Search - An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Memoir and Diary of Virginia D'Albert-Lake (World War II: the Globa, Human, and Ethical Dimension)

An American Heroine in the French Resistance The Memoir and Diary of Virginia D'AlbertLake - World War II: the Globa, Human, and Ethical Dimension
Author: Judy Barrett Litoff, Virginia d'Albert-Lake

ocirc;Something broke inside me. I knew somehow that it was all over . . . . Sweat started in my armpits; my scalp tingled; I had no choice but to stand there in the center of the dusty road, grip my [bicycle] handle bars, and wait."—Virginia d'Albert-Lake It was on this road deep in the forests of France on June 12, 1944, that the Germans ...  more »arrested Virginia d'Albert-Lake and an Allied airman she was leading to safety. D'Albert-Lake's work in the Resistance was overugrave;she would spend the next eleven months as a prisoner of war, much of it in the notorious Ravensbr?ck concentration camp for women, where she almost died. Virginia d'Albert-Lake was one of thousands who risked their lives saving downed airmen along the Comet escape line that stretched from Belgium to Gibraltar. What distinguished Virginia from other resisters was that she was an American citizen who had the option to return to the safety of her native country. Yet she chose to remain in France where her dangerous work nearly cost her life. This fascinating book tells the remarkable story of an ordinary American woman's heroism in the French Resistance. Born in Ohio and raised in Florida, Virginia Roush fell in love with Philippe d'Albert-Lake during a visit to France in 1936; they married soon after. In 1943, they joined the Resistance. Defying gender stereotypes, Virginia put her life in jeopardy as she sheltered downed airmen. As a prisoner of war, her refusal to reveal secrets saved many lives, and when Free French and Allied forces finally liberated her in 1945, she weighed 76 pounds, 50 pounds under her normal weight. After the war, Virginia stayed in France with Philippe, receiving awards that included the L?gion d'Honneur and the Medal of Honor. She died in 1997. Judy Barrett Litoff brings together two rare documents in this unique bookugrave;Virginia's diary of wartime France until her capture in 1944 and her prison memoir written immediately after the war. Masterfully edited, they capture the compassion and toughness of a nearly forgotten heroine as they provide an invaluable record of the workings of the Resistance by one of the very few American women who participated in it.  « less

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ISBN-13: 9780823225811
ISBN-10: 082322581X
Publication Date: 3/15/2006
Pages: 320
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Publisher: Fordham University Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 5
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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