We Only Know Men: The Rescue of Jews in France During the Holocaust

by Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry, working with more than one thousand unpublished autobiographical pages written by key rescuers and with documents, letters, and interviews never before available, reconsiders the Holocaust rescue of Jews on the plateau of Vivarais-Lignon between the years 1939 and 1944. Henry carefully examines the general research of the last quarter century on rescue in that area of France, illuminating in detail the strengths and weaknesses of Philip Hallie's groundbreaking study Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (1979) as they appear sixty years after the end of World War II. rescue mission, the book looks closely at the lives and work of two rescuers on the plateau: a young Protestant man, Daniel Trocme, and a Jewish mother of three, Madeleine Dreyfus, both of whom were arrested and deported. Daniel died in the gas chamber at Maidanek; Madeleine survived Bergen-Belsen. Madeleine provides an example of a Jewish rescuer of Jews and raises the issues of so-called Jewish passivity during the Holocaust. during the fifteen months he spent in a hamlet just outside the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon from August 1942 until late 1943. As an allegorical mirror, the text reflects both the violent and non-violent resistance taking place when and where Camus composed his narrative. Finally, Henry brings together his own findings and those of others who have studied the rescuers throughout Europe in order to understand rescuer motivation and to show incontrovertibly why it is important not only to know about the victims and perpetrators of the Nazi genocide but to study and teach more widely about the rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust.

Genres: Holocaust, History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stuart Berman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly important book about an aspect of the Holocaust and the roles of rescuers and what drove some of them.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slight academic book examines the rescue of Jews and other refugees from Fascism by the people of the small predominantly Protestant Vivarais Lignon area in rural France; the influence of the rescuers on Camus' La Peste, wrote during his enforced residence there during the war; and refleective overview the history, rescuers, and its meaning for us today. Literature professor Patrick Henry tells the story of Vivarais Lignon through the life and work of young Daniel Trocmé a devout and devoted teacher who perished in Majdanek and Jewish Madeline Dreyfus, a thirty-four year old wife and mother who orchestrated the escape of Jewish children and was caught by the Gestapo, but survived the war to become a prominent psychologist. Henry's narrative and analysis were meaningful to me as a deep admirer of both Camus and the Righteous Jews and Gentiles. My criticism would be both the tiny print and the choice of a title that ignores the women who were at least half the story...

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of this region of France is worth knowing .