Codename Suzette: An extraordinary story of resistance and rescue in Nazi Paris

New
Paperback
2018
$15.30

The thrilling and previously untold true story of Suzanne Spaak, who abandoned her life of opulence to save the Jewish children of Occupied Paris during the Second World War.
Suzanne Spaak was born into an affluent Belgian Catholic family and married into the country's leading political dynasty. Her brother-in-law was the prime minister while her husband Claude was a playwright and patron of the painter Rene Magritte. In occupied Paris she was part of the cultural elite and a neighbour of Colette and Jean Cocteau. But Suzanne was living a double life.
Her friendship with a Polish Jewish refugee led her to her life's purpose. When France fell and the Nazis occupied Paris, she joined the Resistance. She used her fortune and social status to enlist allies among wealthy Parisians and church groups. Under the eyes of the Gestapo, Suzanne and women from the Jewish and Christian resistance groups 'kidnapped' hundreds of Jewish children to save them from the gas chambers.
Codename Suzette is a masterpiece of research and narrative, bringing to life a truly remarkable woman and painting a vivid and unforgettable picture of wartime Paris.

Synopsis

The thrilling and previously untold true story of Suzanne Spaak, who abandoned her life of opulence to save the Jewish children of Occupied Paris during the Second World War.

Suzanne Spaak was born into an affluent Belgian Catholic family and married into the country's leading political dynasty. Her brother-in-law was the prime minister while her husband Claude was a playwright and patron of the painter Rene Magritte. In occupied Paris she was part of the cultural elite and a neighbour of Colette and Jean Cocteau. But Suzanne was living a double life.

Her friendship with a Polish Jewish refugee led her to her life's purpose. When France fell and the Nazis occupied Paris, she joined the Resistance. She used her fortune and social status to enlist allies among wealthy Parisians and church groups. Under the eyes of the Gestapo, Suzanne and women from the Jewish and Christian resistance groups 'kidnapped' hundreds of Jewish children to save them from the gas chambers.

Codename Suzette is a masterpiece of research and narrative, bringing to life a truly remarkable woman and painting a vivid and unforgettable picture of wartime Paris.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Edition: Main
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 02 Aug 2018
ISBN 10: 1925266834
ISBN 13: 9781925266832

Media Reviews

Vividly dramatises the stakes of acting morally in a time of brutality * Wall Street Journal *
This heartfelt story is almost a model for how popular history should be written; it will satisfy lovers of history, Jewish history in particular. * Library Journal *
A riveting book about a truly heroic woman in a Paris of resignation and shame. A must-read! * Diane von Furstenberg *
Anne Nelson has written an extraordinary book that finally does justice to Spaak's story of heroism and sacrifice. -- Andrew Nagorski * Author of THE NAZI HUNTERS *
Anne Nelson tells the story of Suzanne Spaak, an elegant Belgian aristocrat who risked her life to save Jewish children in Nazi-occupied France. Her conscience told her someone had to do something. But, as Nelson's gripping book shows, doing the right thing can also come at a price. -- Alan Riding * Author of AND THE SHOW WENT ON: CULTURAL LIFE IN NAZI-OCCUPIED PARIS *
Superbly researched and sharply written. * Alan Furst on Red Orchestra *
[A] haunting account of a long-neglected network... Experiences inform the deep sympathy and unsentimental compassion of Red Orchestra. * New York Times on Red Orchestra *

Author Bio

Anne Nelson is an author who teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 1989 Livingston Award for international reporting. She is the author of Red Orchestra, and the play The Guys, which has been staged throughout the world. As a war correspondent in El Salvador and Guatemala, Nelson published reports and photography in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. She is a graduate of Yale University and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.