The Marcel Network: How One French Couple Saved 527 Children from the Holocaust
“In times of great evil, great good can be born.The Marcel Networktells one such extraordinary story, that of two young Jews who saved 527 Jewish children in Nazi-occupied France from likely arrest and deportation for no other reason than that they could not stand by and do nothing. As Fred Coleman vividly recounts, Moussa Abadi and Odette Rosenstock never considered themselves heroes. And after the war, they sought no recognition for their work. Now, almost seven decades later, thanks toThe Marcel Network, they can take their place in history as shining examples of the courage people can show when they dare to look horror in the face.”—Alan Riding, author ofAnd The Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris“Fred Coleman proves that it is still possible to unearth a gripping, previously untold story from the Holocaust. While focusing on a remarkable Jewish couple who saved 527 children in France, he also highlights the courage of those Catholics and Protestants who were critical to their success.The Marcel Networkdemonstrates that not even the Germans and their French collaborators could stamp out the best of the human spirit. A truly inspiring tale.”—Andrew Nagorski, author ofHitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power“Readers, whether Holocaust scholars or beginning students, will findThe Marcel Networka compelling, often gripping tale. It is remarkable for its immediacy and comprehensiveness.”—Frederick M. Schweitzer, professor emeritus of history and founder of the Holocaust Center, Manhattan College“From face-to-face interviews, memoirs, and vanished documents, Fred Coleman has turned out an inspiring story of adventure, betrayal, imprisonment, and survival. It evokes the poignancy of wartime trauma that even its heroes wanted to forget—a network run by Jews hiding children from the Holocaust with the help of priests, nuns, pastors, ordinary believers, and a patriotic French Catholic bishop who refused to follow the lead of his pope. All risked their lives every suspenseful moment of the rescue, and Coleman’s book will keep you turning the pages to reach the light in this tale of life in dark times.”—Lawrence Malkin, author ofKrueger’s Men: The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19“Just when you may think you know everything about the Holocaust, Fred Coleman’s brilliant book tells a true story of heroism and bravery that speaks to the ages about how people can do great deeds under the most impossible circumstances. The previously untold story of a young Jewish couple, Moussa Abadi and Odette Rosenstock, who created the clandestine Marcel Network, shows the best and the worst of humankind in the most compelling and riveting way. This is a critically important book by a highly talented writer who has given all of us a story with the full range of human emotions.”—Stuart E. Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union and special adviser to the president and secretary of state on Holocaust-era issues"There are thrilling fiction stories about World War II, but here an American journalist living in France has located a thriller that engages reality."—Book of the Month Club"This is a book you won't want to miss."—Marcia W. Posner,Jewish Book World