Resistance: A French Woman’s Journal of the War, by Agnes Humbert is an intense, compelling and incredible story of strength and determination, courage and rebellion during the duress of World War II occupied France.

Agnes Humbert was an art historian in Paris, and in 1940 when the Germans invaded and occupied France, she was determined to not sit idly by. With her influential contacts in the journalistic world, the literary world, the art world, and the underground, she helped to create one of the first groups in the French resistance. At risk of her own life, her courageousness employed her to fight new frontiers against the Germans.

Humbert was eventually arrested and brought to trial, and she was given a five year sentence in a German labor camp. Her resistance co-founders were put to death by firing squad. Even within the labor camp she manages to successfully seek revenge by making boxes that are inferior, and by spinning inferior fabric. These little sabotages give her more determination and strength to continue on. And, throughout her imprisonment, she retained her sense of humor, which exacerbated her determination to continue doing what she could to go against the grain of the Germans. Through the darkest of moments I her memoir, I often found myself laughing, as absurd as that sounds. Her sense of humor was a powerful force behind her own strength to continue on.

The majority of Resistance was written after Humbert was liberated, much of it from her diary, and from memory. It is written with boldness, and her eye for detail was amazing, capturing every spark of the moment, every darkness and mistreatment, every gloom and doom that the situation brought. I was in awe while reading Resistance...and found myself sitting there with my mouth open, not believing how Humbert’s writing burned through the pages so forcefully.

I laughed, I cried, I felt her anguish and pain, her determination and will power, and am overwhelmed by the courage that Humbert displayed under extreme harsh and deplorable circumstances. Resistance: A French Woman’s Journal of the War, by Agnes Humbert is intense, with nothing left unturned, nothing sweetened, and it is written with forthrightness and brilliance. The memoir reads like a novel of international intrigue, each page filled with dramatic prose, that keeps the reader unable to put the book down. It is that riveting. It is extremely profound, and detailed, vivid in every aspect. Agnes Humbert is masterful in telling her story. Resistance: A French Woman’s Journal of the War is a testament to her ability to her endurance and survival skills, and a testament to a woman of valor. Although I have finished the book, I am still stunned.

View this link for more information on Agnes Humbert.

I personally own and have read this book.
~~~~~~
Jew Wishes…Peace to you all.
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.

Sunday January 11, 2009 – 15th of Tevet, 5769