AM161 Women in Occupied Paris

When the Nazis occupied France in June 1940, Parisian women faced a perilous and uncertain future. Over the next four years, a bewildering number of new laws restricted their freedoms and turned their pre-war lives inside out, forcing them to make decisions unimaginable before the war. Some chose to write secret journals, to work for the resistance, to collaborate, or to simply find a way to survive. After the Liberation, a few became celebrated heroines or infamous villains, while the remarkable exploits of many more were quickly forgotten. In surveying a variety of fascinating women’s stories, this talk will explore the profound changes they witnessed and the lasting legacy of their actions.

About the Instructor: Nigel Perrin is a researcher with the University of Kent, with a long-standing interest in occupation and resistance. He is an authority on the work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France, and the author of Spirit of Resistance, a biography of SOE agent Harry Peulevé.

Photo credit: Public Domain