“The most complete account of the French Resistance in English, and the most sensitive... A masterful rendering of the Resistance...” — Philip Hallie, The New York Times “A celebration and a memorial... Mr. Schoenbrun has had long conversations with a number of the best-known survivors, each one the keeper of a sacred flame... the fullest account of the French Resistance in English.” — Robert O. Paxton, The New York Review of Books “Political history chiefly, not heroics: the most extensive account in English of the two French Resistances — that of the Underground against Vichy and the Nazis, and that of de Gaulle against all other claimants to authority over fallen France... including, prominently, the Allies... A memorable and important book.” — Kirkus Reviews “Former CBS Paris bureau chief David Schoenbrun gives us an excellent, solidly researched account of the struggle waged by that gallant handful who sabotaged railroads and power plants, rescued Allied fliers and Jewish fugitives, assassinated German and Vichy officials, then fought pitched battles against elite Wehrmacht formations... With great objectivity and verve, Schoenbrun chronicles the often muddled, uncoordinated efforts of the Resistance through the four dark years of Nazi occupation. Systematically and factually, he explains the workings on the fragmented organizations that kept on fighting in spite of the Germans’ ruthless attempts to stamp them out.” — Martin Sokolinsky, Christian Science Monitor “[A] marvelous book... stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that challenge belief. [Schoenbrun] has created a prodigious work crowded with compelling stories...” — Richard J. Walton, Saturday Review “Important... richly deserving of acclaim... The first comprehensive account in English of the French Resistance... held together by a fine reporter’s instinct of how to tell a story and how to tell it well.” — Houston Chronicle

Who was the enigmatic Jean Moulin, a man as skilled in deception as he was in acts of heroism? The memory of this French Resistance hero, who was betrayed to the Gestapo and tortured to death by Klaus Barbie, the infamous ''Butcher of Lyon'', is revered alongside Voltaire and Victor Hugo. But Moulin s story is full of unanswered questions, and the truth of his life is far more complicated than the legend. Patrick Marnham, winner of the Marsh Prize for Biography, thrillingly tells the epic story of France s greatest war hero."

This is the story of the Resistance in France 1944, told by a British agent. He reveals what it was like to be hunted day and night by the Gestapo and vividly describes the incredible risks run by ordinary French men and women.

A reference to the ideological, military, political, biographical, and social topics surrounding World War II, which is often considered the pivotal event of the twentieth century.

'The best book about the subject I have ever read' Max Hastings, Sunday Times A sweeping history of occupation and resistance in war-torn Europe, from the acclaimed author of The Eagle Unbowed Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries - such as Denmark - were within tight limits allowed to run themselves. Others - such as France - were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration. In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question 'why resist?' was therefore augmented by 'who was the enemy?'. Resistance is an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in the occupied Soviet Union to dangerous acts of defiance in the Netherlands or Norway. Some of these resistance movements were entirely home-grown, others supported by the Allies. Like no other book, Resistance shows the reader just how difficult such actions were. How could small bands of individuals undertake tasks which could lead not just to their own deaths but those of their families and their entire communities? Filled with powerful and often little-known stories, Halik Kochanski's major new book is a fascinating examination of the convoluted challenges faced by those prepared to resist the Germans, ordinary people who carried out exceptional acts of defiance and resistance. 'A superb, myth-busting survey of the many ways in which the subjugated peoples of Europe tried to fight back' Saul David, Daily Telegraph

New Yorker • Best Books of 2022 “This is the most comprehensive and best account of resistance I have read. It addresses the story with scholarly objectivity and an absolute lack of sentimentality. So much romantic twaddle is still published . . . it is marvelous to read a study of such breadth and depth, which reaches balanced judgments.” —Max Hastings, The Sunday Times (UK) Resistance is the first book of its kind: a monumental history that finally integrates the many resistance movements against Nazi hegemony in Europe into a single, sweeping narrative of defiance. “To resist, therefore. But how, when and where? There were no laws, no guidelines, no precedents to show the way . . .” —Dutch resister Herman Friedhoff In every country that fell to the Third Reich during the Second World War, from France in the west to parts of the Soviet Union in the east, a resistance movement against Nazi domination emerged. And every country that endured occupation created its own fiercely nationalist account of the role of homegrown resistance in its eventual liberation. Halik Kochanski’s panoramic, prodigiously researched work is a monumental achievement: the first book to strip these disparate national histories of myth and nostalgia and to integrate them into a definitive chronicle of the underground war against the Nazis. Bringing to light many powerful and often little-known stories, Resistance shows how small bands of individuals took actions that could lead not merely to their own deaths, but to the liquidation of their families and their entire communities. As Kochanski demonstrates, most who joined up were not supermen and superwomen, but ordinary people drawn from all walks of life who would not have been expected—least of all by themselves—to become heroes of any kind. Kochanski also covers the sheer variety of resistance activities, from the clandestine press, assistance to Allied servicemen evading capture, and the provision of intelligence to the Allies to the more violent manifestations of resistance through sabotage and armed insurrection. For many people, resistance was not an occupation or an identity, but an activity: a person would deliver a cache of stolen documents to armed partisans and then seamlessly return to their normal life. For Jews under Nazi rule, meanwhile, the stakes at every point were life and death; resistance was less about national restoration than about mere survival. Why resist at all? Who is the real enemy? What kind of future are we risking our lives for? These and other questions animated those who resisted. With penetrating insight, Kochanski reveals that the single quality that defined resistance across borders was resilience: despite the constant arrests and executions, resistance movements rebuilt themselves time and time again. A landmark history that will endure for decades to come, Resistance forces every reader to ask themselves yet another question, this distinct to our own times: “What would I have done?”

Even though much of Europe eventually succumbed to the Nazis during World War II, many Europeans defiantly resisted occupation in every way possible. This captivating book provides a survey of these resistance movements during the period of Axis occupation and recounts the ways in which unarmed citizens undermined Nazi efforts at domination. A thorough description of the Axis conquest of Europe, the formation of the Special Operations Executive in Britain, and the Office of Strategic Services in the United States provides a backdrop for this turbulent time in history. Chapters cover the resistance organizations, their leaders, and other key individuals behind their operations. The book details the movement's furtive tactics that included spreading information, providing the Allies with key intelligence, conducting industrial sabotage, destroying bridges and factories, and fighting behind the lines. Case studies of resistance operations in France, Norway, Holland, Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, Greece, Italy, and within Nazi Germany itself show the scope and breadth of the resistance movement throughout the world.

With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.

The French secret services have a long history dating back to the "ancien regime. "With the founding of the Third Republic (1870-1940) the famous Second Bureau was created as France's principal intelligence-gathering organization. After the Germans invaded France in 1940, however, the services splintered and diversified, with Vichy agencies and Collaborationists, the Free French and the internal resistance all in contention. More recently, since 1944 the activities of the reorganized French secret services have extended across a surprisingly wide area, sometimes with spectacular results as in the 'Greenpeace Affair' in New Zealand in 1985. This volume deals with the French secret services according to a chronological framework which reflects the evolution of the services which were created and transformed by both internal and external historical factors. The bibliography commences with an examination of the origins and development of the French Intelligence Service from the "ancien regime "to 1870. It then considers the history and activities of the secret services during the following periods: the Third Republic; the Second World War; the Fourth Republic; and the Fifth Republic, firstly between 1958 and 1981 and then during the 1980s and 1990s, including the 'Greenpeace Affair'. This is an essential reference tool for all those interested in the history of intelligence agencies and national security in general and in the development of the French secret services in particular.