For my project I am reading 'All the Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr, about the French Resistance of Vichy France during World War Two. Germany invaded France in August of 1940, hence changing the capital from Paris to Vichy, setting up the Petain regime, and making France embrace Nazi ideology. The French people were repulsed and afraid, they wanted the Germans out. Now the novel I'm reading made it sound like every french citizen was involved in the resistance (publishing and delivering underground newspapers, planning and launching sabotages, gathering intelligence, etc.), and that they were all willing to stand up and join in the fight to liberate their home country no matter the cost. But that could not have been farther from the truth. Out of the entire population of France, only one, maybe barely two percent was actively engaged and fighting in the resistance. "Only another eight percent were passive resisters—that is, they were willing to read subversive publications, celebrate traditional national holidays privately and quietly despite German bans, and provide crucial moral support to active Resistance networks. The vast majority of French people simply tried to muddle through and survive increasingly tough times, while a certain undefined, but uncomfortably large number either supported Vichy in the (forlorn) hope that it would ultimately form a bulwark against German repression, or actively collaborated with the Petain regime." - The Real Story of the French Resistance, The Daily Best. This is very different than the feeling of 'All the Light We Cannot See'. It seemed as if everyone in the town of Saint Malo hated the German invasion, and were involved in a way to stop it. " 'I want to do it. Madame would want-.'
'Tell it to me. Tell me the whole routine.' ' Twenty-two paces down the rue Vauborel to the rue d'Estrées. Then right for sixteen storm drains. Left on rue Robert Surcouf. Nine more storm drains to the bakery. I go to the counter and say, 'One ordinary loaf, please.' " -All the Light We Cannot See, page 322. At this particular point in the book, the sixteen year old blind girl, Marie Laure, is telling her Uncle that she still wants to help with the resistance even after Madame Manec, her guardian, has died. Everyone in Anthony Doerr's novel was fearless and hungry to help, much different from the actual situation.
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AuthorHi guys! I am an 8th grade student who loves to dance, read, and do anything outside. This blog might start to look like a hodge-podge of different things (and quite honestly it probably will be) as I will be using this for school projects, my own thoughts, dance, and basically anything else. Archives
May 2017
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