This week we are discussing D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose, Ch. 20-End.
Trigger Warning!!! This book contains situations and subjects related to: war, sexism, death, anti-Semitism, racism, white supremacy, murder, torture, prison, rape, concentration camps, suicidal ideation, cannibalism, and illness.
Discussion:
Michaela: Hello friends and welcome to our last discussion of D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose. This was a tough book to read, not just because I struggle with non-fiction reads but also because the subject matter was hard to digest at points. While most of the book is facts and powerful women spies, we also read the parts that were dangerous and deadly. There were scenes of torture, starvation, conversations about rape, death, concentration and detention camps, and other horrible things that happened during this war. This book, while interesting, is not for the faint of heart.
Odette’s story during this last section of the book, and the previous section as well, were the most shocking and awful to read for me. Particularly an event that took place at Neustadt detention camp after her arrival, I had to put the book down for a moment after reading that.
Jacilyn: I know the horrors that occurred on the battlefronts during WWII were traumatizing to experience and upsetting to read about, but there’s something that just hits different about the atrocities and crimes that were committed in concentration and extermination camps. In war, violence is expected, but the abject disrespect for human life displayed throughout the Holocaust feels nothing short of deranged and sadistic. It never gets any easier to read about, and I think that’s incredibly important; I’m of the opinion that we’ve become too desensitized to the violence and inhumanity perpetuated by war, something that has worked in the favor of those who desire profit and power over anything else. I don’t want it to get easier. I want it to hit as hard every single time.
I was truly expecting Odette to die before she was liberated, but I was pleasantly surprised that she survived. I appreciate that Rose discussed the PTSD that the spies suffered from, because there’s often an assumption that only soldiers can experience that. But in reality, Odette, Mary, Lise, Claude, and so many others were exposed to violence just like the soldiers were, if not in slightly different forms. Frankly, I imagine anyone living in most of Europe during WWII probably had some measure of PTSD themselves. In the US, we’re incredibly lucky that we haven’t experienced something of that nature here, at least in recent history.
Michaela: These women were by all counts of reason, actually soldiers. They completed training like soldiers did, then later was involved in covert missions like soldiers were as well. It took until Lise was 91 years old for them to recognize her service official and for her to get her wings. That is appalling to me, she had to wait for around 60 years to get officially recognized despite being in charge of many “soldiers” and even orchestrating cutting off supplies by blowing up railways and cutting communication lines surrounding Normandy in preparation for D-Day. All these women sacrificed time with their families, risked their lives, and many lost their lives. Then they’re almost wiped out of history. I don’t know about anyone else but I did not learn anything about these women or the Firm or any of it until now, and I have taken many history classes that focused on WWII.
I also thought Odette would pass away before being liberated but I’m so glad she got out, got her current captor detained, and went on to live her life. Rose mentions that Odette became a kind of “Diana, of her time” and I think that is well deserved. The other women should have gotten recognition like that too. Civilian awards were given to Lise and Odette, which are the only ones we know of from the book, I hope that more of the women received something too. I’m sure everyone suffered some degree of PTSD from WWII, and I’m sure we as a society are still experiencing the after effects of this war specifically.
Jacilyn: The sections of the book that focused on the war itself, military tactics and all, were less interesting to me and a bit more difficult to absorb, but it was really illuminating to read more about how D-Day itself happened. I never knew that so many Nazi posts along the coast didn’t even bother to mobilize when the order was given because they were so tired of false calls. I think I mentioned this in one of our previous discussions, but my great grandpa was an American soldier who was part of the D-Day invasion. He was a flight engineer and gunner on a plane. I was lucky enough to actually be able to have a relationship and create memories with him when I was a child, so reading the details of the invasion kind of blew my mind a bit. My grandma used to always tell me that he never really talked about the war once he returned home, so I never learned anything from him directly.
Lise’s journey into Normandy on bike had me incredibly stressed out at the beginning of this section. I really thought we were going to learn that D-Day had arrived by her biking into the line of fire, or from Nazi’s tracking her down. But of course, she was slipperier than that and maintained her calm, even when she dropped a radio piece out of her clothing within sight of Nazi soldiers who had just searched her. Can you imagine? The anxious feeling I got in my chest just reading that was plenty uncomfortable.
Michaela: I was so stressed for most of this last section. Everyone was in a dangerous situation right up until the end there. Mary Hubert was the only one not in immediate danger because they had let her out of prison because “a woman, let alone a mother, would never be a spy”. It makes me laugh with relief and amusement at how stupid these soldiers were, they literally had incredibly important women in their hands but their sexism won over. Speaking of motherhood and sexism, I was kind of shocked to find out that during this time in France “Abortion was treason. Prostitution was legalized.” pg 233. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but at the same time I can’t believe that that was a concern on people’s minds when everyone is being murdered or bombed left and right during this war. Like what? Bring more life into the world to women who don’t want them or don’t feel its safe to have them? Or can’t afford them? Sounds very familiar to current affairs just without the world war part. History never fails to repeat itself in some shape or form.
Like the last couple discussions I want to discuss some of my favorites or the facts that jumped out the most to me. One being the one I just mentioned about abortion and prostitution. It blows my mind every time I think about it. Another is how Odette did not even hesitate to turn Commandant Suhren over for his actions/non-actions involving the Neustadt detection camp. He was such a pompous asshole that he really thought one of his victims would put in a good word for him and lie about what she experienced, I’m sure he wasn’t the only officer to think the same. My last one about Odette was that while being imprisoned in a windowless and lightless cell for 3 months and 11 days she had to pass the time, so she thought through every step of making dresses for her daughters. She went through the steps of creating the patter, cutting out the fabric, patching patterns, sewing seams, sewing pleats. Then when she got home she made new dresses for her girls. Being a seamstress myself I’m not surprised that this stuck with me, I wonder if she ever forgot those imaginary dresses she made, I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
My last facts were about the deaths of Yvonne and Andree. Yvonee died of typhus, starvation, and dysentery not long after finding out that France was liberated. While Andree was taken to a concentration camp and while her captor was putting her in one of the chambers to be executed she fought against him, scratched up his face, and shouted “Vive la France!”. These moments and these women’s stories truly just broke my heart and they all made me cry. I’m so glad to have read about their lives.
Rose is a really good writer, she made these real stories come to life so much more than any other non-fiction I’ve read before. I think if she chose to write a historical fiction about these women then I would read it. Like you said the military tactics and all the infodumping really aren’t my speed but people and stories are. The info is important for a book like this but not as important to me personally as a reader, I want to know more about the women, their actions, and their experiences. Also if this was a docuseries or something, I would eat that shit up for sure. This book has really shown me that non-fiction historical reading is not my thing no matter if I like the subject or not, which is okay. Ultimately, I’m glad I read this book and learned about these women but I would not reach for it again in this format because it was a difficult read for me personally and also emotionally.
I think that that is going to be it for D-Day Girls, friends. It was a rough ride, an emotional ride, and an eye opening ride. We hope you all enjoyed this book or at least learned something new about these powerful women. Happy reading!
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