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“Dignity isn't measured arithmetically. The smaller the event, the better one grasps the nuances of freedom and dignity. I sensed at that moment that I belonged to a people who were recognizing nuances. I remembered that while I was doing my military service and adjutant called to me in the courtyard and ordered me to go to his room and polish his shoes. I refused. Having exhausted threats of the rights of the Military Code, he gave in to astonishment and a sort of curiosity that I must call psychological. I explained to him that the act of shining shoes seemed in no way beneath me, that I willingly polished my barracks mate's shoes if he was late for inspection or too drunk to do this task himself. but I would not be ordered to shine shoes. I was not shot or punished.”
― Léon Werth, 33 Days: A Memoir

“I know I'm not recounting a big event. But there are no small events. A person and his nation are wholly within the smallest act. Knowledgeable psychologists have said this in different language.”
― Léon Werth, 33 Days: A Memoir