (and the audiobook is the same) but the book serves as a look into the day to day life of the Resistance in 1943 France.
January 18, 2025
Ils sont où les gens qui font des edit "gigachad" avec de la bonne grosse fonk quand il faut faire des edit sur Lucie Aubrac, alias "Je libère trois fois mon mari des nazis en étant enceinte" ? Parce que wow, quel personnage !
C'était vraiment une lecture passionnante (découverte au pif dans le Lucinda Riley lu cet été, qui l'eut cru), je recommande.
C'était vraiment une lecture passionnante (découverte au pif dans le Lucinda Riley lu cet été, qui l'eut cru), je recommande.
May 30, 2023
Un récit bouleversant et passionnant qui nous offre un point de vu inédit sur les actions de la Résistance. On y (re)découvre les horreurs nazies... Un livre à transmettre à quiconque souhaiterait se cultiver sur ce sujet.
March 5, 2018
read years ago...enjoyed
January 30, 2019
Good read
February 10, 2019
I really enjoyed this book.
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