The Memoirs of André Trocmé The Pastor Who Rescued Jews by André Trocmé
Pastor Andre Trocme certainly led an exciting life. He was in the military in the First World War, living in Morocco for a time where he rode horses and experienced Arab hospitality. During the Second World War, he and the people of the small French town where he lived managed to save thousands of Jews. He and his wife Magna hid two in their own home. At one stage, he was arrested and managed to walk away with the ID papers that would have damned him, and he relates many stories about the Resistance. I also read about the town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in A Village of Secrets and I may read it again, but the book is controversial, apparently.
The problem is that this book is difficult to read because it is written in a dull manner, especially when he goes into philosophical or theological detail. It’s a pity because it could have been so much more interesting.
I received this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Comments
There is a book about the Trocmes called ‘A Portrait of Pacifists: Le Chambon, The Holocaust, and the Lives of Andre and Magda Trocme by Richard Unsworth, apparently. It sounds interesting and it is probably easier to read than Pastor Andre’s autobiography.
I agree that there are few heroes like this in the world!