Customer Reviews
Courage - By: Lynette Baines, 18 Nov 2008 
Agnes Humbert was an art historian livingin Paris when the Germans invadedin 1940. She immediately became part of a group which spread anti-Nazi propaganda throughout occupied France through newsletters called Resistance. The title of the newsletter, Resistance, became the name of all the groups opposing the occupation. Agnes' group was quickly betrayed & Agnes was arrested & sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for distributing propaganda. This book was written using the diary she kept until her arrest & her memories of her trial & deportation to a German labour camp. Agnes was forced to workin German factoriesin shocking conditions as slave labour. Slave workers were forced to do the most dangerous jobs such as weaving nylon without any protective clothing. Their hands were continually burnt by acid & they were considered unworthy to receive medical attention or adequate food. Agnes fought back by sabotaging her work so as to make the nylon useless or the wooden boxes she madein another factory fall apart because she cut short the nails she was given. After the Americans liberated the campin 1945, Agnes began organizing supplies for the refugees pouring into Germany & collecting evidence to prosecute the Nazis. This remarkable book is a testimony to the strength of Agnes Humbert. She never loses her sense of humour, or her sense of outrage at the fate of her country & her determination to survive.
Agnes Humbert, Resistance - By: Mr. J. G. R. Morrison, 30 Oct 2008 
The diary: each day recorded is an at-this-moment experience for us, as it was for her. Her natural incredulity of events, the indignance, action when angered, practicality, strength of character, complete lack of sentiment, humour for the absurd evenin the the most dire situations, even detached admiration for the "fairness" of the presiding Judge at the trial. With the flair for description that she had as an art historian, & her own remakable personality, she managed to record events daily until when she was forced to storein her head the events of the last few years. We are proud of you, Agnes!
There are over 20 good-quality black-and-white photographs of people & places. My favourite is the portrait of her at the seaside with her arm round her son Jean, the sun on her face & her hairin her eyes.
There are sincere Acknowledgements by the translator & editor; a Preface by William Boyd; an Afterword by Julien Blanc with a commentary on the documents, some family history, & what happened after the War; an Appendix of documents which includes the citation for the Croix de Guerre; a chapter of interesting & relevant Translator's Notes; & of course a bibliography & an index.
Congratulations to Barbara Mellor, Bloomsbury Publications, & her team of collaborators for this marvellously produced & presented book. I cannot praise this book enough.
Deeply involving - By: Greybeard, 21 Oct 2008 If you have any interestin human beings at all then I suspect this book will appeal to you at one level or another. It is well written with amazing detail considering the circumstances. Mme Humbert was a very strong woman & her attitude & humour shine through even at her darkest moments.
Well worth reading!
The story of a True Heroine - By: Elaine Simpson-long, 11 Sep 2008 When the German army invaded Parisin 1940, Agnes Humbert a strong minded, politically aware art historian, immediately knew that she had to 'do something', the thought of accepting the invasion was anathema to her & she helped to form one of the first organised groups of the French Resistance. The speed with which this was set up & began to operate was staggering. She had excellent contacts & friendsin literary & journalistic circles & an underground newspaper, combating the German propaganda machine, was printed & circulated around Paris. It was simply amazing that they managed to keep this going & out of the hands of the authorities for nearly a year before they were betrayed & she was arrested & thrown into prison. Seven of the men who founded the group died by firing squad & Agnes, while escaping the death penalty, was sentenced to five yearsin a German labour camp.
She had kept a diary up to her imprisonment & she completed it after liberationin 1945. Unable to keep a written record of her experiences she recreated them afterwards, relying on her memory alone. This gives this fascinating book a contrastin writing, the earlier diary memories dashed down quickly on a daily basis, breathless & eager to get everything on paper as it happened; the later reflections more considered even though she wrote at top speedin 1945 after the was liberated & before her memories faded. 'I remember everything as clearly as it it was writtenin notebooks' everything was recordedin memory & all she had to do was slowly turn the pages.
She workedin a factory spinning materials for uniforms for the German troops, often working a 12 hour shift, with little food & having to stand for hours, weak with fatigue
"My feet are absolute agony & we'll be standing here for hours. I have a brainwave. I ask permission to take off my awful shoes (my insteps are bleeding) & wrap my feetin the lengths of rayon that are scattered all round........the director on Anrath (the factory) is going to carry out an inspection & I was told I should stand to attention when he arrives....he stopsin front of me asking me viciously why I have taken off my shoes. I explain. He replies: 'Very good you will be severely punished' & with that promise he leaves me'.
Despite all this Agnes makes sure that she causes the cotton to knot & break & does her best to carry out minor acts of sabotage which will cause maximum inconvenience. Later, when she is set to making boxes, once she has hammeredin the nails, she makes sure she shears them off so that the crates will fall apart as soon as possible. Such actions continue throughout her five years & these small rebellions strengthen her will & help to keep her going even when her weight plummets & she is given the nickname 'Ghandi' as she is so bony & skeletal.
In this closed world, with teachers & professors working cheek by jowl with prostitutes & murderers, the solidarity & camaraderie among the prisoners assumes the importance of life saving proportions. Friendships of exceptional intensity are formed, generally between prisoners who hardly ever see each others faces & who have little time for intimate chat or gossip though at first Agnes had harsh words for the criminals with whom she wasin such close proximity: 'Wretched faces, vicious & primitive, a collection of gallows birds, thieves, syphilitic prostitutes & murderers'.
Once liberation took place & the prisoners were all released by the incoming American army, Agnes embarked on important work with them. With her fluent German & English & her knowledge of the workings of the Nazi camp system, she made herself indispensable & In an amazingly short space of time her authority & energy restored, she was putin charge of administration of the town where they were billeted organising local prison camps, provision of shelter & food & first aid to refugees.
The rapidity with which she shed her identity as a political prisoner after four years of imprisonment is quite astounding & a tribute to her strength of personality & intelligence. After the war she became a founder & president of her local group of a left wing organisation Fighters for Freedom, &in 1949 was awarded the Croix de Guerre.
For many years this book Notre Guerre, was out of print & unobtainable though when it was first publishedin 1946 it caused quite a stir. It was one of the first books written about the Resistance & written while memories were fresh and, according to the Afterword, historians were immediately aware of this testimony & its value has continued to be recognised ever since.
I found Agnes' story to be profoundly moving, it took my breath away at times & also made me laugh, as she had a wicked sense of humour. Whenever I read a book such as this, & one that is a true story as well, I am staggered at the bravery displayed under fire. It makes me feel very humble & also makes me wonder just how I would behave & act if placedin such circumstances. I am thankful that I have never had to find out, but gosh a document such as this does make you think.
A truly wonderful book & I have no hesitation if giving it five stars. Do buy & read - you won't regret it.
