Where I live part of each year in the Southwest of France, I have two neighbors one on each side of me, Monsieur D. and Monsieur B. Since both of them are old enough to remember WWII, I have asked them (separately) to tell me what they thought of the French maquis, as the resistance fighters were called. I was shocked at how exactly opposite their memories and opinions were. My natural inclination is to accept the version of history that I prefer to be true, but I'm also old enough to know that I do this and to push back against it. Mr. D. tells me that the maquis were the only heroes of the war years and that he would have joined them had he been older than he was. Mr. B. on the other hand refers to all the members of the resistance as the "maquis noir" or black resistance (meaning that they were basically social outcasts, trouble,makers, often thieves). Which version is correct?
Read More