Sisters in Resistance
Encyclopedia
Sisters in Resistance is a 2000 documentary
by Maia Wechsler that tells the story of four young, beautiful Frenchwomen who fought against the German occupation of France during World War II. The film won Outstanding Documentary by the Academy Award Screening Committee and won Best Documentary in the Woman in Cinema Film Festival
.
, an anthropology
student and active leader in the resistance movement in France, "Face with crime and cruelty, something wells up within you. I call it indignation. It's twofold: Anger and revolution, but also a feeling that justice is on your side and the person before you represents evil."
When Germany invaded France in May 1940, a small group of women recognized the threat that the Nazis posed and took a stand to fight on the side of humanity for their nations freedom. Sisters in Resistance follows Jacqueline Pery, Anise Postel-Vinay, Germaine Tillion
, and Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz
- the niece of Charles de Gaulle
– through their heroic war-time experiences. At the brink of womanhood, when most of them were not yet twenty-years-old, they let their moral foundation inform their actions. While much of the population stood idly by, these young women made protest fliers, tore down Nazi flags, delivered secret war correspondence, and hid their fellow Jews
.
All four woman clearly recognized the danger they were putting themselves into, but that didn't stop them from doing what they believed was right. Jaqueline says she remembers the first time she saw a small Jewish child branded by a bright yellow Star of David
. She was disgusted and horrified. It was then that she realized, "I was ready to lose my life. I had to fight."
But their actions had consequences. All four were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and sent to Ravensbrück
, an entirely female concentration camp. There, these Gentiles suffered alongside the Jews. Just as their solidarity gave them courage to fight against German occupation, so too simple acts of friendship and kindness helped them survive in Ravensbrück. Every day Germaine would give her friend a little piece of her bread, saying insistently, "Take it. You're young. You'll survive, marry, and have ten children."
Although they witnessed death all around them, all four friends survive. They say the inhumanity they experienced during the Holocaust only encouraged them to continue fighting for human rights
and justice. After being released from the concentration camp, they went off in different directions, but continued to work in humanitarianism. Jacqueline moved to America and lectured to students about her war-time experiences, Germaine denounced France's military use of torture in the Algerian War for independence, Anise documented the use of poison gas in Ravensbrück, and Geneviève lead an international movement to help the poor.
At the end of the documentary, Geneviève quotes French writer André Malraux
, saying, "the only response to absolute evil is fraternity."
Other documentaries about Holocaust survivors:
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Maia Wechsler that tells the story of four young, beautiful Frenchwomen who fought against the German occupation of France during World War II. The film won Outstanding Documentary by the Academy Award Screening Committee and won Best Documentary in the Woman in Cinema Film Festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
.
Summary
"Indignation can move mountains. It's the strongest emotion," says Germaine TillionGermaine Tillion
Germaine Tillion born in Allègre in Haute-Loire on May 30, 1907 – April 18, 2008) was a French anthropologist, best known for her work in Algeria in the 1950s on behalf of the French government.- Anthropology of the Chaoui :...
, an anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
student and active leader in the resistance movement in France, "Face with crime and cruelty, something wells up within you. I call it indignation. It's twofold: Anger and revolution, but also a feeling that justice is on your side and the person before you represents evil."
When Germany invaded France in May 1940, a small group of women recognized the threat that the Nazis posed and took a stand to fight on the side of humanity for their nations freedom. Sisters in Resistance follows Jacqueline Pery, Anise Postel-Vinay, Germaine Tillion
Germaine Tillion
Germaine Tillion born in Allègre in Haute-Loire on May 30, 1907 – April 18, 2008) was a French anthropologist, best known for her work in Algeria in the 1950s on behalf of the French government.- Anthropology of the Chaoui :...
, and Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz
Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz , was a niece of General Charles de Gaulle, a member of the French Resistance, and the president of ATD Quart Monde.-Biography:...
- the niece of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
– through their heroic war-time experiences. At the brink of womanhood, when most of them were not yet twenty-years-old, they let their moral foundation inform their actions. While much of the population stood idly by, these young women made protest fliers, tore down Nazi flags, delivered secret war correspondence, and hid their fellow Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
.
All four woman clearly recognized the danger they were putting themselves into, but that didn't stop them from doing what they believed was right. Jaqueline says she remembers the first time she saw a small Jewish child branded by a bright yellow Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
. She was disgusted and horrified. It was then that she realized, "I was ready to lose my life. I had to fight."
But their actions had consequences. All four were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and sent to Ravensbrück
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
, an entirely female concentration camp. There, these Gentiles suffered alongside the Jews. Just as their solidarity gave them courage to fight against German occupation, so too simple acts of friendship and kindness helped them survive in Ravensbrück. Every day Germaine would give her friend a little piece of her bread, saying insistently, "Take it. You're young. You'll survive, marry, and have ten children."
Although they witnessed death all around them, all four friends survive. They say the inhumanity they experienced during the Holocaust only encouraged them to continue fighting for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and justice. After being released from the concentration camp, they went off in different directions, but continued to work in humanitarianism. Jacqueline moved to America and lectured to students about her war-time experiences, Germaine denounced France's military use of torture in the Algerian War for independence, Anise documented the use of poison gas in Ravensbrück, and Geneviève lead an international movement to help the poor.
At the end of the documentary, Geneviève quotes French writer André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
, saying, "the only response to absolute evil is fraternity."
See also
- Resistance movements
- Resistance during World War IIResistance during World War IIResistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
- French resistanceFrench ResistanceThe French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
Other documentaries about Holocaust survivors:
- Pola's MarchPola's MarchPola's March is a 2001 documentary made by Jonathan Gruber about a Holocaust survivor, Pola Susswein's emotional trip back to her childhood home in Poland after fifty years spent in Israel, trying to forget her painful past.-Summary:...
- Marion's TriumphMarion's TriumphMarion's Triumph is a 2003 documentary that tells the story of Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a child Holocaust survivor, who recounts her painful childhood memories in order to preserve history. The film combines rare historic footage, animated flashbacks, and family photographs to illustrate the...
- Boys of Buchenwald
- A Story about a Bad DreamA Story about a Bad DreamA Story about a Bad Dream was made in 2000 by director Pavel Stingl and brings to life the diary of Eva Erbenova, a little girl who survived the Holocaust...