Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (Hallie)

[struggle4progress]

Originally published in 1979, but still in print, this book by an ethicist discusses a history of radical nonviolence, practiced in Le Chambon, that saved thousands of Jewish people from Nazi death camps

Pastor André Trocmé (who believes entirely in non-violence) and his wife Magda (who perhaps is not even sure she is really a Christian), together with several friends, convince an entire village, by word and deed, that Jewish refugees must be hidden -- and they are hidden, successfully: maybe 5000 survive

When the local constable arrives to arrest André, Magda offers him dinner. André is imprisoned at length, then finally offered release conditional -- but at the end there is a formality: signing an loyalty oath to the Vichy government. André refuses and is promptly sent back to the detention camp -- and is then unaccountably released anyway the next day

Unflinching conscience, simplistic naïvité, and clear-eyed realism are curiously intermingled. The pastor and his wife have wracked their consciences; they will just have to lie to save lies -- but Magda continues to mourn her loss of honesty years after the war, though she never sees any alternative to those lies



... I told her that indeed the Le Chambon I am talking about is in the Haute-Loire ... "Well, you have been speaking about the village that saved the lives of all three of my children" ... She came to the front of the room, turned to face the audience, and said, "The Holocaust was storm, lightning, thunder, wind, rain, yes. And Le Chambon was the rainbow" ...

[Adsos Letter]

1. Too late to recommend, but I read that work years ago, and found it a very

inspiring and thought-provoking read. :thumbsup: