Andre Maurois Quotes


There is no point in resistance until the Americans arrive.


Context

Shortly after he refused to join, his brother who had joined the Resistance had been captured, tortured and murdered by the Germans. He then joined the active resistance even though the Americans had not yet arrived. He realized that resistance was just an annoyance to the Germans, and the time the Resistance could really make a difference was after the Americans and British had landed in France.


Citations

Andre Maurois, 1885-1967, French writer and historian, Explanation of why he would not join the French Resistance

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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Explaining the reason for the Paris insurrection against the occupying Germans in World War II in contrast to the general French collaboration and capitulation. The French army, which was larger than the German, put up minor resistance and capitulated quickly when the Germans invaded. A number of French leaders formed a Nazi puppet government in Vichy. Many Frenchmen collaborated with the German Nazis. One of the main reasons for the formation of the French Resistance movement was for the French to have any honor after the war was over. They wanted the world to know that there were Frenchmen who valued freedom and justice and were not cowards--there were French who would risk their lives for freedom and justice. The French Resistance was extremely effective but very small, and to many Frenchman's embarrassment, the Communists were much more active in the Resistance than the conservatives. When the allies were closing in on Paris, and the German's were pulling out, the Parisians could just have waited until the Allied troops forced the Germans out. However, a small group of Parisians organized a major insurrection where Germans were attacked and sniped out while they were pulling out. When the Allies arrived, the Parisians had not been passive victims who had been freed by foreign troops, but had participated in their own fight for freedom and thus retained some honor and dignity. The insurrection was not without cost as many French men and women were killed in the insurrection, and many thought that the gesture of honor was an unnecessary risk and sacrifice. But the war ended in France with the French active in expelling the enemy with great bravery, something that had not generally happened at the beginning or in the midst of the war.


Andre Maurois
Andre Maurois
  • Born: July 26, 1885
  • Died: October 9, 1967
  • Nationality: French
  • Profession: Author

André Maurois was a French author.