Tag: Final Solution

Posted on

“What I Did Wasn’t Civil”

Many of our long-time readers know I enjoy highlighting women résistants in the French Resistance. Stories like Nancy Wake (read The White Mouse here), Suzanne Spaak (read Something Must Be Done here), Marie-Madeleine Fourcade (read Noah’s Ark here), and Hélène Berr (read The French Anne Frank here) are quite uplifting and show the superior leadership skills, moral commitment, and fortitude these women possessed.

Today, you’ll be introduced to an exceptional résistant who was the only woman to actually lead a Special Operations Executive (SOE) circuit (i.e., network) as well as being responsible for leading a large group of Maquis (French Resistance underground guerrilla fighters) before, during, and after the Allied invasion on 6 June 1944.

Pearl Witherington in uniform. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
Pearl Witherington in uniform. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

Did You Know?

Did you know that the Wallace fountains in Paris are painted bright primary colors? The original paint was what we call today, “British racing green” ⏤ remember Jim Clark’s Formula One racing car from the 1960s? Yes, of course, you do (that is why I inserted a picture).

Jim Clark’s 1965 Lotus-Ford with British racing green colors. Photo by Michael Barera (2012). PD-CCA-Share Alike 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons.
Jim Clark’s 1965 Lotus-Ford with British racing green colors. Photo by Michael Barera (2012). PD-CCA-Share Alike 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons.

About three years ago, I wrote a blog on the Wallace fountains (read Wallace Fountains here). Readers were introduced to Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890), a British philanthropist who was concerned about the lack of safe drinking water in Paris. He financed the building of public drinking fountains which have become affectionately known as “Wallace Fountains.” As Ulrike explains in her article (see below), some of the fountains have been painted in bright colors. It’s easy to miss the green fountains but there is absolutely no way you can miss the bright red, yellow or purple ones!

Wallace fountain (green). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (green). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (yellow). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (yellow). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (blue). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (blue). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (Pink). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.
Wallace fountain (Pink). Photo by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey (2018). Bonjour Paris: The Wallace Fountain in Color. Courtesy of Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey.

Please enjoy this article written by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey:  click here.

If you enjoy Paris and haven’t already done so, I recommend you subscribe to the Bonjour Paris blog. Link here.

 Special Operations Executive

The SOE was officially formed on 22 July 1940 when Winston Churchill ordered Hugh Dalton to “set Europe ablaze.” Churchill loved the idea of spies, espionage, and guerilla warfare. At the time, the British military leaders were against it as it represented irregular warfare tactics, but Churchill knew that undercover covert operations within the occupied countries would be necessary to accomplish the Allied goals, including the eventual invasion of Europe. Read More “What I Did Wasn’t Civil”

Posted on

The French Anne Frank

As a young boy growing up in Holland during the mid-1960s, I was introduced to Anne Frank and her tragic story. We were required to read her diary as well as attending the all-day field trip to the “Anne Frank House” in Amsterdam where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis until they were betrayed and deported ⏤ only her father survived.

There is a similar story in France, but it did not become known until 2008 when another diary was published, and the world got a first-hand glimpse into Nazi atrocities. The author, Hélène Berr, has since become known as the “French Anne Frank.”

Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).
Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).

Did You Know?

Do you know how the term “Nazi” came about? Hitler’s political party was officially called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei:

NAtionalsoZIalistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.

The German word “Reich” means “empire.” The first German Reich lasted 844 years and was commonly known as the Holy Roman Empire until it was dismantled by Napoléon in 1806. The second Reich lasted approximately 48 years between 1871 and the end of World War I. Hitler’s Third Reich lasted twelve years with horrifying consequences which unfortunately, some aspects have endured to this day.

Hélène Berr (1921-1945) was born into an upper middle-class French family. In addition to Hélène, Raymond and Antoinette Berr’s family consisted of Jacqueline (1915-1921), Yvonne (1917-2001), Denise (1919-2011) and Jacques (1922-1998). The family lived in Paris at 5, avenue Elisée-Reclus until the French police knocked on their door in March 1944.

Hélène began her diary on 7 April 1942. She ceased writing seven months later on 28 November 1942 but resumed once again on 25 August 1943. There are many entries which document the actions and events perpetrated by Vichy and the Nazis in Paris and France. Reading her diary, you will confront Hélène’s emotions towards the policies of Vichy and the Nazis as well as personal issues. Unlike Anne Frank, we won’t hear from Hélène until 2008 when her diary is published. Read More The French Anne Frank