Historians agree: the diary of Léon Werth (1878-1955) is one of the most precious--and readable--pieces of testimony ever written about life in France under Nazi occupation and the Vichy regime. Werth was a free-spirited and unclassifiable writer. He is the author of eleven novels, art and dance criticism, acerbic political reporting, and memorable personal essays. He was Jewish, and left Paris in June 1940 to hide out in his wife's country house in Saint-Amour, a small village in the Jura Mountains. His short memoir 33 Days recounts his struggle to get there. Deposition tells of daily life in the village, on nearby farms and towns, and finally back in Paris, where he draws the portrait of a Resistance network in his apartment and writes an eyewitness report of the insurrection that freed the city in August 1966. From Saint-Amour, we see both the Resistance in the countryside--derailing troop trains, punishing notorious collaborators--and growing repression: arrests, torture, deportation, and executions. Above all, we see how Vichy and the Occupation affect the lives of farmers and villagers and how their often contradictory attitudes evolve from 1940 to 1944. Werth's ear for dialogue and novelist's gift for creating characters animate the diary: in the markets and in town, we meet real French peasants and shopkeepers, railroad men and the patronne of the café at the station, schoolteachers and gendarmes. They come off the page alive, and the countryside and villages come alive with them. With biting irony, Werth records, almost daily, what Vichy-German propaganda was saying on the radio and in the press. We follow the progress of the war as people did then, day by day. These entries make interesting, often amusing reading, a stark contrast with his entries on the persecution and deportation of the Jews. Deposition is a varied and complex piece of living history, and a pleasure to read. --

"A rare eyewitness account by an important author of fleeing the Nazis' march on Paris in 1940, featuring a never-before-published introduction by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. In June of 1940, Leon Werth and his wife fled Paris before the advancing Nazis Army. 33 Days is his eyewitness account of that experience, one of the largest civilian dispacements in history. Encouraged to write 33 Days by his dear friend, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, Werth finished the manuscript while in hiding in the Jura mountains. Saint-Exupery smuggled the manuscript out of Nazi-occupied France, wrote an introduction to the work and arranged for its publication in the United States by Brentanos. But the publication never came to pass, and Werth's manuscript would disappear for more than fifty years until the first French edition, in 1992. It has since become required reading in French schools. This, the first-ever English language translation of 33 Days, includes Saint-Exupery's original introduction for the book, long thought to be lost. It is presented it here for the first time in any language. After more than seventy years, 33 Days appears--complete and as it was fully intended"--

"Cochinchine" is a vivid and penetrating account of the author's travels through French Indochina in the early 20th century. Written by the acclaimed journalist and critic Léon Werth, this work stands as a landmark of anti-colonial literature, offering a stark contrast to the romanticized depictions of the East common during the era. Werth's observations are both sharp and empathetic, providing a detailed look at the social, political, and economic realities of Southern Vietnam under colonial rule. The narrative delves into the complexities of the relationship between the French administration and the local population, highlighting the tensions and inequalities inherent in the colonial system. Through a series of sketches and reflections, Werth captures the essence of the landscape, the bustle of the cities, and the quiet dignity of the people he encounters. "Cochinchine" is not merely a travelogue but a profound social commentary that questions the ethics of imperialism and the impact of cultural displacement. This book remains a vital resource for readers interested in the history of Southeast Asia, French colonial studies, and the development of political consciousness in modern literature. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.