Village of Secrets

Defying the Nazis in Vichy France

By: Caroline Moorehead

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

“Le Chambon has long been mythologized in France for the actions of its inhabitants. . . . But, as this riveting history shows, the story is more complex. . . . If the picture Moorhead paints is messier than the myth, this only serves to enhance the heroism of the main actors.”— The New Yorker

From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the absorbing story of a French village that helped save thousands hunted by the Gestapo during World War II—told in full for the first time.

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a small village of scattered houses high in the mountains of the Ardèche, one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Eastern France. During the Second World War, the inhabitants of this tiny mountain village and its parishes saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, freemasons, communists, OSS and SOE agents, and Jews. Many of those they protected were orphaned children and babies whose parents had been deported to concentration camps.

With unprecedented access to newly opened archives in France, Britain, and Germany, and interviews with some of the villagers from the period who are still alive, Caroline Moorehead paints an inspiring portrait of courage and determination: of what was accomplished when a small group of people banded together to oppose their Nazi occupiers. A thrilling and atmospheric tale of silence and complicity, Village of Secrets reveals how every one of the inhabitants of Chambon remained silent in a country infamous for collaboration. Yet it is also a story about mythmaking, and the fallibility of memory.

A major contribution to WWII history, illustrated with black-and-white photos, Village of Secrets sets the record straight about the events in Chambon, and pays tribute to a group of heroic individuals, most of them women, for whom saving others became more important than their own lives.

A very beautiful book

History told through the eyes and feelings of the people that lived it. A lesson that doesn't push to be a lesson. Just a reminder. From the heart to the heart.

Quality research and excellent writing

This is the third book I have read about the WWII history of this remote mountain plateau in France, whose inhabitants saved the lives of many. Moorehead has obviously carefully sifted through conflicting memories of events to bring us a balanced account. Yet her writing never gets tedious.

Outstanding!

A balanced and fascinating story of the hiding and saving of Jews during the German occupation of France. Moorhead does an excellent job of explaining the contested opinions and histories of the actions of the remote French villages. What a story of triumph over evil and hope in humanity!
Had I read instead of listened to, it may have been easier to keep names/stories of individuals straight.
The narrator was FANTASTIC.

Very interesting!

This is a very good and very interesting book!

I did find myself a little mired in details about specific people in the early chapters, it once though that it progresses well and is very interesting.

Like a text book

Lots of great information, but written as a textbook so hard to listen to. Very dry. Doesn’t follow any certain character so you cannot get involved in the story.