tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post5031801542695960276..comments2024-03-29T15:04:20.549+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: "a conspiracy of Christian goodness" in WW2 FranceHelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-42839024665581519622014-11-29T14:43:00.410+11:002014-11-29T14:43:00.410+11:00Many thanks. I haven't seen a Village of Secre...Many thanks. I haven't seen a Village of Secrets in Melbourne bookshops yet, but does it deal with the same region, same people and same brutal enemies as A Good Place to Hide?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-91977330517950632752014-11-28T14:44:45.768+11:002014-11-28T14:44:45.768+11:00While we are discussing the intense debate in Fran...While we are discussing the intense debate in France about the nature of memory and history, have you read A Village of Secrets by Caroline Moorehead? Her view is that while the anti-Semitism of Pétain's government was more ferocious than in most countries, some of the local population was truly heroic. <br /><br />As in your post, Moorehead was also interested in the part of France high in the mountains of the eastern Massif Central.The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/15/village-of-secrets-defying-nazis-vichy-france-caroline-moorehead-reviewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-89954553191563663642014-09-10T10:15:42.096+10:002014-09-10T10:15:42.096+10:00Peter
many many thanks.
I wonder if there was a...Peter<br /><br />many many thanks. <br /><br />I wonder if there was ambivalence within the heart of each citizen or collective ambivalence that split the entire community in two. This said it all! "...their enemies were people who spoke their language, lived in their area, and had plenty of inside knowledge of their community. So their enemies may have been less horrible, but they made up for that by being better informed!" The enemy was better informed _and_ treacherous <br />Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-2394942981357928762014-09-10T01:04:58.047+10:002014-09-10T01:04:58.047+10:00Was it easier for Theis and Trocmé to inspire the ...Was it easier for Theis and Trocmé to inspire the rescue operation because they were living in the 'Free' Zone, not the Occupied Zone? Hmmmmm. <br />Certainly while the 'Free' Zone lasted they didn't have the Gestapo or the SS to contend with, and those were unmistakeably a naster proposition than the gendarmes and the regular French police. And things didn't turn really ugly on the Plateau until 1943, when the Germans had moved south and taken over most of the 'Free' Zone. So on the face of it, I would say that if they had been in the Occupied Zone in 1940-42 then they probably would have found the going rougher. <br /> <br />Having said that, they were opposing the legal French government of the day rather than an occupying power, so they had to overcome the ambiguity most Frenchmen felt towards Pétain and his mates. And their enemies were people who spoke their language, lived in their area, and had plenty of inside knowledge of their community. So their enemies may have been less horrible, but they made up for that by being better informed! <br /> <br />It has always seemed to me that the whole Plateau rescue was a fortuitous combination of three forces: the sheer decency combined with bloody-mindedness of the Huguenots, and their historic understanding of what it was like to be persecuted; the tradition of hospitality, which meant that many people there had direct experience of taking strangers into their homes; and the sheer remoteness of the Plateau, which made it next to impossible to police and occupy effectively. It's a bit as though the people of the Kimberleys suddenly united and took it upon themselves to hide escapees from Manus Island. The Australian government would be hard pressed to do much about it! <br /> <br />Hope this is helpful. <br />Best wishes, <br />Peter Grose <br />Peter Grosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-80685955052322441142014-08-02T11:40:41.727+10:002014-08-02T11:40:41.727+10:00some times i feel lonely.. i wanted also peace. on...some times i feel lonely.. i wanted also peace. one of my friend suggest me to do meditation now i am happy... meditation has a unique power.Monikahttp://www.shockedyou.com/p/whether-youre-seeking-better-sleep.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-88324380393520788942014-07-21T02:39:28.398+10:002014-07-21T02:39:28.398+10:00Chambon Institute
perfect timing, many thanks.
...Chambon Institute<br /><br />perfect timing, many thanks. <br /><br />I did not know of the documentary but my institution's library will be able to buy a copy (as soon as sales are resumed in late 2014).<br />Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-85592640080998308282014-07-21T02:35:50.071+10:002014-07-21T02:35:50.071+10:00Joe
for Alfred Dreyfus' own family, the reven...Joe<br /><br />for Alfred Dreyfus' own family, the revenge was very literal and personal. His elderly widow was constantly moving and in hiding to save herself, his son Pierre fled his beloved French homeland and granddaughter Madeleine was deeply involved in the Resistance. In Nov 1943, Madeleine was arrested by the French police and transported to Auschwitz where she died.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-18934225234174366032014-07-21T02:20:25.119+10:002014-07-21T02:20:25.119+10:00WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT is a 1989 film written, prod...WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT is a 1989 film written, produced and directed by Pierre Sauvage. During World War II, in and around one village in Nazi-occupied France, 5,000 Jews were sheltered by 5,000 Christians!<br /><br />The documentary has received two national prime-time TV broadcasts to date, on P.B.S in 1990 and in 1992.<br /><br />Chambon Institutehttp://www.chambon.org/weapons_en.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-71161463614797676492014-07-20T17:14:29.266+10:002014-07-20T17:14:29.266+10:00Regarding Vichy, is the expression "revenge o...Regarding Vichy, is the expression "revenge of the anti-Dreyfusards" to be taken literally or metaphorically?Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-48150934373295968762014-07-19T22:57:19.254+10:002014-07-19T22:57:19.254+10:00Hermes
Thanks. It is a story well worth reading.
...Hermes<br /><br />Thanks. It is a story well worth reading.<br /><br />Vichy France during WW2 was a very difficult thing to swallow for Frenchmen and for the Allies. Even after all these decades, it is still difficult to read Grose's book. The idea of a French government handing over its own Jewish citizens and its own Resistance Fighters to the Germans is unthinkable.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-16108694544297709192014-07-19T16:56:07.899+10:002014-07-19T16:56:07.899+10:00What a great post and good book What a great post and good book Hermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00968366076064269729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-54988315393219401992014-07-19T14:35:33.685+10:002014-07-19T14:35:33.685+10:00Student
Le Chambon was in The Free Zone in Southe...Student<br /><br />Le Chambon was in The Free Zone in Southern France which lasted from June 1940 (when the Nazis and French cabinet signed a treaty) to November 1942. <br /><br />I will ask Peter Grose if the Free Zone was any freer than other parts of France. This may have made Pastor Andre Trocme and Pastor Edouard Theis' task at least conceivable.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-44630975578269938222014-07-19T11:36:42.143+10:002014-07-19T11:36:42.143+10:00I heard Peter Grose on the ABC. He said that The F...I heard Peter Grose on the ABC. He said that The Free Zone survived in Southern France until November 1942. It was ruled by Marshal Philippe Pétain's French Government, but it seemed a bit freer than the rest of the country. Student of Historynoreply@blogger.com