Overview

In the early years of World War II, it was an amazing feat for an Allied airman shot down over occupied Europe to make it back to England. By 1943, however, pilots and crewmembers, supplied with ""escape kits,"" knew they had a 50 percent chance of evading capture and returning home. An estimated 12,000 French civilians helped make this possible. More than 5,000 airmen, many of them American, successfully traveled along escape lines organized much like those of the U.S. Underground Railroad, using secret codes and stopping in safe houses. If caught, they risked internment in a POW camp. But the French, Belgian, and Dutch civilians who aided them risked torture and even death. Sherri Ottis writes candidly about the pilots and crewmen who walked out of occupied Europe, as well as the British intelligence agency in charge of Escape and Evasion. But her main focus is on the helpers, those patriots who have been all but ignored in English-language books and journals. To research their stories, Ottis hiked the Pyrenees and interviewed many of the survivors. She tells of the extreme difficulty they had in avoiding Nazi infiltration by double agents; of their creativity in hiding evaders in their homes, sometimes in the midst of unexpected searches; of their generosity in sharing their meager food supplies during wartime; and of their unflagging spirit and courage in the face of a war fought on a very personal level.

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9780813121864

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Reviews

This carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling. Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation. -- Kirkus Reviews Tales of French underground resistance units are a familiar element of World War II history. The 'Underground Railroad' lines organized to lead the downed fliers to safety rarely have earned equal attention. This book is a well-documented effort to make up for that omission. -- Proceedings She makes the individual Frenchmen -- the heroes of her book -- live, and the reader goes hand-in-hand with the helpers as they face the tension, uncertainty, and danger associated with aiding their allied charges. -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society Ottis has written the only comprehensive study on escape and evasion in Western Europe in the last thirty years, and she does so with powerful stories of courage, taken directly from those who participated in the resistance. -- McCormick (SC) Messenger Flypast A very valuable book. -- NYMAS Newsletter A valuable addition to the 'hidden' history of WWII, showing us the men, women, and sometimes children who helped Allied airmen evade capture.... The first documented study of escape routes in almost 30 years. -- Publishers Weekly Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly

A solid tribute to some remarkable WWII heroes: the spectacularly brave and selfless civilians who helped thousands of Allied fliers shot down in France evade the Nazis and get back to England so they could fight again..These clandestine operations were sponsored by intelligence agencies in London, but managed by audacious operatives in the midst of the Occupation. The downed airmen were prepared as well as possible with training and escape kits, but for the most part they would not have avoided capture without the singular individuals in the networks of helpers who provided them with food, shelter, false identities, and guidance on the paths to safety and home. The civilians were quick-witted and agile, the Nazis determined and ruthless. The Gestapo attempted to use agents disguised as fugitive Allied fliers to infiltrate the escape-route operations. Unlike much of the Resistance, the operations were generally free of infighting, but despite elaborate precautions entire networks of the underground railroad were compromised by betrayal. Yet by 1943, whether they had to traverse the Pyrenees in winter or wade through surf on moonless nights to rendezvous with a boat, the evaders stood an even chance of being restored to their units from enemy territory. Independent scholar Ottis provides a clear, simply stated account of the mechanics, the difficulties, and the dedication involved. She documents the personal stories of many relatively unsung helpers, offering instances of rare humanity that even now evoke powerful emotions. (Ultimately, readers must ask themselves, What would I have done? ) More than a screenwriters' source book, this carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling..Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation. (30 b&w photos). (Kirkus Reviews)

Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly She makes the individual Frenchmen -- the heroes of her book -- live, and the reader goes hand-in-hand with the helpers as they face the tension, uncertainty, and danger associated with aiding their allied charges. -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society A valuable addition to the 'hidden' history of WWII, showing us the men, women, and sometimes children who helped Allied airmen evade capture.... The first documented study of escape routes in almost 30 years. -- Publishers Weekly Tales of French underground resistance units are a familiar element of World War II history. The 'Underground Railroad' lines organized to lead the downed fliers to safety rarely have earned equal attention. This book is a well-documented effort to make up for that omission. -- Proceedings Flypast A very valuable book. -- NYMAS Newsletter This carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling. Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation. -- Kirkus Reviews Ottis has written the only comprehensive study on escape and evasion in Western Europe in the last thirty years, and she does so with powerful stories of courage, taken directly from those who participated in the resistance. -- McCormick (SC) Messenger

Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III World War II Quarterly

<p> Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly

Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III World War II Quarterly --Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium.--This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors.--Well-written and superbly documented.- -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly- -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -She makes the individual Frenchmen -- the heroes of her book -- live, and the reader goes hand-in-hand with the helpers as they face the tension, uncertainty, and danger associated with aiding their allied charges.- -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society -A valuable addition to the 'hidden' history of WWII, showing us the men, women, and sometimes children who helped Allied airmen evade capture.... The first documented study of escape routes in almost 30 years.- -- Publishers Weekly -Tales of French underground resistance units are a familiar element of World War II history. The 'Underground Railroad' lines organized to lead the downed fliers to safety rarely have earned equal attention. This book is a well-documented effort to make up for that omission.- -- Proceedings -Flypast A very valuable book.- -- NYMAS Newsletter -Ottis has written the only comprehensive study on escape and evasion in Western Europe in the last thirty years, and she does so with powerful stories of courage, taken directly from those who participated in the resistance.- -- McCormick (SC) Messenger -This carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling. Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation.- -- Kirkus Reviews Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly She makes the individual Frenchmen -- the heroes of her book -- live, and the reader goes hand-in-hand with the helpers as they face the tension, uncertainty, and danger associated with aiding their allied charges. -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society A valuable addition to the 'hidden' history of WWII, showing us the men, women, and sometimes children who helped Allied airmen evade capture.... The first documented study of escape routes in almost 30 years. -- Publishers Weekly Tales of French underground resistance units are a familiar element of World War II history. The 'Underground Railroad' lines organized to lead the downed fliers to safety rarely have earned equal attention. This book is a well-documented effort to make up for that omission. -- Proceedings Flypast A very valuable book. -- NYMAS Newsletter Ottis has written the only comprehensive study on escape and evasion in Western Europe in the last thirty years, and she does so with powerful stories of courage, taken directly from those who participated in the resistance. -- McCormick (SC) Messenger This carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling. Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation. -- Kirkus Reviews Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly She makes the individual Frenchmen -- the heroes of her book -- live, and the reader goes hand-in-hand with the helpers as they face the tension, uncertainty, and danger associated with aiding their allied charges. -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society A valuable addition to the 'hidden' history of WWII, showing us the men, women, and sometimes children who helped Allied airmen evade capture.... The first documented study of escape routes in almost 30 years. -- Publishers Weekly Tales of French underground resistance units are a familiar element of World War II history. The 'Underground Railroad' lines organized to lead the downed fliers to safety rarely have earned equal attention. This book is a well-documented effort to make up for that omission. -- Proceedings Flypast A very valuable book. -- NYMAS Newsletter Ottis has written the only comprehensive study on escape and evasion in Western Europe in the last thirty years, and she does so with powerful stories of courage, taken directly from those who participated in the resistance. -- McCormick (SC) Messenger This carefully researched text tells a story at once romantic, factual, and ennobling. Emblematic of the truly significant sacrifices and triumphs of a passing generation. -- Kirkus Reviews Flypast A very valuable book. -- NYMAS Newsletter

Undoubtedly one of the most stirring accounts of the assistance rendered downed American and British flyers shot down over France and Belgium. This is one book that needs to be read and re-read for its lessons in survival, evasion, and escape from would-be captors. Well-written and superbly documented. -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly -- Leo J. Daugherty III, World War II Quarterly

Author Information

Sherri Greene Ottis is an independent scholar who lives and works in Clinton, Mississippi.

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