Lucie Aubrac

Lucie as a young woman

Her famous book

Teaching well past retirement age for the greater good

Movie starring Daniel Auteuil and Carole Bouquet

Her last book

During World War II, while many countries, groups and individuals were being oppressed and oppressing others, a group of French citizens decided to take action against the Nazis.  They were aptly named La Résistance.  Their acts included secret messages over the BBC radio, underground newspapers and dismantling railroads to derail trains pulling intended residents of concentration camps.  The most famous person from the Resistance was Jean Moulin, a man who organized people with the cooperation of General Charles de Gaulle.  Ultimately, he was tortured to death at the hands of Klaus Barbie, the butcher of Lyon.  

One of the unsung heroes of the Resistance is Lucie Aubrac.  Lucie and her husband Raymond stuck it out with Moulin and many others to set their country free and overturn the occupation.  Lucie Aubrac is a fairly recent discovery of mine, within the last few years.  I visited the Resistance museum in Paris and the Barracks at Chateaubriant but there was no mention of Lucie Aubrac.  She has left a legacy for her family, her country and the world.  Participating in the Resistance was not the last the world heard of her.  She spent the rest of her life giving lectures on the activities of the Resistance and the terrors they were fighting against.  Even up to her last year of life (2007) she was teaching, speaking and lecturing giving millions a first hand account of the triumphs and set backs she and her associates endured.

My renewed interest in her life has come as a result of being in France and buying her famous book Outwitting the Gestapo or the French title being "they will leave in a stooper" (Ils partirons dans l'ivresse).  There was a motion picture made of her involvement which is a wonderful depiction since it was assisted by Lucie herself and directed by Claude Bérri (also made Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources)  Her latest book, La Résistance expliquée à mes petits-enfants (The Resistance explained to my grandchildren) is a less graphic story as it is intended for younger audiences.  If anything, watch the movie to get an idea of her life, legacy and effect.