Read Andrée's War for Free Online

navy-blue shoes which still hurt even though I have been wearing them for two weeks and my hair is worn in curls
(un rouleau interclair).
    I had another argument with ‘La Mère’ Chantebout about the political situation and because of this have not spoken to her for three days.
    Dear little diary, I am now going to stop writing. It is so very special that I can confide in you in this way.

    Â 
    * François was later awarded the Légion d’honneur and at ninety years of age was still piloting his own plane. Having met him again at that age, I confess he remains one of the most attractive Frenchmen I have ever encountered.
    * Although she did not know it then, as one of the first women to be employed at Police Headquarters, Andrée was something of a pioneer.

4
The Evacuation of Paris
June 1940
    On the eve of the invasion, according to Jean-Marc Berlière, there were approximately half a million foreigners registered in Paris and the surrounding region. They included central European Jews who had escaped persecution by the Nazis in their homelands, anti-Nazi Germans, anti-fascist Italians, Spanish republicans, Hungarians and gypsies. Throughout the 1930s it had been a legal requirement for every foreigner living in France to register their presence at the local police station. In Paris, detailed records of these people were passed on to Police Headquarters with the date of their arrival, their name, age, profession and address all noted.
    In the days running up to the arrival of the Nazis in Paris, large queues of people started to form at Police Headquarters; at times the queues were so long they ran all the way around the building. Those who wanted to stay in France needed to make sure their ID cards and documents were up to date.
    On 3 June 1940, ‘300 German aircraft bombed the Citroën and Renault factories on the south-western edge of Paris, killing 254 people, including 195 civilians.’ 1 Andrée wrote in her diary:
    On 3 June, Paris was bombed. At 1.15, just as I was going back to work after lunch, I heard an air-raid alert. I was at home so I took my coat off and stayed in the flat. I heard a few planes circling overhead but nothing else. I was back at work within the hour and so when Monsieur Kervella walked into my office and said, ‘Well they have certainly dropped a lot of bombs, the Citroën and Renault factories are on fire,’ I replied, ‘You must be joking.’
    â€˜I most certainly am not, the whole of the 15th arrondissement has been bombed.’
    Once again there are plans to evacuate Paris. We are all very frightened. The state schools have been closed. The classes of ’39 and ’40 have been called up. André Hesse and Jean Barbier have left. Maman, Alain and the girls are planning to leave Paris tomorrow. They are heading for Nantes. Papa is hesitating. He says it is too early to leave. Yvette has just passed her brevet and Alain is due to take his baccalaureate on Monday. Poor chap. What a life.
    On 9 June, she wrote the following entry:
    There was an air raid last night and Maman made us all get up and go down to the cellar. It was very frightening…
    It is Sunday and I am again at work. I am so depressed. France is in the most desperate position. The Germans crossed the Aisne this morning and are overrunning the country. The King of Belgium is guilty of treason. The Flanders army withdrew at Dunkirk but thank goodness they have been saved. Many major battles are being fought. There must be thousands of dead soldiers. It is just too awful for words.
    The evening of 10 June was a warm one and before going to bed Andrée had left the shutters of her bedroom window ajar. She awoke early the following morning to strong light filtering through her bedroom window. The days were now much longer and she liked to get up early. Despite living in central Paris, she could still hear a few birds twittering at daybreak and their chatter helped her