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Resistance: A French Woman's Journal of the War
A real-life Suite Française, this riveting diary by a key female member of the French Resistance in WWII is translated into English for the first time.
Agnès Humbert was an art historian in Paris during the German occupation in 1940. Though she might well have weathered the oppressive regime, Humbert was stirred to action by the awful atrocities she witnessed. In an act of astonishing bravery, she joined forces with several other colleagues to form an organized resistance—very likely the first such group to fight back against the occupation. (In fact, their newsletter, Résistance, gave the French Resistance its name.)
In the throes of their struggle for freedom, the members of Humbert’s group were betrayed to the Gestapo; Humbert herself was imprisoned. In immediate, electrifying detail, Humbert describes her time in prison, her deportation to Germany, where for more than two years she endured a string of brutal labor camps, and the horror of discovering that seven of her friends were executed by a firing squad. But through the direst of conditions, and ill health in the labor camps, Humbert retains hope for herself, for her friends, and for humanity.
Originally published in France in 1946, the book was soon forgotten and is now translated into English for the first time. Résistance is more than a firsthand account of wartime France: it is the work of a brave, witty, and forceful woman, a true believer who refused to go quietly.
370 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1946
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6167 people want to read
About the author
Agnès Humbert
10 books6 followersAgnès Humbert was an art historian, ethnographer and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. She has become well known through the publication of a translation of the diary of her experiences during the War in France and in German prisons at the time of the Nazi occupation.
(wikipedia)
(wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
April 19, 2013
I am recommending this book to anyone interested in the political agitators that sought to fight the Nazis. I consider it one of the better books written on the subject. It begins and ends with transcripts of the author‘s diary entries. The first date from June 1940 to April 1941, ending two days before the author’s interrogation by the Gestapo. The final diary transcripts date from April 1945, four years later, after American liberation. The intervening section was written immediately after the war. It covers her imprisonment, trial, deportation to Germany and life as a slave worker, classified as a political criminal. The book was first published in 1946 and it was one of the first of its kind. Its immediacy, the author’s candor and rambunctious spirit shine throughout. This is a remarkable book. The author has something vital to tell us and she does it with precision, candor, spirit and humor.
Humor in a book detailing the life in labor camps? Yes, biting humor! Humor, when the situation is as bad as it is, almost hurts.
I get back from the factory after a truly grueling night, prostrated with exhaustion. I am going to sleep like a log, I know. But then I see my bunk is already occupied. I start to make a fuss, but a plaintive voice beneath my blankets soon pulls me up short: ‘Oh please, please, don’t be angry. I haven’t got lice and I haven’t made your bed dirty. ‘
I discover this is the new regulation. For lack of space, the day shift and the night shift will take turns to sleep in the same bunks. From now on we will find our bunks already warmed for us. How delightful. (page 151)
I marked line after line that I wanted to quote, but I simply cannot put them all here. One example will have to suffice.
Agnès Humbert (Oct 12, 1894 – Sept 19, 1963) was a mature woman of forty-six at the date of her first diary entries. She had a solid political background. An art historian, she is articulate, well-educated, committed and passionate. As a member of the fledgling French Resistance, as one with vivid war experiences of life in labor camps and as one there in the confusion of the war’s aftermath, she describes it all, simply and powerfully. She experienced it all, and she has a remarkable writing ability. All parts are written in the first person present tense. This was one of the most difficult war books I have ever read, difficult simply because she makes it so very real and she makes the reader care.
ETA: I should perhaps add that the book has a well written Afterward. I read it in fact both before and again after finishing the book. You get additional information about the author. It is written by Julien Blanc. There are also photos and extensive notes.
Humor in a book detailing the life in labor camps? Yes, biting humor! Humor, when the situation is as bad as it is, almost hurts.
I get back from the factory after a truly grueling night, prostrated with exhaustion. I am going to sleep like a log, I know. But then I see my bunk is already occupied. I start to make a fuss, but a plaintive voice beneath my blankets soon pulls me up short: ‘Oh please, please, don’t be angry. I haven’t got lice and I haven’t made your bed dirty. ‘
I discover this is the new regulation. For lack of space, the day shift and the night shift will take turns to sleep in the same bunks. From now on we will find our bunks already warmed for us. How delightful. (page 151)
I marked line after line that I wanted to quote, but I simply cannot put them all here. One example will have to suffice.
Agnès Humbert (Oct 12, 1894 – Sept 19, 1963) was a mature woman of forty-six at the date of her first diary entries. She had a solid political background. An art historian, she is articulate, well-educated, committed and passionate. As a member of the fledgling French Resistance, as one with vivid war experiences of life in labor camps and as one there in the confusion of the war’s aftermath, she describes it all, simply and powerfully. She experienced it all, and she has a remarkable writing ability. All parts are written in the first person present tense. This was one of the most difficult war books I have ever read, difficult simply because she makes it so very real and she makes the reader care.
ETA: I should perhaps add that the book has a well written Afterward. I read it in fact both before and again after finishing the book. You get additional information about the author. It is written by Julien Blanc. There are also photos and extensive notes.
March 13, 2019
This is a truly excellent memoir. It is a unique account of WW11 told from the viewpoint of a French art historian whose acts of bravery and resistance eventually get her arrested. Despite deportation to Germany and two years in a slave labor camp, Humbert maintains her humanity, her sense of purpose, not to mention her sense of humor. After liberation Agnes is put in charge of the local German population (her organizing abilities and her personal strength are immediately apparent to the allies). She points a toy gun at the the German civilians and threatens them with it when they are reluctant to follow her orders. Then, she goes off giggling with her friend.
There are literary, artistic and intellectual allusions throughout the book. Some of them I had to look up. My GR friend Wendy wrote that this is a woman she would have loved to meet. I couldn't agree more.
There are literary, artistic and intellectual allusions throughout the book. Some of them I had to look up. My GR friend Wendy wrote that this is a woman she would have loved to meet. I couldn't agree more.
July 27, 2017
Mi diario se acaba el 13 de abril [de 1941]; sin embargo, mis recuerdos son tan claros que puedo escribir sobre ellos siguiendo un orden riguroso.
No podría calificar al libro con menos estrellas, debido a que es un diario y su forma es mucho más libre. Ha sido una gran experiencia meterme dentro de las anotaciones de Agnès Humbert, a quien no conocía hasta que hallé el libro de casualidad. Si bien sentía dudas sobre los momentos de confección del diario (¿cuándo escribe? ¿cómo recuerda todo?), la cita que añadí me indicó una posible solución: ¿de qué manera podría olvidar el horror que vivió? Humbert intentó resistir la ocupación de París, la encarcelaron y la condenaron a trabajos forzados en Alemania.
Los fragmentos en donde cuenta detalladamente sus vivencias provocan sentimientos de toda clase, ya que trasmite tanto lo bello como lo indignante. No me quedan dudas, eso sí, sobre el espíritu encendido de Humbert (a veces, ese espíritu la lleva a equivocarse) y la brutal honestidad (prejuicios incluidos… y eran esperables) con la que escribió/ describió cinco largos años. Es un buen documento, una voz más que se suma a mantener fresca la memoria y una perspectiva de la Segunda Guerra Mundial a la cual, personalmente, no me había acercado.
No podría calificar al libro con menos estrellas, debido a que es un diario y su forma es mucho más libre. Ha sido una gran experiencia meterme dentro de las anotaciones de Agnès Humbert, a quien no conocía hasta que hallé el libro de casualidad. Si bien sentía dudas sobre los momentos de confección del diario (¿cuándo escribe? ¿cómo recuerda todo?), la cita que añadí me indicó una posible solución: ¿de qué manera podría olvidar el horror que vivió? Humbert intentó resistir la ocupación de París, la encarcelaron y la condenaron a trabajos forzados en Alemania.
Los fragmentos en donde cuenta detalladamente sus vivencias provocan sentimientos de toda clase, ya que trasmite tanto lo bello como lo indignante. No me quedan dudas, eso sí, sobre el espíritu encendido de Humbert (a veces, ese espíritu la lleva a equivocarse) y la brutal honestidad (prejuicios incluidos… y eran esperables) con la que escribió/ describió cinco largos años. Es un buen documento, una voz más que se suma a mantener fresca la memoria y una perspectiva de la Segunda Guerra Mundial a la cual, personalmente, no me había acercado.
April 11, 2016
Résistance is a woman’s journal that was written in a very dangerous and terrible time. Yet during the darkest of the darkest moments and in the most desperate of circumstances, Agnès Humbert embodies courage, strength and purpose.
Résistance was founded by intellectuals who had no knowledge of espionage, intelligence gathering or secret codes. Their strength was drawn from moral anger and used brilliantly in their fight against tyranny and injustice. Agnès Humbert, a 46-year-old art historian and ethnographer, was an improbable candidate for the task that lay ahead. Divorced, with two adult sons, she worked at The Musée de l’Homme, one of Paris’s most prestigious museums. Co-conspirators included the unlikely Jean Cassou, distinguished cultural and political figure of prewar France, Boris Vildé, an authority in the Polar Regions, and Anatole Lewitsky, a specialist on Siberian shamanism. Not the usual people selected for an underground movement.
Résistance is not an easy read because it gives graphic details of what actually happened in the work camps and prisons during World War II. It is intense and candid. While there are betrayals and deaths, it is primarily a story of redemption and about the friendships cemented by a common cause. As the story unfolds, I was captivated by the humour and the laughter; at the same time, I was awestruck by how many risks were taken to distribute their newspaper, Résistance.
Would I be as courageous? Would I see the danger? Would I resist evil? If you read Résistance – and I strongly suggest you do – these are the hard-hitting questions you will ask yourself when you meet Agnès Humbert.
https://ontheroadbookclub.com/
Résistance was founded by intellectuals who had no knowledge of espionage, intelligence gathering or secret codes. Their strength was drawn from moral anger and used brilliantly in their fight against tyranny and injustice. Agnès Humbert, a 46-year-old art historian and ethnographer, was an improbable candidate for the task that lay ahead. Divorced, with two adult sons, she worked at The Musée de l’Homme, one of Paris’s most prestigious museums. Co-conspirators included the unlikely Jean Cassou, distinguished cultural and political figure of prewar France, Boris Vildé, an authority in the Polar Regions, and Anatole Lewitsky, a specialist on Siberian shamanism. Not the usual people selected for an underground movement.
Résistance is not an easy read because it gives graphic details of what actually happened in the work camps and prisons during World War II. It is intense and candid. While there are betrayals and deaths, it is primarily a story of redemption and about the friendships cemented by a common cause. As the story unfolds, I was captivated by the humour and the laughter; at the same time, I was awestruck by how many risks were taken to distribute their newspaper, Résistance.
Would I be as courageous? Would I see the danger? Would I resist evil? If you read Résistance – and I strongly suggest you do – these are the hard-hitting questions you will ask yourself when you meet Agnès Humbert.
https://ontheroadbookclub.com/
February 10, 2013
This book is the actual journal of a Frenchwoman's experiences during World War II. At the start of the war Agnès Humbert was a bookish art historian working in a museum in Paris. After the occupation of Paris began Agnes and other staff at the museum were replaced by Nazi sympathizers. Together with some of her friends she decided to form a small resistance cell to share information and publish anti-Nazi propaganda in a pamphlet called 'Resistance'. This cell was composed of other middle classed scholars, artists, writers, and even some social gadflies. All well intentioned amateurs. So, you can imagine a resistance run by amateurs was inevitably riddled with amateur errors. It was not long before the arrests began. Agnes was arrested in 1941 and spent the next four years in abominable circumstances. Prisons, forced labor, and slavery. Throughout she managed to stay alive. This is the story of a remarkable woman who was very brave in dangerous times, and of her ability to deal with very harsh conditions.
The book is written in the first person, present tense which gives it a real sense of urgency. The first third of the book is her own journal entries from her time working for the Resistance. The remainder of it was written during the nine months after her liberation, but she continued to write it in the style of a diary as if she had a journal and pen in prison with her. She writes "my memories are so clear that I am able to commit them to paper as they happened and in strict sequence. I remember everything as clearly as though it was written in notebooks, one event after another". I thought it was a pretty damn good book.
The book is written in the first person, present tense which gives it a real sense of urgency. The first third of the book is her own journal entries from her time working for the Resistance. The remainder of it was written during the nine months after her liberation, but she continued to write it in the style of a diary as if she had a journal and pen in prison with her. She writes "my memories are so clear that I am able to commit them to paper as they happened and in strict sequence. I remember everything as clearly as though it was written in notebooks, one event after another". I thought it was a pretty damn good book.
December 24, 2012
This book seems intriguing in spite of some of the three-star reviews it has received on Good Reads. For one, I'm not sure I could ever be "temporarily burned out on WWII" as one reviewer was; nor will the existence of substantial appendices, an involved cast of characters, or any unfortunate disimilarities to The Hiding Place be a serious issue.
Looking forward to it.
Looking forward to it.
December 1, 2010
Agnès Humbert’s story is a remarkable one. A middle-aged Parisian academic who – by her own admission – had lived a lot of her life through books, but who nevertheless found steel in her soul when the Germans invaded in 1940. Joining up with like-minded friends and acquaintances, all inspired by speeches by the exiled Charles de Gaulle, she worked within Paris to drive forward a resistance and keep the notion of a Free France constantly in French citizen’s minds. However, that is only the first part of this memoir, as Humbert and her cohorts were soon betrayed and she spent the rest of the war in dank prisons and then working as a slave labourer for the Nazis. The descriptions of what she and her fellow prisoners went through remain incredibly harrowing, but Humbert refused to allow her spirit to buckle – and it’s that resistance these pages chronicle.
Deep down in the British psyche there’s still a grudge towards the French at how easily they surrendered in The Second World War, so it’s refreshing and illuminating to read a first-hand account of the anger which flared up in Paris. Yes, there were people more than happy to collaborate with the invaders and with the new Vichy government, but there were others – right from the start – determined to disrupt the machine. Whether that was just sticking up banners for de Gaulle in toilets or other public places, or typing “Vive le général de Gaulle!” on banknotes (as no one could afford to throw away a banknote, so they’d have to be passed hand to hand) or more ambitiously starting an anti-Nazi newspaper, these were people who took great risks for what they believed.
But it wasn’t just the politically engaged Humbert met. One of the truly interesting things about the book though is how when Humbert was imprisoned, many of the other inmates were German. Women of the Fatherland who’d committed, in some cases, quite meaningless crimes but were given of years of hard labour in consequence. And even though they were members of Aryan race, they were not spared the cruelty of their captors. As that’s the conclusion Humbert reaches, that there was no shared ideology in Nazism, it just allowed certain Germans to give into their lowest impulses and hurt, humiliate and even kill other people.
Humbert herself was beaten, starved of food, water and medical treatment, and had her hand dipped in acid. And yet when recalling these dreadful moments, she is able to insert in moments of humour which show how well her spirit survived. Here she is on the moment her captors told her she was now a grandmother, but – for no reason other than spite – rudely refused to answer any of her follow-up questions: “What a peculiar sort of woman I must be. Not satisfied with knowing that I am a grandmother, I also have to know the sex of my grandchild, his name and whether my daughter-in-law is well. Doubtless German grandmothers are much less curious!”
Only the opening section of the book, before Humbert is captured, is an actual diary. When she was a prisoner it would have been almost impossible to do (and a risk not worth taking if she was caught). As such most of the book is written in the immediate aftermath of the war, however her anger at the various injustices and humiliations she and her fellow prisoners suffered is still sharp and painful . There are a few odd mistakes (America enters the war a month earlier than it should) and it does have an idealised view of Stalin’s Russia that was commonplace amongst the left in the thirties and forties, but this is a powerful, unremitting, compassionate and inspiring memoir.
Deep down in the British psyche there’s still a grudge towards the French at how easily they surrendered in The Second World War, so it’s refreshing and illuminating to read a first-hand account of the anger which flared up in Paris. Yes, there were people more than happy to collaborate with the invaders and with the new Vichy government, but there were others – right from the start – determined to disrupt the machine. Whether that was just sticking up banners for de Gaulle in toilets or other public places, or typing “Vive le général de Gaulle!” on banknotes (as no one could afford to throw away a banknote, so they’d have to be passed hand to hand) or more ambitiously starting an anti-Nazi newspaper, these were people who took great risks for what they believed.
But it wasn’t just the politically engaged Humbert met. One of the truly interesting things about the book though is how when Humbert was imprisoned, many of the other inmates were German. Women of the Fatherland who’d committed, in some cases, quite meaningless crimes but were given of years of hard labour in consequence. And even though they were members of Aryan race, they were not spared the cruelty of their captors. As that’s the conclusion Humbert reaches, that there was no shared ideology in Nazism, it just allowed certain Germans to give into their lowest impulses and hurt, humiliate and even kill other people.
Humbert herself was beaten, starved of food, water and medical treatment, and had her hand dipped in acid. And yet when recalling these dreadful moments, she is able to insert in moments of humour which show how well her spirit survived. Here she is on the moment her captors told her she was now a grandmother, but – for no reason other than spite – rudely refused to answer any of her follow-up questions: “What a peculiar sort of woman I must be. Not satisfied with knowing that I am a grandmother, I also have to know the sex of my grandchild, his name and whether my daughter-in-law is well. Doubtless German grandmothers are much less curious!”
Only the opening section of the book, before Humbert is captured, is an actual diary. When she was a prisoner it would have been almost impossible to do (and a risk not worth taking if she was caught). As such most of the book is written in the immediate aftermath of the war, however her anger at the various injustices and humiliations she and her fellow prisoners suffered is still sharp and painful . There are a few odd mistakes (America enters the war a month earlier than it should) and it does have an idealised view of Stalin’s Russia that was commonplace amongst the left in the thirties and forties, but this is a powerful, unremitting, compassionate and inspiring memoir.
September 27, 2009
Having recently read Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise about life in Occupied France, I was intrigued to come across this astonishing journal by a woman who joined the Resistance (indeed helped found one of the earliest groups in Paris), was captured, and survived four years in French prison and Nazi slave labor camps. Her journal is first person, present tense, and, except for the years in prison, written at the time, as the events occurred. This gives it an immediacy and authenticity both powerful and rare. Her style combines a dispassionate description of often harrowing facts and events with her passoniate, personal reaction to them -- poignant, intelligent, full of rage, humor and humanity. The physical and psychological suffering she endured would have destroyed most people -- and did destroy some of the others she crossed paths with. But she found somewhere the strength to maintain her integrity and her righteous indignation and she survived.
A quote from the journal written after her liberation, after all she went through, underlines the relevance of her story today: "...in the end, national frontiers exist only as lines on maps. There are just people: those who fight for civilization, and those who fight against it. Just those two camps. No more."
A quote from the journal written after her liberation, after all she went through, underlines the relevance of her story today: "...in the end, national frontiers exist only as lines on maps. There are just people: those who fight for civilization, and those who fight against it. Just those two camps. No more."
September 22, 2018
An astonishing account of one woman's involvement in the French resistance, her arrest, imprisonment, and experience during three years at German slave-labour camps. Agnes Humbert's account has both immediacy and candour. She survives unimaginable horrors and throughout somehow retains the determination to resist the Nazis even with the smallest acts of defiance and sabotage. An incredible story of WWII.
October 24, 2017
Agnes Humbert jumps off the pages of this book. She is so vibrant and alive, you go right along with her, feeling what she feels. Hard to put down, especially once one gets into the second quarter of the book.
April 9, 2020
Unlike the conventional wisdom that the French population caved and meekly submitted to Nazi control after the collapse and surrender of the French military, Resistance: A French Woman's Journal of the War by Agnès Humbert tells of the stubborn resistance that made life difficult for the Germans. The author was one of these who quickly became a key member of the Resistance machine. The book reads almost like a journal or diary of the atrocities she observed and daily life under occupation. She describes how the Resistance was formed and carried out their plans until she and her group were betrayed, taken to prison, interrogated, and some tortured to get information on other groups. She documents many of her acquaintances executed by firing squad or sent off to labor camps. The author was sent to a series of labor camps herself over the next two years but never gave up or lost hope and encouraged her fellow prisoners to help them maintain their will to survive. As the war came to an end, she contributed her multilingual skills to help the Americans find Nazi criminals and sort the innocent from the guilty. This book was originally published in 1946 in French, it was made available in English in 2008. Reads like a suspense novel but it's all real. Highly recommended!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2018
Another memoir from an eye witness to the horrors of WWII. Humbert's journal gives the reader an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and textures of an era. It plunges the reader into the atmosphere of that first year of Nazi occupation of France, into the minds and hearts of the first Resistance members. She was an intelligent and courageous woman who stubbornly refused to give up, during captivity and forced labor, her spirits never wavered. Her determination is humbling.
3.5 stars
Fav. Quotes:
I think back to all the happy times in my life. Just the happy times. The rest you have to forget, especially in here: you must forget, or else you get wrinkles. Wrinkles on your face are bad enough; in your heart they are even worse.
Before this I never used to cry; now I'm learning fast. The tears stream down my cheeks as we leave the factory every day after work, and I have no shame; I'm not even embarrassed enough to hide them.
3.5 stars
Fav. Quotes:
I think back to all the happy times in my life. Just the happy times. The rest you have to forget, especially in here: you must forget, or else you get wrinkles. Wrinkles on your face are bad enough; in your heart they are even worse.
Before this I never used to cry; now I'm learning fast. The tears stream down my cheeks as we leave the factory every day after work, and I have no shame; I'm not even embarrassed enough to hide them.
December 21, 2009
WOW. Bar-none one of the most compelling reads this year for me. I have been reading about the circumstances of WWII this year from many points of view purely by accident. This book by far exceeds the others. Perhaps it is because I find Agnes to be a testament to the strength of women. Also because most of literature on the subject of the Holocaust seems to be written by men, about men and about only the experiences OF men. This memoir reminded me of the story of Corrie Ten Boom from Haarlem, the Netherlands. I wonder why we have not heard of Agnes before? Considering that, I should hope to see many more stories of women who suffered the Nazi occupation of Western Europe.
This book is one that will appeal to your intelligence, but will leave you crushed and tattered at times. It is a difficult read. Heartbreaking to imagine someone going through this experience. It was difficult to acclimate myself to the beginning of the book but after the first 30-50 pages or so...you just can't put it down.
Bravo. All women should read this book, and read it with their daughters as an example of how one woman can change the world and survive.
This book is one that will appeal to your intelligence, but will leave you crushed and tattered at times. It is a difficult read. Heartbreaking to imagine someone going through this experience. It was difficult to acclimate myself to the beginning of the book but after the first 30-50 pages or so...you just can't put it down.
Bravo. All women should read this book, and read it with their daughters as an example of how one woman can change the world and survive.
Read
June 1, 2017Just in case there's any sense of forgetting, or worse, denying how vile the Nazis were, this chronicle of a French woman political prisoner appears in English translation, decades after it was published in France in 1946. Technically a journal only up to the point when Humbert's means of recording her experiences were taken away by her captors, the stark and vivid recollections of the author's months and years in confinement, neglect, abuse and forced labor offer testament against the depravity of an entire regime. The substantial afterword adds some very useful insights about the text, its author and the critical era in which she lived and wrote. The narrator of this audiobook version does a capable job, giving humanity to the author's voice (though she also gives Humbert an American accent). -Allan M.
August 26, 2020
Fascinating story by a woman who was in one of the first resistance cells in France at the start of WWII following her early resistance efforts, capture, trial, imprisonment, forced labor and organizing efforts in Germany after liberation. Angees Humbert was working at the Musee de Homme when the Nazis rode into Paris and together with some of her colleagues at the Museum formed a group that first wrote a anti-German newsletter, "Resistance" and latter branched into transmitting intelligence to the British and shepherding downed airmen to safety through Spain. Shortly after having been infiltrated by a French supporter of Vichy the group was exposed, rounded up, tried, the men killed and Agnes is sent to prison. She was later transferred to a slave labor camp in Germany making Rayon where she labored under miserable, dangerous conditions on a starvation diet, suffering humiliation and beatings along with damage to her skin and eyes from from the lye solutions she was dealing with. With liberation she found herself put in charge of the organization parts of the civil government of the small town because she could speak German, English and French had a remarkable intellect and intuitive knowledge of how to lead people that the American soldiers in charge found very useful in the chaos following liberation.
Misc:
- Much of the French police collaborated with the Germans. She describes policemen giving the Nazi salute to German soldiers immediately after occupation.
- September 1940 French soldiers fired on other French soldiers in Dakar.
- One of the member of the resistance group rode a bicycle up behind German trucks and stuck signs that said "We support general de Gaulle"
- Boris Vilde, one of the leaders of Agnes's resistance group announced early on that "Many of us will be shot and all of us will go to prison." They knew what they were getting into and did it anyway.
- Agnes's trial is carried out in the FRENCH judicial system with French lawyers and judges.
- Agnes often makes fun of an laughes at the German and their French collaborators and is met with anger and silence. She says the Germans have no sense of humor.
Misc:
- Much of the French police collaborated with the Germans. She describes policemen giving the Nazi salute to German soldiers immediately after occupation.
- September 1940 French soldiers fired on other French soldiers in Dakar.
- One of the member of the resistance group rode a bicycle up behind German trucks and stuck signs that said "We support general de Gaulle"
- Boris Vilde, one of the leaders of Agnes's resistance group announced early on that "Many of us will be shot and all of us will go to prison." They knew what they were getting into and did it anyway.
- Agnes's trial is carried out in the FRENCH judicial system with French lawyers and judges.
- Agnes often makes fun of an laughes at the German and their French collaborators and is met with anger and silence. She says the Germans have no sense of humor.
October 10, 2017
What an amazing record of life in France in 1940 after the invasion by the Germans. Agnes Humbert kept a journal of her daily life from the beginning of June 1940, and even this journal was bordering on foolish with the intensive scrutiny and activity by the SS and their fear of any criticism or protest against their regime. Agnes, along with numerous others from her workplace at a museum in Paris, helped pioneer the resistance movements as they sought to fight the Nazi propaganda and also alert the French people as to what was really happening in their country. Her resistance cell decided to produce a broadsheet "Resistance" which they distributed through a network of contacts until the SS finally caught them in April 1941.
Her male compatriots were executed by firing squad and Agnes was sentenced to five years imprisonment. From that time until April 1945 Agnes was transported to Germany and worked as a slave labourer in appaling conditions. She was of course unable to write a journal during that time, but according to the afterword, written by Julien Blanc, she had an amazing memory for detail and names and was then able to complete her account of those four years, writing them as a continous journal following the fall of the Third Reich.
Her suffering, and those of her fellow prisoners was horrifying. Starvation, freezing conditions, handling chemicals which burned through the flesh, suicides, brutal overseers were all part of those four years.
A truly memorable account of those people who fought against the invaders as a matter of principle.
Her male compatriots were executed by firing squad and Agnes was sentenced to five years imprisonment. From that time until April 1945 Agnes was transported to Germany and worked as a slave labourer in appaling conditions. She was of course unable to write a journal during that time, but according to the afterword, written by Julien Blanc, she had an amazing memory for detail and names and was then able to complete her account of those four years, writing them as a continous journal following the fall of the Third Reich.
Her suffering, and those of her fellow prisoners was horrifying. Starvation, freezing conditions, handling chemicals which burned through the flesh, suicides, brutal overseers were all part of those four years.
A truly memorable account of those people who fought against the invaders as a matter of principle.
August 9, 2017
Indrukwekkende biografie vna Agnès Humbert over haar tijd in het verzet, maar vooral in gevangenschap in Frankrijk en later Duitsland. Haar boek of memoires zijn technisch gezien maar deels uit een dagboek afkomstig en voor het grootste deel later geschreven met ongelofelijke precisie. In tegenstelling tot sommige anderen oorlogsdagboeken is het een heldere, feitelijke en nuchtere kijk op de wereld om haar heen, met een dosis optimisme en hoop. Haar gevangenschap vooral in Krefeld was zeer zwaar en als lezer ben je snel onder de indruk van de ongelofelijke ontberingen waaraan zij en andere lotgenoten werden blootgesteld.
Bijzonder interessant is het laatste deel haar relaas over de periode na de bevrijding, waarin ze meteen een rol op zich neemt als nazi-jaagster en het zorgen voor enige orde en medemenselijkheid in de chaos vlak na de bevrijding in het Duitse dorp Wanfried.
Een fascinerende dame en enkel ergens enigszins jammer dat er zo weinig bekend is over haar zelf.
Bijzonder interessant is het laatste deel haar relaas over de periode na de bevrijding, waarin ze meteen een rol op zich neemt als nazi-jaagster en het zorgen voor enige orde en medemenselijkheid in de chaos vlak na de bevrijding in het Duitse dorp Wanfried.
Een fascinerende dame en enkel ergens enigszins jammer dat er zo weinig bekend is over haar zelf.
April 16, 2019
This is an extraordinary book: for its real-time account of the earliest days of occupation and resistance; for its detailed, harrowing, but spirited reconstruction of Ms. Humbert's trial and punishment; for its delightful, almost too good to be true account of ad hoc restorative justice after the liberation.
But beyond being all of those things, this is the work of a vibrant, funny, conscientious writer. It is a great and essential read.
But beyond being all of those things, this is the work of a vibrant, funny, conscientious writer. It is a great and essential read.
August 25, 2025
Wow, I'm reeling from this memoir. Agnes was an art historian, divorced mother of two adult children, who helped found a small group of resistors who bravely helped spread Anti-Nazi correspondence and news pamphlets. Her brave actions got her arrested where she spent over 4 years in French Prisons and German Labor Camps. Her memory and unbelievable resilience make this an amazing read. Highly recommend.
May 24, 2020
Um livro precioso pois fala especificamente sobre a maneira como a resistência se organizou e também como funcionavam prisões e campos de trabalhos forçados que não incluíam judeus . Várias nacionalidades, até mesmo alemães, sofreram maus tratos terríveis nas mãos dos hitleristas . A autora foi realmente uma mulher de grande coragem .
June 18, 2013
This is the first thing I have read about the French Resistance other than a fictionalized short account. I am also ignorant regarding French history, so - grain of salt recommended. However, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in that topic or the topic of resistance in general.
The first section of the book is a journal kept by Humbert during her experience as a founder of one of the first groups of the Resistance. The second section is in journal format but written after her experience in French and German jails and labor camps after being convicted of aiding and abetting the enemy (of Germany, during the occupation). Of course she was unable to keep a journal during that time. She returns to her immediate journalling when freed from the labor camps, for the third section, before her return to Paris.
There are about 40 pages in the Afterword by Julien Blanc, explaining the very interesting process of vetting the journals. How do we know they are real, how do we know they were indeed written by Humbert, etc. How do we know the things Humbert wrote were true? The description of this process alone is with reading for those of us unfamiliar with this process.
An extensive Appendix is included listing many documents about the Resistance and relating them to Humbert's writing.
For me, it is this combination of journal, memoir, explanation of primary vs. secondary sources that makes this a five star book. Without that, it would have been four. This combination gives us an interesting and detailed story in combination with historical documentation and a fascinating read.
Humbert is an interesting figure, educated, cultured and financially able to sit out the war in another safer place. However, those very privileges seem to have given her the knowledge, health and love of country that caused her to make the choice to stay in occupied France and fight. I was at first disappointed to find the initial section about the Resistance to be so short, but learned that Humbert's Resistance continued throughout her prison time and on into her Nazi hunting activities. The initial resistance was a lot about forming the structure of her cell and connecting with and educating others. Humbert seemed to have astute awareness of where individuals were in their own process of politicization and how to work with people where they were, with what they were willing to do. Many initial activities were educational involving the design and placement of posters, publishing propaganda, using political graffiti, etc. many things necessary at the beginning of a movement that seem to some to be rather innocuous (as some would say of today's Occupy movement activities). Only five months of these activities were enough to convince the Nazis however, that this movement was trouble.
Humbert's times in prison and labor camps were also works of resistance. For example her refusal to stand when a German entered her cell - when she heard them coming she stood up before they got there so as not to be seen as obedient. There were many small examples of this behavior which I see as things she was able to do, as small as they were, that kept not only her own passion up but those of her cohorts. In the labor camps her resistance to contributing to the war effort took place as sabotaging what ever products she was working on. EVERY product.
One of the best parts of the book for me personally was learning about the liberation experience. This was not presented as a movie experience with the hero rushing in, but rather the slow, real process involving keeping life going during this time of reorganization. Humbert was both compassionate and fiery in her pursuit of war criminals and the rebuilding of the town. She began her hunt by speaking with German pastor's wives in the areas where she went, asking them to tell her who had been forced into the Nazi party unwillingly and helped prisoners in secret, so that she could help protect them. Then she questioned those people and got more and more information that led to many arrests. For me, this last section was especially enlightening.
Fascinating book - excellent and important read - five stars.
The first section of the book is a journal kept by Humbert during her experience as a founder of one of the first groups of the Resistance. The second section is in journal format but written after her experience in French and German jails and labor camps after being convicted of aiding and abetting the enemy (of Germany, during the occupation). Of course she was unable to keep a journal during that time. She returns to her immediate journalling when freed from the labor camps, for the third section, before her return to Paris.
There are about 40 pages in the Afterword by Julien Blanc, explaining the very interesting process of vetting the journals. How do we know they are real, how do we know they were indeed written by Humbert, etc. How do we know the things Humbert wrote were true? The description of this process alone is with reading for those of us unfamiliar with this process.
An extensive Appendix is included listing many documents about the Resistance and relating them to Humbert's writing.
For me, it is this combination of journal, memoir, explanation of primary vs. secondary sources that makes this a five star book. Without that, it would have been four. This combination gives us an interesting and detailed story in combination with historical documentation and a fascinating read.
Humbert is an interesting figure, educated, cultured and financially able to sit out the war in another safer place. However, those very privileges seem to have given her the knowledge, health and love of country that caused her to make the choice to stay in occupied France and fight. I was at first disappointed to find the initial section about the Resistance to be so short, but learned that Humbert's Resistance continued throughout her prison time and on into her Nazi hunting activities. The initial resistance was a lot about forming the structure of her cell and connecting with and educating others. Humbert seemed to have astute awareness of where individuals were in their own process of politicization and how to work with people where they were, with what they were willing to do. Many initial activities were educational involving the design and placement of posters, publishing propaganda, using political graffiti, etc. many things necessary at the beginning of a movement that seem to some to be rather innocuous (as some would say of today's Occupy movement activities). Only five months of these activities were enough to convince the Nazis however, that this movement was trouble.
Humbert's times in prison and labor camps were also works of resistance. For example her refusal to stand when a German entered her cell - when she heard them coming she stood up before they got there so as not to be seen as obedient. There were many small examples of this behavior which I see as things she was able to do, as small as they were, that kept not only her own passion up but those of her cohorts. In the labor camps her resistance to contributing to the war effort took place as sabotaging what ever products she was working on. EVERY product.
One of the best parts of the book for me personally was learning about the liberation experience. This was not presented as a movie experience with the hero rushing in, but rather the slow, real process involving keeping life going during this time of reorganization. Humbert was both compassionate and fiery in her pursuit of war criminals and the rebuilding of the town. She began her hunt by speaking with German pastor's wives in the areas where she went, asking them to tell her who had been forced into the Nazi party unwillingly and helped prisoners in secret, so that she could help protect them. Then she questioned those people and got more and more information that led to many arrests. For me, this last section was especially enlightening.
Fascinating book - excellent and important read - five stars.
July 20, 2012
I have read quite a few memoirs about living under the Nazi regime in World War II, but up until last year I hadn’t heard of this book, Resistance. Started as a journal, Agnes Humbert documented her thoughts about the Nazis entering Paris and her rebellious activities as one of the first members of the French Resistance. She wrote the journal in present tense, and kept the journal format even when writing the latter parts of the book (after she was liberated from a Nazi work prison).
Her account of her experiences as a political prisoner, first in France and later in Germany, gives a different perspective of the Nazi war machine. Most Holocaust memoirs that I’ve read have been about Jews who were persecuted, went into hiding/tried to flee the country, and then were sent to concentration camps. Even in the French prison the Nazis did not treat the inmates in a humane manner, but life in the German prison camps made the French prisons seem posh.
Agnes and her fellow political prisoners were housed with criminals of all sorts in the German work camps, and were forced to work under hideous conditions with meager rations. In other words, the prison work camps were very similar to the concentration camps, but without the gas chambers and crematoriums. What amazed me was the variety of ways that people can create to inflict torture and pain on other humans. The capacity that mankind has for cruelty is astonishing. I am also surprised when reading books like this, at how much the human body can survive. Thank goodness there are also members of mankind with an alternately extreme capacity for mercy and compassion.
One quote that stood out to me was about the necessity of war in the face of tyranny, and the horror of all of the death that war brings:
Watching all this, I feel my heart and mind split in two. One half of my heart aches for all this misery, weeps for all this destruction. But then I tell myself for the hundredth, perhaps the thousandth time, that this is the only way that we can destroy the monster. . . . In the struggle between barbarism and civilization killing is a necessary and unavoidable evil. Civilization has to use the weapons of barbarism in order to prevail. That is the great tragedy. Page 194
As far as the reading experience itself, the first twenty pages or so are pretty dry, as she documents the movements and activities of the Resistance group. After that her story drew me in with descriptions of the inside of a Nazi prison cell, a court trial of Resistance members, and prison work at a rayon factory.
In regard to her documentation of the early French Resistance, it is mentioned in the afterword that she wrote down the real names of those involved in her journal. While this is considered valuable to historians (because other Resistance members didn’t use real names in documentation) it also seemed very reckless on her part. Had the Nazis found her journal they would have easily been able to locate and arrest the others with whom she worked.
I highly recommend Resistance to those who like World War II memoirs, and to anyone who wants to learn more about the formation of the French Resistance and the conditions of political prisoners under the Nazis.
Her account of her experiences as a political prisoner, first in France and later in Germany, gives a different perspective of the Nazi war machine. Most Holocaust memoirs that I’ve read have been about Jews who were persecuted, went into hiding/tried to flee the country, and then were sent to concentration camps. Even in the French prison the Nazis did not treat the inmates in a humane manner, but life in the German prison camps made the French prisons seem posh.
Agnes and her fellow political prisoners were housed with criminals of all sorts in the German work camps, and were forced to work under hideous conditions with meager rations. In other words, the prison work camps were very similar to the concentration camps, but without the gas chambers and crematoriums. What amazed me was the variety of ways that people can create to inflict torture and pain on other humans. The capacity that mankind has for cruelty is astonishing. I am also surprised when reading books like this, at how much the human body can survive. Thank goodness there are also members of mankind with an alternately extreme capacity for mercy and compassion.
One quote that stood out to me was about the necessity of war in the face of tyranny, and the horror of all of the death that war brings:
Watching all this, I feel my heart and mind split in two. One half of my heart aches for all this misery, weeps for all this destruction. But then I tell myself for the hundredth, perhaps the thousandth time, that this is the only way that we can destroy the monster. . . . In the struggle between barbarism and civilization killing is a necessary and unavoidable evil. Civilization has to use the weapons of barbarism in order to prevail. That is the great tragedy. Page 194
As far as the reading experience itself, the first twenty pages or so are pretty dry, as she documents the movements and activities of the Resistance group. After that her story drew me in with descriptions of the inside of a Nazi prison cell, a court trial of Resistance members, and prison work at a rayon factory.
In regard to her documentation of the early French Resistance, it is mentioned in the afterword that she wrote down the real names of those involved in her journal. While this is considered valuable to historians (because other Resistance members didn’t use real names in documentation) it also seemed very reckless on her part. Had the Nazis found her journal they would have easily been able to locate and arrest the others with whom she worked.
I highly recommend Resistance to those who like World War II memoirs, and to anyone who wants to learn more about the formation of the French Resistance and the conditions of political prisoners under the Nazis.
December 11, 2015
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13155309
Wow. What a story. I have read many different books about WWII, fiction and non, including one autobiography by a specific young Frenchwoman who helped many Jewish children in France. This memoir - part journal, part memoir, expands on that theme. It is the story of Agnes Humbert, who helped form and worked in the French Resistance, risking her life many times and landing in prison because of her efforts. In prison she was surrounded by others also in the resistance and there are startling movie-like incidents that take place there. Why isn't this a major motion picture?
It was first published in France in 1946. It contained a copy of her diary up to a certain date, and after that her memories of what happened, written after the war. There are many questions about her original diary, which it is certain she did maintain, and about what may have been left out of it in the publication. The facts in the book have been verified as much as is possible and there are details about the persons listed in the book at the end.
It was a sensation in 1946 but for some reason did not get published in the US until 2008, long after her death. I for one would love to see a film made of it. It reveals just how the resistance tended to work in a day-to-day fashion, something many of us want to know.
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13155309
Wow. What a story. I have read many different books about WWII, fiction and non, including one autobiography by a specific young Frenchwoman who helped many Jewish children in France. This memoir - part journal, part memoir, expands on that theme. It is the story of Agnes Humbert, who helped form and worked in the French Resistance, risking her life many times and landing in prison because of her efforts. In prison she was surrounded by others also in the resistance and there are startling movie-like incidents that take place there. Why isn't this a major motion picture?
It was first published in France in 1946. It contained a copy of her diary up to a certain date, and after that her memories of what happened, written after the war. There are many questions about her original diary, which it is certain she did maintain, and about what may have been left out of it in the publication. The facts in the book have been verified as much as is possible and there are details about the persons listed in the book at the end.
It was a sensation in 1946 but for some reason did not get published in the US until 2008, long after her death. I for one would love to see a film made of it. It reveals just how the resistance tended to work in a day-to-day fashion, something many of us want to know.
Read
September 26, 2014Resistance: A Frenchwoman’s Journal of the War, by Agnes Humbert, translated by Barbara Miller, Narrated by Joyce Bean, Produced by Tantor Media, downloaded from audible.com.
This is a republication of a journal that was originally published right after the war in 1946. It was very important then as it laid out what went on in the beginning of the French resistance after the Nazis took over. After Agnes was arrested for her Resistance activities, convicted, and ultimately sent to Germany as a political prisoner, the journal became one detailing what happened to the women, including German women, imprisoned by the Nazis during the war. Then, when the Americans came in 1945, Agnes took on a role for them helping to hunt down Nazis. She also coordinated the founding of a charity which provided help to Germans who were disenfranchised and dispossessed by the war-people who didn’t resist as she did, but who also did not help the Nazis. It was her opinion that making all of Germany share the punishment of those who were actual war criminals would bring about another war instead of helping to promote peace. This was a very interesting book, republished in 2008, and one of the few journals detailing resistance work during the war. Strongly recommended.
This is a republication of a journal that was originally published right after the war in 1946. It was very important then as it laid out what went on in the beginning of the French resistance after the Nazis took over. After Agnes was arrested for her Resistance activities, convicted, and ultimately sent to Germany as a political prisoner, the journal became one detailing what happened to the women, including German women, imprisoned by the Nazis during the war. Then, when the Americans came in 1945, Agnes took on a role for them helping to hunt down Nazis. She also coordinated the founding of a charity which provided help to Germans who were disenfranchised and dispossessed by the war-people who didn’t resist as she did, but who also did not help the Nazis. It was her opinion that making all of Germany share the punishment of those who were actual war criminals would bring about another war instead of helping to promote peace. This was a very interesting book, republished in 2008, and one of the few journals detailing resistance work during the war. Strongly recommended.
July 1, 2016
An incredible first-hand account of what it meant to be a political prisoner in WWII. The integrity, bravery, and spirit of Agnes Humbert is clear on every page.
A passage I can't get out of my head:
Krefeld, 20 December 1942
The wardress tells us that a pastor is to visit us, bringing us festive wishes for Christmas. He appears as we are eating. Evidently he has had to make determined efforts in order to penetrate our strictly guarded quarters. An elderly man with a beaming face, he wishes us a cheery "Bon appetit", adding, "I see that all is well here." Martha, who cannot get over her failed suicide bid, shouts angrily, "Only because they make us pretend it is." He pushes the door shut. Following Martha's wake, the girls take turns to talk to the pastor, telling him rapidly and nervously about all that we are made to suffer. Clearly their stories bear each other out. After using up all the incredibles, inconceivables, abominables, and other similar adjectives in his vocabulary, the pastor is lost for words. Finally, one of the girls asks him not to be angry, but would he grant forgiveness to all the women who have committed suicide or attempted it. He replies, "The sufferings they have had to bear are beyond the endurance of any woman; I give them all absolution."
A passage I can't get out of my head:
Krefeld, 20 December 1942
The wardress tells us that a pastor is to visit us, bringing us festive wishes for Christmas. He appears as we are eating. Evidently he has had to make determined efforts in order to penetrate our strictly guarded quarters. An elderly man with a beaming face, he wishes us a cheery "Bon appetit", adding, "I see that all is well here." Martha, who cannot get over her failed suicide bid, shouts angrily, "Only because they make us pretend it is." He pushes the door shut. Following Martha's wake, the girls take turns to talk to the pastor, telling him rapidly and nervously about all that we are made to suffer. Clearly their stories bear each other out. After using up all the incredibles, inconceivables, abominables, and other similar adjectives in his vocabulary, the pastor is lost for words. Finally, one of the girls asks him not to be angry, but would he grant forgiveness to all the women who have committed suicide or attempted it. He replies, "The sufferings they have had to bear are beyond the endurance of any woman; I give them all absolution."
November 9, 2008
Humbert's diary really is riveting. Humbert was a founding member of a resistance group in France during occupation by the Nazis in WWII. Her diary describes not only the fall of France and founding a resistance group, but her imprisonment once she is caught and imprisoned. The bulk of the diary, in fact, describes her imprisonment and her experiences at work camps. The book itself presents a view that isn't too often seen in America. Some details that stand out are the reasons while some of her fellow prisoners were jailed. One woman, a German, was jailed because she traded her meat ration to get shoes for her children. Another woman got her husband extra sausage, was sent to the work camp for dealing on the black market, and then her husband divorced her. Humbert also includes her experiences helping to round up Nazis after the Americans take over her work camp. Humbert's voice is fresh, easy to read, and, of course, very French.
January 28, 2016
Agnes Humbert was a pretty incredible woman. She was tenacious and feisty (often to her own detriment) and unafraid to the right thing even at risk to herself. Reading about the early days of the French Resistance, it is unbelievable how naiive Humbert and her colleagues were. I'm not surprised that they were caught so quickly, but I can't help but be impressed by their courage. Her story was very interesting, but there are still a few loose ends that we might not be able to ever tie up (as is the nature of these diaries). Still, I found her story quite inspiriting. She must have been an incredible person.
January 4, 2015
This was a well written book that included Agnes Humberts' diary written during the occupation of Paris during WWII. Agnes was part of the original Resistance group along with 9 other patriots . Her remarkable story tells of her arrest, sentencing, and experiences while imprisoned in both France and Germany and then finally of her release. An excellent historical read...5 stars
May 28, 2023
Fascinating true story, partly based on diary, by a woman in her forties who starts one of the first resistance cells in the occupied Paris in 1940. A way of telling her story which gets you dragged into the book and also in a way that makes her so living (with all sides of her personality), and also with a very observing eye of the situation around her.
February 21, 2016
Brave, brave woman...what an amazing book. Love her recall, her style, and her humor. A recitation of horrific events told with humility and humor. So grateful for what she and others sacrificed during the Occupation.
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