The Art of Resistance

October 28, 2019
Rosenberg, professor emeritus of literature at Bard College, recounts his remarkable journey from young Polish-Jewish student to daring French underground freedom fighter in this powerful debut memoir. As the Nazis tightened their grip on the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) in 1937, Rosenberg’s parents sent their blue-eyed, blond, 16-year-old son to schooling and safety in Paris. Three years later, he fled south after the Nazis occupied the city. In Marseille, through an amazing “confluence of circumstances,” he met an American journalist named Varian Fry who helped artists and intellectuals escape Nazi occupation. Rosenberg’s German background, French education, and fluency in several languages allowed him to become a successful espionage agent, and he went on to work with Fry, assisting the likes of Marc Chagall, Andre Breton, Franz Werfel, and Max Ernst to escape into Spain. Rosenberg, a modest narrator, nevertheless writes thrillingly of his life—of participating in reconnaissance and guerrilla attacks; joining the 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion as interpreter and scout; and serving as supply officer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration—all while dodging injury, imprisonment, and death. Rosenberg’s memoir has all the suspense of a tense spy thriller.

Starred review from December 1, 2019

Originally from an upper-middle-class Jewish family in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland, and the surrounding area), Rosenberg (languages & literature, Bard Coll.) was sent to Paris in his teens to study and to escape increasing violence. Unable to join the French Army because of his Polish birth, Rosenberg eventually joined the French Underground, serving as a recruiter, intelligence operative, and guerilla fighter. He ended the war as an interrogator attached to a U.S. Army tank destroyer battalion. From there, he became a supply officer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), helping to rebuild post-war Germany. At long last, he was able to return to the Sorbonne to finish his studies in literature, was offered a teaching position in the United States, and finally found out that his parents and sister--alone of the 68 members of his extended family--survived the war. VERDICT Rosenberg provides a thrilling account of gut-wrenching wartime experiences; an epilog details what happened to the major players in his life during that time. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in World War II and autobiography.--Crystal Goldman, Univ. of California, San Diego Lib.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2019
A gripping memoir from an Eastern European Jew who fought in the French Resistance. Born in 1921, Rosenberg, who has received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star from the U.S. Army for his service in World War II, thrived within a loving Polish family into his teenage years. His residence in Danzig meant immersion in both Polish and German culture, and his parents believed that Danzig's well-integrated Jewish population would escape the rise of Hitler and his Nazi supporters. When that optimism began to crumble, the 16-year-old Rosenberg departed Danzig to study in Paris. (Nobody knew then that most of his relatives would be slaughtered in the Holocaust. Rosenberg's parents and sister survived, but the author would be separated from them until 1952.) The German invasion of France interrupted Rosenberg's studies. On his own, with dwindling cash, he decided against trying to flee the Nazi juggernaut. Instead, he found a path to joining the underground resistance against the Nazis, centered in occupied France and comprised of fighters from a variety of backgrounds, including expatriate Americans. Rosenberg offered special value as a Resistance guerrilla for multiple reasons: Given his blond hair and other physical features, he did not "look Jewish." His baby face meant that he could easily pass as a schoolboy. He spoke Polish, German, Yiddish, and English. He could subsist on meager resources during wartime hardships. He welcomed all assignments offered by Resistance commanders, and he was fearless. The narrative unfolds chronologically, in semi-diary format, and while readers will know, of course, that Rosenberg avoided death, the narrative tension is continuous, as the author recalls imprisonments, escapes from confinement, and successful missions against the Nazis. The author's writing style is crystal-clear and understated, as he wisely allows the drama to unfold from the events themselves. As the war wound down, Rosenberg was unsure about his future. Eventually, he settled in the U.S. and has taught language and literature for 70 years. A welcome addition to the World War II memoir shelf.

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