Germaine Tillion

An anthropologist, Tillion was studying the Berbers in Algeria when Germany invaded France in World War II. She returned to Paris to help organize the French Resistance. She was betrayed by a priest and arrested by the Nazis. Sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp, she was the only one of the organizers of her cell to survive. While living in the camp, she taught other prisoners history, and wrote a plan to reform education in France after the war. In the 1950s, Saadi Yacef, the leader of Algeria's National Liberation Front, asked Tillion to intercede in its war of independence against France. She worked to ensure France didn't let Algeria wallow in poverty, and fought against France's use of torture of Algerian prisoners, comparing it to "specters of the Gestapo." In return, Yacef ordered his troops to stand down, which they did until he was overthrown. Tillion was one of only five women to receive the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. She died April 19 at her home in France. She was 100. From This is True for 20 April 2008 Suggestions for further reading: And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the Fr... by Jacques Lusseyran Amazon Price: $10.85 Customer Review: His favorite color was green --- the color, he later learned, of hope. And hope is what pours over you on every page of Jacques Lusseyran's memoir. It's unavoidable. It's the DNA of the book. You don't want to feel hopeful? I won't say: ...   Silence of the Sea / Le Silence de la Mer: A Novel of French Resistance durin... Amazon Price: $9.24 Customer Review: This book is a great classic. A beautifully crafted story. If you get a chance, also watch the movie adaptation by Jean-Pierre Melville. On p. 68 (p. 96 of the translation, after note 37), there is this sentence that the translator forgo...   Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays by Albert Camus Amazon Price: $10.20 Customer Review: This collection of essays is the most brilliant one of Camus' diverse smaller non-fiction writings. The bulk of this book concerns his journalistic writings on the Algerian Revolution, Soviet Union etc. Through these essays, you understand the pain o...   French Resistance Fighter: France's Secret Army (Warrior) by Terry Crowdy Amazon Price: $14.21 Customer Review: Terry Crowdy's FRENCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER: FRANCE'S SECRET ARMY surveys the underground force that was the French Resistance during the war, covering patriot activities, motivation and achievements. Two new to the `Fortress' military history focusing ...   Resistance: A Frenchwoman's Journal of the War by Agnes Humbert Amazon Price: $17.16 Customer Review: This journal, by Agnes Humbert, is translated from the French by Barbara Mellor. It records Agnes' participation in the Resistance movement against German occupation of France during World War II. The courage and intelligence Agnes showed during this...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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