We Only Know Men: The Rescue of Jews in France during the Holocaust (review)

Although not obvious from the title, this book, about the rescue activities undertaken in the predominantly Protestant plateau Vivarais-Lignon, focuses on the rescuers of Jews rather than their rescue itself. With interest in Les Justes emerging as a category of historical enquiry independent to the Resistance, it appears at an important juncture. Drawing on the existing historiography that has examined non-compliance with Vichy - which is delicately outlined in the first chapter - the scope of this book is wideranging, examining the ethical principles and psychological factors that motivate rescue. It is these criteria, confidently analysed and explored, that lend originality to this study. Experience of victimisation, equality amongst men and faith in non-violent resistance are among the motivations underlying the plateau's rescue efforts, nourished by Pastor André Trocmé in the village of Le Chambon, where over 3000 Jews, mainly children, were sheltered. Patrick Henry traces the personal trajectories of rescuers to untangle factors underlying the decision to embark on rescue activity. Daniel Trocmé, André Trocmé's cousin, was the director of a boarding house in Le Chambon that sheltered around 30 young foreign men. He was deported along with the residents and died in the gas chambers at Maidanek. Complemented by biographical information, Henry's sensitive handling of Daniel's letters to his parents is one of the book's main strengths, revealing Daniel's belief in the task at hand. Henry seeks to re-evaluate Philip Hallie's 1979 study, which focused exclusively on Le Chambon, exploring the routes and networks that led to the plateau, with, for example, a chapter on the Lyon-based Jewish rescuer Madeleine Dreyfus. Through an extension of Hallie's geographical boundaries, Henry confidently ties in the various, often conflicting rescue efforts and forms of Jewish resistance and in analysing the impact rescue work had on Madeleine's immediate family, he opens an innovative path of enquiry. Exploring the non-legacy of the rescuers calls into question their absence from holocaust scholarship. Henry convincingly employs recent psychological studies which explain why in the war's aftermath rescuers did not seek personal recognition. Remarkably, however, Henry employs the preferred statistics of Xavier Vallat and René de Chambrun when charting the large number of Jews rescued in France and so regrettably, does not differentiate between the plight of French and foreign Jews. Henry pays little heed to timing, so fails to achieve his stated aim of returning agency to Jews, reducing them to a passive object of Vichy policymaking. Jews reacted differently and at different times to the regime. By not exploring this heterogeneity, Henry inadvertently re-assigns Jews to a 'victim' status. For Henry to argue that rescuers 'did not think in terms of religious differences' (p. 101), when carrying out their rescue activities appears overstated, especially in light of the Jewish Scouts' policy from 1939 to evacuate Jewish children. In considering the Jewish Scouts, investigating the assistance they received from the Protestant Commune of Vabre (Tarn) would have provided an excellent comparison. Nevertheless, the examination of rescuers adds another important category amongst the plethora of individual and group reactions to Vichy.