Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany - Softcover

Marthe Cohn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307335909 ISBN 13: 9780307335906

Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA), 2006

Synopsis

Marthe Cohn was a beautiful young Jewish woman living just across the German border in France when Hitler rose to power. Her family sheltered Jews fleeing the Nazis, including Jewish children sent away by their terrified parents. But soon her homeland was also under Nazi rule. As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe’s sister was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. The rest of her family was forced to flee to the south of France. Always a fighter, Marthe joined the French Army.

As a member of the intelligence service of the French First Army, Marthe fought valiantly to retrieve needed inside information about Nazi troop movements by slipping behind enemy lines, utilizing her perfect German accent and blond hair to pose as a young German nurse who was desperately trying to obtain word of a fictional fiancé. By traveling throughout the countryside and approaching troops sympathetic to her plight, risking death every time she did so, she learned where they were going next and was able to alert Allied commanders.

When, at the age of eighty, Marthe Cohn was awarded France’s highest military honor, the Médaille Militaire, not even her children knew to what extent this modest woman had faced death daily while helping defeat the Nazi empire. At its heart, this remarkable memoir is the tale of an ordinary human being who, under extraordinary circumstances, became the hero her country needed her to be.

About this title

About the Author

Marthe Cohn lives in Palo Verdes, California. In 2005, she was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur.

Wendy Holden has written numerous books and is a celebrated journalist. She lives in England.

From the Inside Flap

was in her late teens when Hitler was rising to power. Living across the German border in Alsace-Lorraine, her family began taking in Jews who were fleeing the Nazis, as well as the Jewish children being sent away by terrified parents. Soon her own homeland was under Nazi rule, and she and her parents, brothers, and sisters were forced to live the restricted lives of all Jews. As the Nazi occupation of France escalated along with the war, Marthe’s sister was arrested and eventually sent to Auschwitz, and the rest of her family was forced to flee to the south of France. Always a fighter, Marthe joined the French Army.

Behind Enemy Lines is Marthe Cohn’s memoir of a time and place that has mesmerized the world for more than half a century. But at its heart it is the tale of an ordinary human being who, under extraordinary circumstances, became the hero her country needed her to be.

Recently, at the age of eighty, Marthe Cohn was awarded France’s h

Edition details

• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0307335909
• ISBN 13: 9780307335906
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304