Sisters of the Resistance by Jina Bacarr is out today! Get your copy here ❤️
‘Please, I beg you, join us and we’ll fight the Boches side by side. Sisters belong together.’
(Sisters of the Resistance, September 29 2024).
When Ève Beaufort begged her sister Justine to join her in the war against the Nazis, she wasn’t alone. Many pairs of sisters did join the fight to oust the Occupiers from France. They fought together, went to prison together, and died together.
Their stories are often lost in the annals of time, not surprising since the exploits and bravery of women résistants were not widely known outside their close-knit cells since their ‘official’ role was to give domestic support to the men. After the war, women often received little credit for their valor in defeating the Nazis. More than a thousand medals were awarded to men and fighting units, but only six medals were given to women.
Not surprising since Frenchwomen didn’t have the right to vote until April 1944 when General De Gaulle signed a law granting them that right in postwar elections. Years, even decades later, women who fought in the Resistance were finally recognized and awarded such commendations as the Legion of Honor and the Medal of Resistance.
What tugged at my heart were the women who helped downed Allied flyers make their way back to England and, for the safety of everyone involved, they never used their real names. But I have no doubt those airmen never forgot them.
We do know the names of sisters who fought in the Resistance. Here are a few of their stories:
Marie Alizon and Simone Alizon
The sisters’ family owned a small hotel in Rennes where they hid members of the ‘Johnny’ network, Resistance fighters who needed shelter to carry out their work. The sisters were compromised and spent time in various prisons before being sent to Auschwitz. They did not survive.
Noémie Durand and Rachel Fernandez
The sisters were from La Rochelle and apprenticed as dressmakers, but during the war Noémie became involved in printing tracts and underground newspapers and was arrested by the Gestapo. Rachel was also arrested and the two sisters were interned at Auschwitz. They did not survive.
Gilberte Tamissé and Andrée Tamissé
The sisters were from a small town near Bordeaux where Gilberte organized student Resistance groups and printed tracts, while Andrée acted as a liaison for the FTP (a military organization). Both sisters were arrested for their activities and sent to Auschwitz. According to reports, Andrée held on as long as she could to be with her sister, but she died at Auschwitz. Gilberte survived the war.
These amazing stories inspired me. I was fascinated by the fortitude, courage, and bravery of these female Resistance fighters and so touched by these sisters who never gave up and carried on in spite of the pain and torture they suffered. I wondered what it would be like to have that sisterhood bond tested. I found out when I wrote about Ève and Justine Beaufort, two sisters who suffer at the hands of the SS and the Gestapo, but never give up, even when they find themselves on the opposite sides of the fight.
‘Who are the Beaufort Sisters?’ you ask. In my 2-book Wartime Paris Sisters series, Ève is a science major at the Sorbonne and not taken seriously by the Nazis who invade her laboratory, degrading her and fueling her fire to join the fight. Justine is a hat designer for a fancy shop on Rue de Rivoli and regarded by the Nazis as ‘arm candy’, though she’s actually a double agent for the Allies who saved Jewish lives.
Next, the research. I devoured everything I could find to tell the story of the Beaufort Sisters, including first-person accounts such as Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac, I Worked Alone by double agent Lily Sergueiew, Inside the Gestapo by Helene Moszkiewiez, documentaries and research materials about Virginia Hill, Violet Szabo, Nancy Wake, Noor Inayat Khan – women heralded in books and films for their amazing work in the Resistance. I like to believe there’s a special place in heaven for these brave women… and in our hearts, too.
Every one of them, sisters courageous.