Play Book Tag discussion

During the German occupation of France during WWII there were many, including women, who actively resisted the Nazi regime. They risked their lives by creating and distributing pamphlets critical of the Nazis and local sympathizers, hiding Jewish families and helping them escape, plotting to kill SS officers in their midst, and generally doing anything in their power to resist the invading army. Eventually many were caught including 230 women who were sent to concentration camps; only 49 would return. They believe that their survival was due to their intense friendship with one another that saw them through the most brutal conditions anyone could imagine. Few of them had known one another before their capture but they clung to one another as if they were family. Each death of one of their own felt like it was indeed a death in their family. This painstakingly researched book includes memories from a few of the 49 still alive at the time of the writing, documents and news stories from the time and archives from the very resistance organizations the women had once helped.

This is easily the most difficult book I have ever read. I always felt that I knew quite a bit about the Holocaust and the horror of those poor souls incarcerated in the prison camps. This book is incredibly detailed about their treatment, abuse and being treated as a disposable object. There is so much more than I ever could have imagined possible. That is not to say that this is not a good book although the first third or so is rather dry with so many names and politics introduced. I am glad I read it and I know I will never forget the story of these 230 women and the millions of others who suffered the same fate.

This is on my list of possibilities for this month. Your review makes it clear that I need to be in the right frame of mind. Thanks.