Merriam Press Historical Fiction Series
The late Pierre Gerard's historical war romance, Le Havre, poignantly portrays the atrocities of war, and what happens when individuals and nations either ignore, unite with or combat those whose deliberate and declared intent is to intimidate, persecute, dominate and annihilate other people and countries of the world. We learn about the boundless bravery that was France's salvation during those terrifying, turbulent years. We experience patriotism and discover the ultimate meaning of devotion to one's country through ingenuity and self-sacrifice. We taste the unleashed, incomprehensible evil that man is capable of and the horrific anguish and extermination the Nazis successfully executed against Jews, dissidents, and those they deemed different and inferior, and therefore, unworthy of life.
We go through the early warning signs of tyranny and easily get engrossed in the intensity and importance of defending oneself, one's culture and one's homeland against radical, racist and immoral intruders. We are reminded that the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual carnage of World War II continues to haunt and hound us even today. And so, Le Havre is significant not just for France and Europe during World War II, as the ramifications of this historical novel and era also apply to present and future civilizations, all free world nations, and the planet.
With this in mind, it is my hope that the reader be awakened and inspired by the passion and positive activism of The French Resistance. Let this work guide mankind in the current battle against terrorism to preserve justice, morality, and independence for all, and respect for our Creator and His creations.
Contents
Chapter 1: Shattering the Silence of the Night
Chapter 2: Looking for Ghosts Again
Chapter 3: The Invisible and Powerful Force of the French Resistance
Chapter 4: Waiting for Marie-Claude
Chapter 5: I Love You
Chapter 6: SS Normandie
Chapter 7: The Beach
Chapter 8: German Occupation
Chapter 9: Another Debacle Will be Brought Upon the French People
Chapter 10: A Time They Would Forever Treasure
Chapter 11: They are Never to be Trusted! Ah La Vache
Chapter 12: I Will Always Have a Piece of Bread for My Friend, Lucie
Chapter 13: A Fine Line between Traitors and Heroes
Chapter 14: A Den Filled with Treacherous Snakes
Chapter 15: Verboten!
Chapter 16: I Don't Want to Dig Any More Graves
Chapter 17: The Steady Drone of an Approaching Aircraft
Chapter 18: They Have Faces Like Ice, Vacant as an Empty Box
Chapter 19: Psychologically Soiling His Pants
Chapter 20: Welcome to France, My British Friend
Chapter 21: Are These the Miracle Machines That'll Help Us Win the War?
Chapter 22: Le Bosch Have Been Tipped Off! They are Coming!
Chapter 23: The Transmitter, How Long Will It Take Us to Master It?
Chapter 24: Looks Like a Ghost, Captain, Doesn't It?
Chapter 25: They Hung Me Up on a Hook and Beat Me Like a Piece of Beef... Bon, Ready to Go?
Chapter 26: Nous Nous Battons Jusqu'à la Fin de la Guerre-We Fight Until the End of the War
Chapter 27: Collabo!
Chapter 28: Soaring Like a Seabird Above the White Surf
Chapter 29: Unterseaboot-377 is a Symbol of Pride
Chapter 30: Why is U-377 So Important?
Chapter 31: I Want the Villa!
Chapter 32: Jam the Stations!
Chapter 33: One More Meal the German's Will Not Get
Chapter 34: Promise the World, But Give Him Nothing
Chapter 35: If Mother Superior Could See Us Now!
Chapter 36: Beethoven's First Symphony/Screaming as if a Stricken Animal Caught in a Snare
Chapter 37: Snapped Up in the Air Like an Elastic Cord
Chapter 38: The Night is Long
Afterword
About the Author
A Personal Note
Appendix I: Historical Consequences of Division
Appendix: II: Jihad's Nazi Connections
Glossary
50 photos and illustrations
2 maps
