The Hidden Children of France, 1940-1945

Download or read book The Hidden Children of France, 1940-1945 written by Danielle Bailly and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interviews with eighteen Jewish “hidden children” of France and Belgium, telling the story of their survival during World War II. The history of France’s “hidden children” and of the French citizens who saved six out of seven Jewish children and three-fourths of the Jewish adult population from deportation during the Nazi occupation is little known to American readers. In The Hidden Children of France, Danielle Bailly (a hidden child herself whose family travelled all over rural France before sending her to live with strangers who could protect her) reveals the stories behind the statistics of those who were saved by the extraordinary acts of ordinary people. Eighteen former “hidden children” describe their lives before, during, and after the war, recounting their incredible journeys and expressing their deepest gratitude to those who put themselves at risk to save others. Danielle Bailly is one of the surviving “hidden children.” She was Professor of Linguistics at Paris Diderot University until 1998. Since then she has worked as a consultant and researcher. Betty Becker-Theye is Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Humanities at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Adjunct Professor of Modern Languages at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center. She is the author of The Seducer as Mythic Figure in Richardson, Laclos, and Kierkegaard.